Alator of the Catha

Agravaine has brought Morgana back to her hut, letting her rest while he takes care of her. She finally stirs and tells him of her confrontation with Emrys. Agravaine is certain that Gaius has been informing Emrys of their traitorous plans, and with Morgana’s help, he sets a plan in motion to set Gaius up publicly as Camelot’s turncoat.

While Agravaine works on Arthur, Morgana heads off to recruit a powerful ally. This magician is known as Alator, and as a member of a group called the Catha, he knows how to extract information from the unwilling. His training as a warrior priest is what Morgana desires because she is certain Gaius will not easily give up what he knows of Emrys. Offering him the healing bracelet given to her from Gaius as payment, she hires Alator to kidnap Gaius.

Gaius is kidnapped by Alator

Merlin goes over Arthur’s upcoming day with him – giving a speech, listening to one, judging a contest. The two have one of their usual exchanges, when they are interrupted by Agravaine. He has a delicate matter he wishes to discuss, so once Merlin has left, Agravaine pushes his “suspicions” about the court physician. Arthur summons Gaius and allows Agravaine to question him about his past deals in sorcery and the laws regarding it. He also brings up the sorcerer who killed Uther, asking how he knows him and where he could be found. Arthur is present during the interrogation, pacing uncomfortably. Arthur agrees that Gaius is keeping something from him, but is not convinced he is the traitor.

That evening, Merlin is called to Agravaine’s room. There is a dagger his uncle wishes to give him as a present but needs sharpened. He also wants it left somewhere that Arthur will find it in the morning. With Merlin occupied and away from their quarters, Alator and his companion enter Camelot, rendevouzing with Agravaine. They sneak into Gaius’ rooms, knocking him out and taking him away from the city on horseback. Agravaine leaves incriminating evidence all over the place and then has the alarms sounded.

Merlin and Arthur meet up with Agravaine in Gaius’ apartment, where they are led to believe that Gaius stole a royal stallion and fled in the middle of the night on his own. Agravaine demands a thorough search of the place and later brings the “evidence” to Arthur to review. Merlin is present and witnesses Agravaine’s continued pushing of Gaius’ guilt on Arthur. Arthur refuses to send a search party out after Gaius, and once Agravaine leaves, Merlin tries to defend his mentor.

Not too far away from the castle, Alator brings Gaius to the cave where Morgana waits, impatient to get all the information she can about her nemesis. She leaves him in the hands of the warrior priest, allowing him to use whatever means necessary to find out where Emrys is. Gaius struggles with Alator, at first using whatever magics he can to counter the priest’s spells. Eventually he weakens and cannot fight back.

Alator tortures Gaius for information about Emrys

Gwen visits Merlin, both knowing that Agravaine is behind this. Since he is Arthur’s uncle, there isn’t much either of them can say to the King to get him to see the truth. Merlin sneaks into Agravaine’s chambers hoping to find some sort of clue as to where he’s taken Gaius. He discovers a wooden box under the bed containing all sorts of forbidden books. Next to it is a boot covered in red dirt. Just as Merlin touches the mud, Agravaine walks in. He quickly hides behind the changing board, but is seen sneaking out by Agravaine. He checks under the bed and confirms the box is still there, then notices his own muddy boot.

Merlin returns to his room to find Gwaine waiting for him. Gwaine wanted to check up on him, and offers his help in finding Gaius. Gwaine recognizes the dirt that Merlin has on his finger as iron ore, and admits he knows of one place nearby where that dirt can be found. They head off immediately to investigate. Also leaving the castle is Agravaine, as he needs to inform Morgana of Merlin’s snooping. They need to reach the cave before Merlin and Gwaine get there.

Unable to keep his secrets any longer, Gaius breaks and tells Alator of Emrys, including his real identity. Upon hearing what Gaius has to say about Merlin’s future, Alator seems to have a change in heart regarding his deal with Morgana.

Gwaine and Merlin are attacked by Alator’s companion as they get closer to the chamber where he is being held. With a bit of Merlin’s magic, Gwaine takes him down and the two continue on. When they come to a fork, they split up to search. Morgana and Agravaine are not too far ahead, so Morgana goes after the boys and sends Agravaine to check on Gaius and Alator. Just as Agravaine reaches Gaius and prepares to stab him, Gwaine walks in. Agravaine claims he was just using the blade to check Gaius’ breathing but Gwaine is still leery. Gwaine wants to search for Merlin but Agravaine stops him, claiming they need to bring Gaius back straight away.

Morgana gets the jump on Merlin, knocking him back and cornering him with a dagger. Alator happens upon them and after Morgana introduces him to Merlin, he admits Gaius told him everything. However, he refuses to tell Morgana, turning his magic on her and saving Merlin. With Morgana unconscious, Alator pledges his allegiance to Merlin. He wants to see the world that Merlin will help create come to fruition, and kneels before Merlin as one would a king. When Morgana comes to, she finds the bracelet she gave Alator as payment laying on the ground beside her. Besides that, there is no trace of him.

