Junebug23057
Joined Aug 2010
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Junebug23057's rating
After a surprisingly captivating first season, Wednesday Season 2 on Netflix had a lot to live up to, especially for someone like me who wasn't initially sold on Tim Burton's vision but ended up hooked. Delays from strikes and likely other production issues pushed the wait, but the return to Nevermore Academy promised more of Wednesday's dark charm. Unfortunately, Season 2 stumbles in recapturing what made the first season special, earning a 6/10.
The season follows Wednesday Addams as she hones her psychic abilities, faces a new tormentor, and works to prevent her roommate's death. The central mystery splits into two arcs, but the pacing feels off. Revealing the main villain early saps the suspense, making the first half feel flat. The stalker subplot also fizzles out, while the second half shifts to a family drama that's decent but lacks the buildup to feel truly earned.
The biggest letdown is the handling of Enid, whose bubbly energy and dynamic with Wednesday were highlights of Season 1. Here, she's barely present, clocking in what feels like under 12 minutes in the first four episodes. Her reduced role and toned-down personality are baffling, diminishing the show's heart. The body-swap episode in the second half brings some humor, but it's not enough to make up for her absence. Speculation about scheduling conflicts or tensions (perhaps with Jenna Ortega) might explain this, but it's a major misstep. Enid's Season 1 romance with Ajax also gets shortchanged, with their relationship abruptly dropped in the first two minutes of Season 2, which feels inconsistent with her character and dismisses the previous season's slow-burn buildup. It's totally out of character, that Enid just humped and dumped him. And then was like Thank you Next!
Pugsley's increased screen time is another odd choice. Isaac Ordonez's performance feels exaggerated, with facial expressions that come across as unconvincing, making his scenes more irritating than engaging. Joy Sunday's Bianca gets significant focus, but her subplot with her mother feels either poorly reintroduced from Season 1 or newly inserted without enough context, leaving me confused and detached. Thing, the quirky hand, also feels underused, stripping away some of the show's playful weirdness. The absence of Percy Hynes White's Xavier didn't bother me, as I wasn't invested in him, but it adds to the sense of a disjointed cast.
On the brighter side, a new character, Agness, injects fresh energy with her quirky charm, and her actress shows real star potential. The subplot involving Tyler offers a surprising twist, hinting at redemption in Season 3, which was a pleasant surprise. However, the Nevermore Academy funding subplot feels tacked on and fails to captivate.
Overall, Wednesday Season 2 loses much of what made the first season shine. The sidelining of Enid, abrupt dismissal of her romance with Ajax, and uneven mystery arcs overshadow the show's potential. While Agness and a few moments like the body-swap episode provide glimmers of hope, the season feels like a missed opportunity. Here's hoping Season 3 recaptures the magic. Rating: 6/10.
The season follows Wednesday Addams as she hones her psychic abilities, faces a new tormentor, and works to prevent her roommate's death. The central mystery splits into two arcs, but the pacing feels off. Revealing the main villain early saps the suspense, making the first half feel flat. The stalker subplot also fizzles out, while the second half shifts to a family drama that's decent but lacks the buildup to feel truly earned.
The biggest letdown is the handling of Enid, whose bubbly energy and dynamic with Wednesday were highlights of Season 1. Here, she's barely present, clocking in what feels like under 12 minutes in the first four episodes. Her reduced role and toned-down personality are baffling, diminishing the show's heart. The body-swap episode in the second half brings some humor, but it's not enough to make up for her absence. Speculation about scheduling conflicts or tensions (perhaps with Jenna Ortega) might explain this, but it's a major misstep. Enid's Season 1 romance with Ajax also gets shortchanged, with their relationship abruptly dropped in the first two minutes of Season 2, which feels inconsistent with her character and dismisses the previous season's slow-burn buildup. It's totally out of character, that Enid just humped and dumped him. And then was like Thank you Next!
Pugsley's increased screen time is another odd choice. Isaac Ordonez's performance feels exaggerated, with facial expressions that come across as unconvincing, making his scenes more irritating than engaging. Joy Sunday's Bianca gets significant focus, but her subplot with her mother feels either poorly reintroduced from Season 1 or newly inserted without enough context, leaving me confused and detached. Thing, the quirky hand, also feels underused, stripping away some of the show's playful weirdness. The absence of Percy Hynes White's Xavier didn't bother me, as I wasn't invested in him, but it adds to the sense of a disjointed cast.