Alator pledges allegiance to Merlin

Gwaine rushes Gaius to the castle, confirming his kidnapping to Arthur. Gwen tends to him as Agravaine admits to Arthur that he was wrong, and that they owe him and Merlin their apologies.  Gaius wakes up with Merlin sitting beside him. He is so upset that he nearly gave Morgana everything she needed to know, but Merlin assures him she doesn’t know and never will. Alator’s true loyalty is to Merlin and his future. As they discuss Agravaine’s true nature, Arthur enters to apologize to them. Merlin lets him do so in private as he attends to Arthur’s chores. Arthur wants to know who abducted him, but Gaius won’t give up Agravaine. He does say that he believes whoever it was is in league with Morgana and that she got no information about Camelot from him. Arthur also wants to know why Gaius lied about knowing the sorcerer who killed Uther, to which Gaius replied he did not want Arthur to execute the old man as it would have been a grave mistake. He wants Arthur to know that there are many different types of people in his kingdom that want to see his vision for the future come about, and that one day he will understand just how much these people have done for him.

Box sets for Season One , Season Two and Season Three of Merlin are now available to purchase in the US via Amazon

Settling in on Vectes is not without it’s road bumps. There are COG civilians living on the island, people who settled here to help support the men and women working at the naval base. Lately, they’ve had run-ins with various Stranded pirates who’ve decided to raid their ships. Not to mention the growing pains that inevitably come with relocating thousands to a new home not ready for such an influx.

While the majority of Jacinto’s Remnant focuses on the rebuilding of the COG on Vectes, there are flashbacks dealing with Prescott’s ascension to the role of COG Chairman, the first people who took on the title of Stranded, and the evacuation of Ephyra. Dr. Adam Fenix has the Hammer of Dawn ready to launch, hoping an early strike will severely hamper the Locust advance only a year or so after Emergence Day.

You can definitely tell that Ms. Traviss has grown more comfortable and familiar with the Gears universe, with the technical blending much better with the main story of the Gears universe. When I sat down to read Jacinto’s Remnant, I had no problems getting into the story; this time, I devoured it whole. Knowing that Ms. Traviss would be writing the story for the third game, the next three books bridging the gap from Gears of War 2 to the final part of the trilogy were all that was on my mind. Putting this book down left me hungry for more and my mind racing to figure out what would happen next. I had grown closer to the characters that helped me get through a very tough time apart from my husband (then fiancee) and wanted to see them overcome these new challenges and kick some Locust butt. I was so glad that I hadn’t let the rough beginning Aspho Fields gave me keep me from the rest of the series.

Purchase Gears of War: Jacinto’s Remnant from Amazon

Image Copyright Random House/Del Rey 2009

Arthur, Merlin and the Knights are ambushed by mercenaries when they attempt to take a shortcut through the Valley of the Kings. Merlin takes a blow to the chest and Arthur helps move him to a safer location where they both can hide. Under the cover of the night, Merlin and Arthur try to make the situation a bit more lighthearted, talking of heroism and cowardice. When they wake in the morning, Arthur hoists Merlin over his shoulders, hoping they can outrun the men chasing them. Unfortunately, they are pinned in a narrow passageway, forcing Arthur to put Merlin down and fight. Merlin does what he can to ensure Arthur’s safety by causing a rockslide, but he is now alone and injured.

The mercenaries, led by Agravaine, bring Merlin to Morgana. At first, Morgana’s none too happy about seeing Merlin and not Arthur at her feet. She manages to turn that around by finding a way to use Merlin to her advantage. With him chained up in her hut, Morgana informs him that she does not plan on killing him. Merlin questions her motives for patching him up and keeping him around as she wonders why he is so loyal to Arthur. When Merlin replies accusing her of a lack of duty and loyalty, Morgana picks up an ancient engraving, calling forth a Formorroh, a seven-headed snake demon. She removes one of the heads and inserts it into the base of Merlin’s neck. She explains that the Fomorroh will take over Merlin’s mind, making him her puppet, her tool to kill Arthur.

The Fomorroh

Arthur meets up with the Knights, but no one has seen Merlin. When they return to the castle, Arthur asks Sir Leon to send out patrols to scour the forest, and the King promises Gaius that they will find him. Leon and Agravaine report back that there is no sign of Merlin. Agravaine keeps trying to throw suspicions on a neighbouring kingdom, but Arthur does not take the bait. They come to the conclusion that there must be a traitor amongst his inner circle.

The following morning, Arthur finds he has a new servant named George standing at the foot of his bed. He’s as far from Merlin as one could get, polite, a real go-getter, and very serious about his position as King’s man servant. But Arthur refuses to believe Merlin is gone, and against Gwen’s wishes, he heads out to search with Gwaine. They happen upon Merlin, covered head to toe in mud, in the ditch where Morgana left him with no memory of what she did to him.

Gaius immediately senses something wrong with Merlin, but can’t quite put his finger on it. Merlin avoids telling him just how he escaped, and then starts asking about poisons. Merlin’s first attempt to kill Arthur under Morgana’s control is to poison his meal. However, Merlin enters the King’s chambers with his deadly plate of food only to find that Gwen has already brought lunch. Puppet Merlin is pretty upset about it, saying some nasty things to Gwen and generally behaving like a jerk. He tossed the uneaten meal into a pigpen on his way back home.

Planning his next move, Merlin paces to and fro in the main quarters, once again bewildering Gaius. After turning down aid from his mentor, Merlin heads to the armory where he runs into Leon. Puppet Merlin asks Leon what sort of crossbow the knight would use if he wanted to hurt something. Leon takes down a gorgeous bow from the wall, and asks what Merlin wants it for. Merlin replies it’s to kill Arthur, and Leon laughs it off as a joke. Merlin takes it to Arthur’s room and sets it up to trigger when the wardrobe is opened. His test run is successful, but interrupted as Arthur enters the room to prepare for a knighting ceremony. Arthur thinks the ceremony is a waste of time knowing there is a traitor that wants him dead, joking that it may even be Merlin.

In the market, Gwen passes the pigpen where Merlin discarded the poisoned meal. A crowd has gathered because the animals have died. Gwen recognizes the plate and remnants, getting Gaius involved as she is concerned. They share their observations of his peculiar behaviour, and Gaius suspects something has happened. They head to the castle to find Merlin, coming across Leon, who tells them about Merlin and the crossbow. Merlin is in Arthur’s room helping him get dressed for the ceremony. Arthur is distracted with who the traitor could be, going through the list of his Knights looking for reasons. A frustrated Merlin opens the wardrobe when Arthur goes behind his folding screen and nearly takes an arrow to the chest. With the crossbow out of the question, he decides to uses Arthur’s ceremonial sword. Right as he has an opening with the King’s back turned, Gwen and Gaius enter the room and watch as Merlin’s running attack misses when he runs into a pillar in the room. Arthur picks up his sword and leaves, at which point Gwen picks up a silver pitcher and whacks Merlin in the head so they can get him back to Gaius’ place without incident.

Arthur pays a visit to his uncle, explaining that he does not take the issue of a traitor in the castle as lightly as Agravaine is. His investigation have caused him to hold doubts against his uncle. Agravaine hopes to cover his intentions by casting doubt once more on Gaius. When he has the chance, Agravaine returns to Morgana telling her he’s setting Gaius up to be the traitor. She’s still not completely impressed, but lets him leave with his head.

Awkwardly Naked Arthur

Gaius deduces that Merlin has been placed under the spell of a Fomorroh. He uses his skills to paralyze and remove the head from Merlin’s neck. He tosses it in the fire, believing that Merlin is now free from the spell. When Merlin wakes up, Gaius thinks Merlin simply just doesn’t remember what happened. But as Merlin gets ready to head out, we see that the Fomorroh head is back at the base of his neck. Merlin heads to Arthur’s room and prepares the King’s bath. He pours in a container of white powder that turns the bathwater to acid and eats away the sword Merlin uses to test it. Gwen and Gaius walk in in the nick of time, and once again Gwen belts him with the pitcher. She lies to Arthur, telling him the water is cold and that Merlin’s gone to fix it, but he won’t be able to have a bath today. An awkward situation as he stands in front of her and Gaius covering himself with a pillow.

Gaius and Gwen minister to Merlin, now aware that you simply can’t just kill a Fomorroh head. Gaius numbs the new head, then wakes Merlin up to talk to him. Merlin remembers Morgana conjuring the snake, but nothing afterward. The only way Gaius knows to get rid of the snake permanently is to destroy the entire beast. Merlin heads off to Morgana’s hut disguised as Old Merlin. Shortly after drinking the potion that makes him appear old, he tries to get back on his horse and Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan stumble on the hilarity. The men remember how he escaped his burning on the pyre and plan on taking him back to Arthur. Merlin uses his magic and knocks them out, making a step ladder for him to use to mount the horse.

"Old" Merlin needs assistance

Merlin watches from a distance as Agravaine and Morgana leave her hiding spot, waiting until he’s clear to enter himself. He rummages around, not noticing Morgana slipping back in and observing him. Their eyes meet, Morgana’s face filled with fear and denying his existence, believing that he is Emrys. He finds what he’s looking for, the Formorroh hidden in a jar, tells Morgana she’s right, he isn’t real, then throws her with magic into the shelves behind her. She chases him outside and the two have a small fight using magic. When Morgana thinks she won, she collects the jar and walks away, but Merlin isn’t done yet. He summons a whirlwind which picks her up and throws her to the ground. With her out cold, Merlin starts a fire and destroys the entire Fomorroh in it.

Gaius removes the now dead snake head from Merlin’s neck, and Gwen comes to collect him for Arthur. Arthur believes that Merlin spent the last two days in the tavern, Gaius’ go-to explanation for the King whenever Merlin is off doing something. Merlin argues that Arthur wouldn’t get rid of him because who else would clean his armor or get his food. That’s when Merlin is introduced to George and handed over for training.

The episode ends with Agravaine finding Morgana’s home trashed and coming across her unconscious body outside.

Box sets for Season One , Season Two and Season Three of Merlin are now available to purchase in the US via Amazon

Of the two bits of Fallout New Vegas DLC I have played so far, Dead Money had to be the dullest and most pointless of them both. Hell, I wouldn’t doubt if it ends up as my least favourite of all the DLC for this game. Set in a closed area which can only be accessed one time via a Brotherhood of Steel bunker, you follow the signal of an old broadcast offering the time of your life at the new Sierra Madre Casino. Turns out that the radio broadcast was just a trap to lure adventurers so as to do the dirty work for a crazy old kook called Father Elijah.

After being KO-ed in the bunker thanks to some surprise gas, you wake up with a bomb collar strapped to your neck and find yourself the newest recruit in Father Elijah’s master plan to break into the Sierra Madre Casino. You’ll have to hook up with three other prisoners (Christine, the muted Brotherhood woman, DOG/GOD, a dog with a split personality, and the famous Dean Domino) in order to perform your task and deal with the holographic security men keeping an eye on the place as you plan the biggest heist of your career.