On the brighter side, a new character, Agness, injects fresh energy with her quirky charm, and her actress shows real star potential. The subplot involving Tyler offers a surprising twist, hinting at redemption in Season 3, which was a pleasant surprise. However, the Nevermore Academy funding subplot feels tacked on and fails to captivate.
Overall, Wednesday Season 2 loses much of what made the first season shine. The sidelining of Enid, abrupt dismissal of her romance with Ajax, and uneven mystery arcs overshadow the show's potential. While Agness and a few moments like the body-swap episode provide glimmers of hope, the season feels like a missed opportunity. Here's hoping Season 3 recaptures the magic. Rating: 6/10.
As a huge fan of RoboCop: Rogue City, which I played last year and found to be a surprising gem despite my usual avoidance of movie-based games, I was thrilled when RoboCop: Unfinished Business was announced. I bought it the same week it released, expecting more of the same thrilling action. While it delivers in many ways, it doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor.
The story kicks off with a bang: after a mercenary group attacks the Metro West police precinct and steals RoboCop's equipment, our hero infiltrates the Omni Tower, an unfinished OCP arcology functioning as a massive slum. His mission is to confront the mercs and secure OCP technology before it falls into the wrong hands. You're thrown into the thick of it quickly. After briefly walking around police headquarters, you immediately travel to the OCP high-rise to face the villains. The game takes place in one massive building with many floors, featuring offices, a residential slum, laboratories, and fancy living spaces. Considering it's all within one building, I'd say it's somewhat diverse.
The strongest aspect of the RoboCop games is the action, and Unfinished Business delivers loads of it. I must have taken down over 1,000 bad guys, including punks, mercenaries in various armor, rolling or flying drones, a few ED-209 droids, the yakuza-like droids from RoboCop 3, and jetpack-wielding mercenaries. They were quite fun to battle, offering the same intense action as Rogue City. However, the yakuza droids with katanas were surprisingly brittle, faltering with just one shot from my pistol, which made them feel like a pointless enemy.
Weapons-wise, you get most of the guns from Rogue City, plus a minigun and a freeze gun. Both are fun to use-the freeze gun's effect looks quite good, freezing large areas and killing multiple enemies at once. As in Rogue City, you earn XP for upgrades. I recommend investing in combat and combat-like abilities, as the others feel less important here, unlike in Rogue City. You can also collect chips for your pistol, and by the end, my service weapon was so powerful I felt like a Terminator. It was okay, though, since it felt earned. The puzzles for enhancing your pistol, carried over from Rogue City, provide a nice break from the action. The level design is quite good, though nothing extraordinary. Enemies pop out from various small rooms, and while they're not the smartest NPCs, they come in droves.
When you're not fighting, quieter moments let you walk through residential areas, meet NPCs, and tackle side content. Unfortunately, these side missions are very bare-bones, often just involving finding the right person and delivering information. As far as I can see, your choices don't impact the ending. There are also moments where you play as characters other than RoboCop, including a brief stint as one of the evil mercenaries. While these serve as exposition for the plot, some felt pointless.
The story and setting remind me a lot of the movie Dredd, which I love, so I didn't mind the similarities. However, the game lacks polish. RoboCop's mouth doesn't always move while talking, and I noticed frame drops at times. The ending felt rushed and lackluster, which was disappointing. On the plus side, the voice acting is fine, and it's great to hear Peter Weller as RoboCop again.
The music is amazing, especially when the original soundtrack kicks in during action-heavy moments-it's used sparingly, making it feel special. The other music suits the game just fine. Overall, RoboCop: Unfinished Business isn't as polished or epic as Rogue City, but that's okay for a standalone DLC. It delivers solid action and a decent story, even if it stumbles in execution. I give it a 7/10.
The story kicks off with a bang: after a mercenary group attacks the Metro West police precinct and steals RoboCop's equipment, our hero infiltrates the Omni Tower, an unfinished OCP arcology functioning as a massive slum. His mission is to confront the mercs and secure OCP technology before it falls into the wrong hands. You're thrown into the thick of it quickly. After briefly walking around police headquarters, you immediately travel to the OCP high-rise to face the villains. The game takes place in one massive building with many floors, featuring offices, a residential slum, laboratories, and fancy living spaces. Considering it's all within one building, I'd say it's somewhat diverse.