You'll need to sic DOG on them if you want them to stay dead

The town surrounding Sierra Madre wasn’t always populated by holographic security and undead murderers. Once it housed the people building the place for it’s eccentric owner, so you’ll be able to explore the old quarters for better gear and unique items. The gun Father Elijah gives you after stripping you of all your personal items doesn’t do much damage, especially should you find yourself no longer dealing with holo-officers. The “men” walking the streets can be incapacitated with bullets, but you’ll need DOG by your side if you want to disable them permanently. I did love how the town was littered with vending machines offering you the basics: food, stimpaks, cigarettes. You could even collect cigarettes throughout the area and turn them in for Sierra Madre chips (the form of payment accepted in this section of the game). And if you come across the right notes laying around town, you can unlock some weapon upgrades and ammunition.

Try as the story might, it just never really grabs me as much as I want it to. There is a story in there, of love, addiction, and greed. But it’s so weakly presented that playing Dead Money was too much of a chore. At no point did I ever feel I was having fun with this chunk of additional story, only that I wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Not being able to go back and really clean out the safe was a bit of a downer, too.

Overall Opinion

Dead Money is definitely not worth the full DLC price tag, and if you play it as part of the content on the Ultimate Edition, then get this one out of the way earlier on. Aside from finding some pretty nice loot in the safe, the only other perk that benefited me from purchasing this was the +5 boost to my level cap.

Available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC/Mac

Dean Domino looks nothing like the posters you spot around the Wasteland

Ico had the unfortunate destiny of being born with horns on his head, the sign that he is to one day be a Sacrifice for the mysterious Castle in the Mist, an abandoned castle in lands not too far away from Toksa Village. As is the tradition when a horned one is born, Ico’s parents were cast out of the village and he was raised by the village elder and his wife, preparing him for the day the priest would come to lead Ico to his fate. Ico grows up playing with the other children of Toksa, makes friends, and learns what they learn. He also learns of his duties as the Sacrifice from the Elder and his wife Oneh, who love him like he was their own.

There is not too much the Elder will tell Ico about why the ritual of the Sacrifice is held, but he does take Ico on a trip one day to show him another settlement that had been turned to stone. To make sure this doesn’t happen to Toksa or any other place, no matter how hard, the Sacrifice must leave and go to the Castle. As soon as Ico’s horns have grown, he will be handed over to the priest of their lands to make the journey.

The time comes when the priest has been summoned and the village makes all the preparations they need to send Ico off safely. With the help of a book recovered by Ico’s closest friend, at the cost of his own life, the Elder believes there is a chance Ico will be able to return to Toksa and not suffer the same fate as Sacrifices before him. Armed with nothing more than the clothes on his back and the special Mark woven to prove he is the Sacrifice, Ico is handed over to the priest and his warriors and led in silence to the Castle in the Mist.

Ico soon learns that being a Sacrifice means a lifetime of entombment in the Castle. Luckily, his special Mark is different from the Sacrifices who came before him and he is able to escape. But his escape is short lived as he finds that the Castle is a labyrinth with no clear way to leave. Not only that, he finds a young girl held captive in a giant cage that he feels he must rescue and keep safe from the black shadows lurking deep within the stone of the Castle. Ico doesn’t know her language, but when he holds her hand, he is able to understand her thoughts and can see through her eyes the events behind the true meaning of the Sacrifice. Her name is Yorda and she knows all of the secrets of the Castle in the Mist.

With most of the tale written from Ico’s side and the history of the Castle from Yorda’s point of view, Miyabe’s novelization of Ico and Yorda’s adventure to escape the clutches of the Castle in the Mist and right the wrongs of their ancestors was more than I had hoped for. There were some puzzle references throughout the book, as one would expect from any regular story of this nature, but thankfully they were not the bulk of the tale. She wonderfully told the tale of two children overcoming adversities and discovering they do not have to be what others tell them they are – that destinies can be changed, that good will always conquer evil.

As I regretfully read the last page of ICO: Castle in the Mist, I was quick to remember that I have the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD collection for the PS3 in my backlog. It won’t be too long before I return to the story, waiting impatiently to see just how close to the game Miyabe’s adaptation is.

You can purchase ICO: Castle in the Mist from Amazon or RightStuf 

Image copyright Viz Media 2011

I just can't get away from spiders in video games

Status: Finished all levels on Casual and Regular (unlocked Hard-core mode), finding that I am awful at earning Medals (I have 2 of 24)

PixelJunk Monsters was one of the first PSN demos I gave any time to. Thanks to my time as a part of Sony’s now defunct Gamer Advisory Panel, I’d been aware of Q-Games new tower defense title for the PSN and was anxious to try it out. The demo gave me a small taste of what life would be like if I owned the game and I was excited for more. But I was working in video game retail at the time, and the amount of new games I told myself I needed every week kept pushing PJ Monsters to the back of my mind.

But I never forgot about it completely. It was on my video game wishlist on Amazon for a reason – even if years had passed, I still wanted that game. I was lucky enough to finally get my own copy of PJ Monsters Deluxe for my birthday, and promptly popped it into my PSP where it remained for 3 and a half months. I played it in the car, on the couch while watching TV, and even in bed instead of reading a book to help me fall asleep. When I wasn’t doing housework or playing Persona 4, PixelJunk Monsters was all I had on the brain.

PJ Monsters features three islands and a combined total of 47 levels, with difficulties ranging from Easy to Hard as you progress on each island. By clearing a stage without losing any of the little Tiki babies, you’ll earn a Rainbow. You’ll need  these in order to open new areas on each island. Earning rainbows isn’t always easy, but play a level a couple of times to find the best  spots to place the towers you’ll need to take out the enemy. And if you become obsessive about it as I did, you may just find yourself striving to perfect every stage because you’re just that anal about it.

So many towers!

The backbone of any tower defense game are the towers you have at your disposal. At the start of each level, certain base towers will be unlocked, such as the Arrow, Cannon and Anti-Air Gun. Other towers in your building wheel need to be unlocked by collecting blue gems dropped by the enemy or hidden among the trees. Once you have the gems you need to unlock a new tower, head over to the Tiki hut to unlock it. You’ll have to unlock these towers every time as they are not a permanent unlock. Some of the more unique towers will require completion of a particular level before they will show up in your building wheel, so don’t worry if you think you’re missing something.

Upgrading your towers can be done two ways: spending blue gems or dancing in front of them. Spending your rarely obtained gems will help you power up towers quickly but takes away from your ability to unlock new towers. Dancing takes more time but helps you save up for those more powerful towers. Each tower’s flag has five stages: base blue, yellow, red, purple, and finally black. Once you hit black, you’ll have the most powerful version of that tower with the best range it can get. Depending on the sort of level I am playing, I may power level one or two towers early on immediately around my hut as a last line of defense. The only way to figure out your best move is to play often and watch the movements of the enemy. A tower will also get a small boost of leveling when it successfully kills an enemy.

Some levels in the main section of the game will throw challenges at you, like the monsters won’t drop coins or gems so you need to be wise with what you have. This really enforces some creative strategizing with tower placement and getting the optimal range in the designated level. I love the challenge, even when I have to restart the level six or seven times because I placed a tower in a bad spot.

One challenges dares you to not cross the bridge

And then, if you haven’t driven yourself crazy trying to get rainbows on every level, you can venture to the Tiki Hut from the main menu and take on up to 24 different challenges. These challenges unlock once you’ve cleared the level in the main game. So far I’ve been able to knock out two of these – one which dared me to complete the level without a single flag upgrading to yellow, the second a Scrooge challenge where I was tasked to clear the level with over 10000 coins. Sadly, I haven’t figured out the winning formula to the other twenty two challenges just yet.

Overall Opinion

Even after spending hours upon hours with PixelJunk Monsters, I find that going back to it for “just one level” ends up turning into hours. I believe that is a sign of a truly enjoyable game. There are few of these more casual style titles in my “Completely Addicted” list, Ninjatown and Plants vs Zombies being the other two. And just when I thought I had weened myself off of the PJ high, Q-Games went and put a version of PJ Monsters on Facebook . Needless to say that just pumped fuel back in my fire tower.

(As of posting this, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe for PSP is on sale for $3.99 on Amazon. $3.99!!!! You cannot go wrong here, people.)

You can buy PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe from Amazon or the original game and the Encore expansion on the Playstation Store

Watch out! The snowy levels are slippery. You don't want to slide into the monsters.

Status: Completed
Achievements: 10 of 12
Gamerscore: 155/200
DLC Purchased: None

Things seemed to be all well in good in Spanktopia after DeathSpank collected all of the Thongs of Virtue and vanquished Sandy. But the peace didn’t last forever, as DeathSpank soon discovers his wearing of all of the Thongs at once has created a new evil: the AntiSpank. Now he must travel across SpankTopia seeking out the Bacon Fires and destroy the extra Thongs that caused the problem in the first place if he hopes to bring down his evil creation and get back to mocking orphans and keeping overdue library books.

If you have played the previous two installments of DeathSpank’s adventure, you’ll find that The Baconing is pretty much the same thing. A humour-packed action RPG from Hothead Games, it follows the same sort of quest-based storyline combines with hack and slash real time battles that we’ve played previously. All new locations have been added for us to explore like the Forest of Tomorrow, a twisted Disney park of sorts for the scientifically-inclined, the Forbidden Zone, an expansive wasteland home to a city hosting a great Arena, and the TRON-inspired house of Z.I.M.O.N., to name a few.

Let's play Z.I.M.O.N. Says

All new locations does not mean completely new characters for DeathSpank to toil for. Familiar faces like Strunken and his wife are around, still with their marital issues for you to work out, as well as the Thongolith Researcher and a few others. There are also orphans a plenty for you to mock, should you so choose. And let’s not forget DeathSpank’s mentor, the wise cow. New to the game are Cyborques, cybernetic Orques who lust for DeathSpank’s head on a stick. And like their ancestors, they aren’t really the brightest enemy out there. Each location also has unique new pests for you to exterminate, my favourite being the weirdos in the casino Rainbow’s End.

Each location has a Bacon Fire to be discovered, so you will need to solve puzzles, help out the locals and fight your way to them and one by one burn the Thongs until you come face to face with your new nemesis. New equipment and stronger weapons will drop the further you progress or as you finish doing chores for the seemingly lazy people you fight so hard to protect. Vendors can be found in your major areas if you are running short on supplies, like Mutoe chunks (which I still find a tad bit disturbing).