The strongest aspect of the RoboCop games is the action, and Unfinished Business delivers loads of it. I must have taken down over 1,000 bad guys, including punks, mercenaries in various armor, rolling or flying drones, a few ED-209 droids, the yakuza-like droids from RoboCop 3, and jetpack-wielding mercenaries. They were quite fun to battle, offering the same intense action as Rogue City. However, the yakuza droids with katanas were surprisingly brittle, faltering with just one shot from my pistol, which made them feel like a pointless enemy.
Weapons-wise, you get most of the guns from Rogue City, plus a minigun and a freeze gun. Both are fun to use-the freeze gun's effect looks quite good, freezing large areas and killing multiple enemies at once. As in Rogue City, you earn XP for upgrades. I recommend investing in combat and combat-like abilities, as the others feel less important here, unlike in Rogue City. You can also collect chips for your pistol, and by the end, my service weapon was so powerful I felt like a Terminator. It was okay, though, since it felt earned. The puzzles for enhancing your pistol, carried over from Rogue City, provide a nice break from the action. The level design is quite good, though nothing extraordinary. Enemies pop out from various small rooms, and while they're not the smartest NPCs, they come in droves.
When you're not fighting, quieter moments let you walk through residential areas, meet NPCs, and tackle side content. Unfortunately, these side missions are very bare-bones, often just involving finding the right person and delivering information. As far as I can see, your choices don't impact the ending. There are also moments where you play as characters other than RoboCop, including a brief stint as one of the evil mercenaries. While these serve as exposition for the plot, some felt pointless.
The story and setting remind me a lot of the movie Dredd, which I love, so I didn't mind the similarities. However, the game lacks polish. RoboCop's mouth doesn't always move while talking, and I noticed frame drops at times. The ending felt rushed and lackluster, which was disappointing. On the plus side, the voice acting is fine, and it's great to hear Peter Weller as RoboCop again.
The music is amazing, especially when the original soundtrack kicks in during action-heavy moments-it's used sparingly, making it feel special. The other music suits the game just fine. Overall, RoboCop: Unfinished Business isn't as polished or epic as Rogue City, but that's okay for a standalone DLC. It delivers solid action and a decent story, even if it stumbles in execution. I give it a 7/10.
As someone who's always avoided Souls-like games after a brief, frustrating encounter with Bloodborne, I approached Stellar Blade with skepticism. Its steep difficulty and slower combat didn't suit me, so I've ignored the genre until recently. After enjoying the parry-and-dodge mechanics in Clair Obscur 33, I decided to give Stellar Blade a chance on my PS5, roughly a year after its release. To my delight, it was a thrilling, polished experience that hooked me from start to finish.
Set in a distant future, Stellar Blade plunges you into a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wasteland overrun by monstrous Naytiba. You play as Eve, part of the 7th Airborne Squad, sent from an off-world Colony led by the AI Mother Sphere to reclaim the planet. The game starts with a chaotic airborne assault, throwing you into action quickly. The prologue feels intense but brief, and the first level showcases the game's strengths, with jaw-dropping graphics that are not only superimpressive but also remarkably stable, delivering a visually stunning experience without hiccups.
The game blends linear levels with sandbox gameplay later, and I found the meticulously crafted linear sections far superior to the open-world parts. The ruined cityscapes are hauntingly beautiful, immersing you in a desolate world.
Combat is the core of Stellar Blade, focusing on melee with Eve's sword. It demands precise dodging and parrying, which was daunting for someone like me who struggles with parrying. I relied heavily on dodging, and while bosses were tough, defeating them was incredibly rewarding. Naytiba enemies are diverse, with lesser ones being manageable and varied, while alpha and semi-alpha bosses require strategy. Special moves, unlocked through dodges and parries, make combat feel dynamic and stylish. A firearm becomes available later, working decently against bosses. One gripe is the resource system: grenades and extra health packs don't replenish after death, and since gold doesn't respawn, tough bosses can become harder if you're low on funds. Occasionally, grenades fail to register during a boss's animation, which is frustrating but rare.
Traversal in the linear sections is generally smooth but has flaws. I struggled with platforming, like grabbing ropes mid-air or swinging on metal bars, often falling to my death due to clunky animations or mistimed jumps. These moments were irritating but didn't derail the experience. At times, I felt lost, unsure of where to go, though this was more my oversight than poor design.
Puzzles, such as chest-opening challenges or moving blocks, add variety and work well. The story, while intriguing, felt murky in terms of character motivations, but the world-building and atmosphere kept me engaged. The soundtrack, with its mellow vocal tracks, perfectly complements the mood, drawing you deeper into the world. I hope more games follow this example.