Fighting Evil Leprechauns

Where Thongs of Virtue added Weapons of Justice, The Baconing gives us new battle techniques such as Shield Bash and Perfect Reflect. Shield Bash is great for knocking back hordes of enemies when they surround you, and Perfect Reflect lets you reflect (obviously) ranged attacks, instead injuring the enemy who dared hurt DeathSpank in the first place. The real time fighting works the same as it did before, with barrels respawning and fallen foes returning to life after leaving and re-entering an area.

Compared to TOV, The Baconing has about the same amount of playtime, taking me somewhere around 10 hours or so to run through on normal mode and fully leveling up to level 20. The addition of the Arena and the challenges there helped me gain some ground early on in the game, but I did have to wait until I was level 18 or 19 to go back and finish it up for the achievements. I’m not one for playing these kinds of games co-op unless the character is already included with the purchase of the game, but since Roesha was another 160 points, I passed on her and only played the game in single player mode.

Overall Opinion

Yes, a lot of people will tell you that The Baconing is more of the same, just with a new coat of paint. And you know what? I am okay with that. I love the humour Hothead has incorporated in the series, even the pokes at their Canadianism (Canoonies!) which may only be understood by gamers such as myself. But it’s because of that humour and the relative ease of play that I keep coming back to them. On days where I really don’t want anything plot heavy, I can pick up a DeathSpank title and lose myself in a vibrant and slightly disturbing world where orphans have a God, unicorn poop is highly sought after manure and something that looks like a skinned Mickey Mouse is encouraging me to kill him.

Pick up The Baconing on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network or Steam

Welcome to the Forest of Tomorrow

King Caerleon

His Father’s Son opens with Merlin dressed as a knight of Camelot being chased by a small army of bandits. He deliberately luring them into a trap set up by King Arthur, where he waits with a small army of his own. After defeating the bandits, Agravaine hauls their leader to Arthur, revealing the man’s true identity. The man they captured is Caerleon, the ruler of a neighbouring kingdom who has been caught trespassing several times. Agravaine plays on Arthur’s insecurities as a new king, suggesting that their prisoner either agree to a treaty of what Agravaine thinks is fair or to kill him in the morning. Arthur does not sleep, the weight of this decision heavy on him.

Merlin tries to talk some sense into Arthur; the actions Agravaine wants him to take are clearly opposite of what Arthur would do. But since his uncle is his most trusted adviser and Merlin nothing more than a servant. Agravaine presents Caerleon with the treaty, and Arthur steps forward to take responsibility for the terms. When their captive declines to sign such a treaty, he tells Arthur to make it quick. Arthur tells Caerleon he should sign the treaty so there can be peace between their kingdoms, but Caerleon declines saying he is not his father, neither is Arthur his. Caerleon reasserts that it is his choice to die, not Arthur’s.

When they return to the castle, Agravaine praises Arthur for his actions, but when Merlin is alone with the king, he tries to make Arthur see he had other options. And when Merlin tells his king not to push away his friends, Arthur claims he has no choice. Right now he needs to show strength and doesn’t need friends. Later in the evening, Agravaine approaches Arthur and voices his concerns that Gwen would not make a proper queen in the eyes of his people and other kingdoms. Now that he is king, he must do what is expected of him and what makes his look strong. For the good of the people, Agravaine says Arthur must put aside his feelings for Gwen.

Caerleon’s men bring his body back to his wife, Queen Annis, where she declares Arthur will pay for killing her husband in such a cowardly fashion. After sending some of her army towards Camelot, Carlion’s wife receives a mid-night visit from Morgana. The witch comes bearing aid in the battle against Arthur.

Queen Annis

Training is intense the next day as Arthur is still working through the events of the past few days. His regimen with the punching bag is interrupted when Sir Leon brings news of an army advancing on Camelot, lead by Annis. Arthur summons the counsel and the men begin to make their defensive plans. Merlin is worried that his friend has become too influenced by his uncle. As Merlin prepares Arthur’s quarters for the evening, Arthur leaves giving Merlin no idea clue as to his destination. He heads to Gwen’s, where he tells her that as king he can no longer be with her. Gwen believes he has been led to make this decision by others, but Arthur tells her he has come to this conclusion on his own. Before he leaves her home, Gwen reminds him that the only way he can be the king he wants to be is by being true to himself.

The next morning, Arthur leads his men as they ride out to meet with Annis’ forces. The men set up camp for the night on the ridge overlooking Annis’ legions, Arthur instructing his uncle to ensure the men have everything they need and get a good night’s rest; they will commence battle at first light. It’s obvious to his friends on the eve of battle that this fight is weighing heavily on Arthur. With Elyan leading them into his tent, he reminds Arthur that the men of his army are willing to give up their lives for him and for the freedom of Camelot. Arthur begins to doubt if he is worth such affection and loyalty, and his choices leading him to this point.

When his men have all fallen asleep, Arthur sneaks out of the camp, Merlin following close behind. Merlin watches from the rocks as Arthur approaches two guards at Annis’ camp and asks to see her. Merlin peeks into the tent and witnesses Arthur confess his cowardly actions to the grieving widow, and his invocation of the right of single combat. Arthur would be his own representative and Queen Annis can choose her champion. The winner of the duel will be the victor of the battle, thus sparing the men from fighting. If Arthur wins, Annis’ men will withdraw; if Arthur loses, he will give her half of his kingdom. Not a moment later, Merlin is discovered and brought into the tent. Luckily, Merlin’s appearance does not ruin Arthur’s attempts and Annis agrees to the duel to take place at noon.

Before the duel, Arthur informs his trusted circle of the terms he arranged with Annis the previous evening. It is clear on Agravaine’s face that he is none too happy about this turn of events. All of his knights offer to fight as the king’s champion but Arthur is determined to fight himself. When Annis finds out, she believes it to be some sort of trick. Morgana confirms that Arthur is the type of man who would indeed spare the lives of his men, and reminds the queen that she has the power to make sure Arthur fails. Agravaine steals Arthur’s blade, bringing it to Morgana so she can cast an enchantment on it. Before he heads to the duel, Arthur has asked Merlin that should he fall in battle to give his ring to Gwen and give her his apologies for how he acted.

Morgana enchants Arthur's sword

With his men watching from the cliff and Annis’ men on the field, Arthur and the queen’s Champion walk to the center of the empty grassland and duel begins. A few minutes into the battle, Morgana activates the enchantment which causes Arthur’s arm to become heavy as it increases the weight of his blade. With Arthur on the ground and about to be skewered, Merlin casts his own spell, forcing the Champion to drop his sword. This gives Arthur the opportunity to take him from behind and knock the large warrior to the ground. He could easily kill the queen’s man, but he chooses to spare him, doing the honourable thing.

Annis approaches Arthur, telling him she will adhere to the terms of their agreement and asking why he spared the life of her champion. Arthur tells her that it is not victory that he seeks, but peace. Annis believes that there is hope for the people of the Five Kingdoms in Arthur, and leaves to bring her people home. Morgana enters her tent, claiming things will be different next time. Annis informs the witch there will be no next time for her, as she is not consumed by hatred as Morgana is. Morgana sees Annis’ actions as weakness, blind to the fact that her lust of vengeance is corrupting her. As she leaves the tent, Annis tells Morgana she is much more like Uther than the girl realizes.

The episode ends with Gwen entering Arthur’s chambers in the morning. He gives her some wildflowers that he picked and apologizes for his behaviour. Gwen accepts his apology and they make up with a kiss.

Box sets for Season One , Season Two and Season Three of Merlin are now available to purchase in the US via Amazon

Warning: This review will most likely contain a few spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Status: Completed in 29 days (minus glitched quests), reached Level 62, 179hrs 17mins 37secs
Achievements: 47 of 50
Gamerscore: 940/1000
DLC Purchased: None

The fifth installment in Bethesda Game Studios’ epic role playing franchise, Skyrim offers players an exceptional adventure in the northern most province of Tamriel. Home to the Nords, Skyrim is in the midst of a civil war, a war in which you are unintentionally dragged into. Imperial guards believe you to be a member of the Stormcloak uprising, and bring you to Helgen for your execution. As your head rests on the chopping block, you witness a terrifying dragon land on one of the battlements, sending everyone into a panic and giving you the chance to escape.

Voices few can hear call out to you and name you “Dovahkiin”, thus leading you to a group of hermits known as the Greybeards. In their home on the highest mountain peak in Skyrim, this handful of men reveal to you your true nature and offer to assist you in learning the Way of the Voice, the tongue of the Dragons. It is no coincidence to them that you should arrive at their doorstep at the same time dragons reappear.

And so begins your journey to discover the truth behind the resurgence of the dragons. An epic task that will take you all over the beautiful northern province and beyond, literally.

Along the way you can stop and pick the flowers (literally, you can pick flowers, nirnroot, and other local herbs for alchemy purposes), spend time searching for bandit or necromancer infested caves to loot, or join one of the many groups looking for a lackey. Skyrim follows in the tradition of other Western RPGs, giving the player all sorts of freedom to play the game however he or she so chooses.

I chose to focus on discovery and guild quests in the beginning, making trips here and there to the main story as they intersected with whatever other goals I was pursuing at the time. I have this thing about trying to get all of the extra bits of games tidied up before sinking my teeth into the main focus of the story, although it can be contested that in Skyrim the extra bits are just as meaty and delicious as the main course. And because there are so many ways to play the game, outcomes may vary depending on what actions you’ve previously done. Killing the brother of a townsperson  who has a quest for you before taking the job can mean different dialogue options, and so forth.

By far my favourite change up from Oblivion to Skyrim was the elimination of structured classes and the introduction of the Perk system. Instead of forcing the player to select a class type (Warrior, Mage, Thief) when creating their character, you evolve your hero the way you want them to as you play by using the skills you wish to increase often. When your character gains enough overall experience and goes up a level, you are granted a Perk point that you can use to unlock any bonus you wish from the Perk map. This allows for a more natural type of development, as it is truer to real life circumstances. It also means you can start out as a mage, duel-wielding powerful spells and increasing the potency of your magic, and switch to more warrior-like skills with some pickpocketing and haggling on the side.

Increasing your skills comes from practice, practice and more practice. Example: You notice on the Perk map that if you get your Smithing up to Level 100, you’ll be able to make armour from the dragon scales and bones you collect from killing the beasts. You have a lot of leather in your inventory and that’s the only sort of armor you can currently make, but it’s low level stuff and you’re wearing much better stuff. Don’t just sell that leather. Make as many types of leather pieces as you can at the forge until you’ve exhausted your materials. Every time you hammer out a new chestplate or boots you’re increasing that Smith stat. Next, sell those to the nearest vendor with money but sell each one of them one piece at a time. That will bump up your Speech which will help you get better prices as you level it up. It’s thinking like this that will help you power level early on, making battles and other sections of the story easier to get through.