Some online criticism has targeted Eve's appearance, camera angles, and outfit options. It's for the most part the gamers choice. Throughout the game you can find outfits, that either are revealing or not.
I appreciated that the game never lingers on her looks-Eve is fully dedicated to her mission, which I found refreshing. Her companions, Adam and Lily, add depth. Adam, speaking through a drone, has a voice reminiscent of Prey's January, adding nostalgic charm. Lily, the optimistic engineer, brings warmth to the grim setting.
Halfway through, the game opens into a sandbox environment with side missions. These often felt like fetch quests or recycled boss fights with minor tweaks, paling in comparison to the linear sections. Some side missions required revisiting linear levels for previously inaccessible items, which felt tedious. A particularly brutal main storyline segment forces you to fight four bosses in a row, which was excruciating, especially with limited resources for grenades and extra health packs.
It took me 33 hours to finish Stellar Blade, though it could've hit 40+ with more side quests. Despite some clunky traversal, resource frustrations, and weaker open-world segments, the game's tight combat, breathtaking and stable graphics, and immersive atmosphere made it a standout. Stellar Blade was a delightful surprise, earning a 9/10 from me. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Set in a distant future, Stellar Blade plunges you into a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wasteland overrun by monstrous Naytiba. You play as Eve, part of the 7th Airborne Squad, sent from an off-world Colony led by the AI Mother Sphere to reclaim the planet. The game starts with a chaotic airborne assault, throwing you into action quickly. The prologue feels intense but brief, and the first level showcases the game's strengths, with jaw-dropping graphics that are not only superimpressive but also remarkably stable, delivering a visually stunning experience without hiccups.
The game blends linear levels with sandbox gameplay later, and I found the meticulously crafted linear sections far superior to the open-world parts. The ruined cityscapes are hauntingly beautiful, immersing you in a desolate world.
Combat is the core of Stellar Blade, focusing on melee with Eve's sword. It demands precise dodging and parrying, which was daunting for someone like me who struggles with parrying. I relied heavily on dodging, and while bosses were tough, defeating them was incredibly rewarding. Naytiba enemies are diverse, with lesser ones being manageable and varied, while alpha and semi-alpha bosses require strategy. Special moves, unlocked through dodges and parries, make combat feel dynamic and stylish. A firearm becomes available later, working decently against bosses. One gripe is the resource system: grenades and extra health packs don't replenish after death, and since gold doesn't respawn, tough bosses can become harder if you're low on funds. Occasionally, grenades fail to register during a boss's animation, which is frustrating but rare.
Traversal in the linear sections is generally smooth but has flaws. I struggled with platforming, like grabbing ropes mid-air or swinging on metal bars, often falling to my death due to clunky animations or mistimed jumps. These moments were irritating but didn't derail the experience. At times, I felt lost, unsure of where to go, though this was more my oversight than poor design.
Puzzles, such as chest-opening challenges or moving blocks, add variety and work well. The story, while intriguing, felt murky in terms of character motivations, but the world-building and atmosphere kept me engaged. The soundtrack, with its mellow vocal tracks, perfectly complements the mood, drawing you deeper into the world. I hope more games follow this example.
Some online criticism has targeted Eve's appearance, camera angles, and outfit options. It's for the most part the gamers choice. Throughout the game you can find outfits, that either are revealing or not.
I appreciated that the game never lingers on her looks-Eve is fully dedicated to her mission, which I found refreshing. Her companions, Adam and Lily, add depth. Adam, speaking through a drone, has a voice reminiscent of Prey's January, adding nostalgic charm. Lily, the optimistic engineer, brings warmth to the grim setting.
Halfway through, the game opens into a sandbox environment with side missions. These often felt like fetch quests or recycled boss fights with minor tweaks, paling in comparison to the linear sections. Some side missions required revisiting linear levels for previously inaccessible items, which felt tedious. A particularly brutal main storyline segment forces you to fight four bosses in a row, which was excruciating, especially with limited resources for grenades and extra health packs.
It took me 33 hours to finish Stellar Blade, though it could've hit 40+ with more side quests. Despite some clunky traversal, resource frustrations, and weaker open-world segments, the game's tight combat, breathtaking and stable graphics, and immersive atmosphere made it a standout. Stellar Blade was a delightful surprise, earning a 9/10 from me. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.
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