You can also collect Companions who will help you if you so wish to drag them along. Some are acquired by helping with personal quests, while others come bundled with the purchase of one of the several fine homes you can purchase. The companion I dragged around with me when I wasn’t trying to sneak into someone’s home for a Thieves Guild quest was Lydia. She was the housecarl that came with my first home, a cozy two floor home in Whiterun next door to the armor shop. Lydia prefers heavy armor and ranged weapons, and if you make the mistake of giving her magical staffs, you should fear for your life and the lives of any people you might have to rescue from dungeons. She wasn’t always the smartest person to work with, stepping on traps that I clearly went around and then getting stuck on them, which led me to believe the AI needed a touch more time and attention. Lydia made up for it by being a great pack mule. I would load her up with all sorts of ore, materials and random items I wanted to sell and fast travel to the nearest shop just as soon as she stopped trying to kill my magical horse.

Even in video games, I hate spiders.

But as with every other Bethsoft game of this magnitude, there are just too many unacceptable issues that can potentially ruin the experience for you – especially if you are short on patience.

The biggest problem for me was the amount of glitches that happened in my game, making certain quests and side missions impossible to either continue or perpetually stuck in my queue. Most disheartening of these was when the last Daedric Quest I needed to complete for the corresponding achievement (or trophy if you’re a PS3 gamer) suffered from a massive bug making it so that I could not talk with the target and progress to the end of the quest. Here we are two months and three patches later and there is still no fix for this problem. With all of the time I dedicated to that character and only missing a few achievements, I just can’t bring myself to start a second character, so I am impatiently waiting for the 1.4 patch and hoping my quest line will be fixed.

Definitely not as problematic but just as irritating is the freezing. I will admit that for me personally, it has improved since Oblivion, but that could be due to the fact that I’ve had to cut down on how many save files I’m now using. It also doesn’t hurt that since Oblivion I’ve learned to save a lot more frequently in Bethesda games. I’ve also since learned that I really shouldn’t put every item I want to keep in the same chest or dresser. Now I split everything up and store like items in different drawers in my house. And how to not be a hoarder, which is hard in these games as you want to keep everything that has a cool name and you think might be worth something. Ideally, I have no more than thirty or so different types of item in one place at a time, which meant a lot of over-encumbered trips around Whiterun to sell off various swords, junk armour and potions I’d crafted to level up my skills.

However, the pros and fun I’ve had playing Skyrim far weighs the disappointment I’ve suffered from the game. I wouldn’t call it my Game of the Year for 2011, because in my eyes any game that requires three patches within a month of release and still has major issues does not deserve those accolades. Obviously, Skyrim needed more time in QA before being rushed to store shelves for Holiday sales and I still hold that with digital distribution at their fingertips, gaming companies are using it more and more as a crutch so they can hit deadlines and leave the gamer to suffer the consequences. But enough of that for now.

Overall Opinion

I had an absolute blast playing Skyrim on a near daily basis from the midnight it came out until I discovered there was no way I could tidy up that last Daedric Quest. Just ask my husband, as he watched my play it until 3 or 4 am every single night and all day on the weekends. I yelled at my housecarl Lydia on a regular basis that you would have thought I renamed her idiot for all the times she stepped on traps I clearly went around or for using the staffs I gave her and nearly killing herself. Hunting dragons and searching for their Words of Power could at times be aggravating, but the rewards were worth every potion sucked down to keep going. My favourite thing to do has always been looting caverns, and Skyrim did not disappoint me, giving me some great ones early on that helped me buy my first home.

Odds are high that I will eventually replay the game with a new character; I really did love the game, despite the issues with quest lines buggering up. Or I may just wait until they announce DLC for the game and take my Hero and her moronic companion Lydia on new adventures. Either way, Skyrim has rooted itself in my list of favourite RPGs, and is one title I would gladly recommend to anyone looking to drop off the face of the earth for a good month or two.

The only clue Yuriko can find in her brother’s room is a book she doesn’t recall him having before. It is no ordinary tome, as Yuriko soon discovers it is capable of speech. The book calls itself Aju and hints at problems in school leading her brother Hiroki down the path leading up to the incident. He reluctantly offers to help her find Hiroki and thus introduces Yuriko to the ways of The Circle.

But if she is to find her brother, she will have to face the King in Yellow, an evil so powerful that it needs to be sealed away. Somehow, Hiroki broke the seal, and stopping him is the only way for Yuriko to get her brother back.

Assuming the name U-ri, the young girl sets off on a quest to rescue Hiroki and learn the truth, no matter the cost. From the Hall of All Books and the Nameless Devout that act as its caretakers, to lands of fiction and back home again, Yuriko/U-ri faces all types of obstacles but never once waivers from her goal. Even when she discovers the reason behind her brother’s behaviour, all Yuriko wants to do is find him so she can forgive him and bring him home safely.

The Book of Heroes was a delightful if bittersweet tale that left me wanting more – in a good way. And because I enjoyed the story so much, I have since added Ms. Miyabe’s award winning novel Brave Story and video game novel adaptation of Ico to my library. Not to mention I plan on watching the TV adaptation of another of her novels, Stepfather Step, as it airs in Japan this Spring.

You can purchase The Book of Heroes from Amazon or RightStuf 

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