- DB
Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered | For All Mankind, Season Two
Problematic relations all over the place...
MOVIES
- No movie review this time despite having multiple I could write about, only because it looks a bit messy on the main page having the image you click on to get to these posts covered with text.
- There might be one next week, it depends on how quickly I can get through the next game I have lined up or if I want to have a break between seasons of For All Mankind rather than spamming them out once a week.
GAMES
- I said previously when talking about episode one of Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered that I had enjoyed that episode a lot and that turned out to be true for the game as a whole.
- First off, let's get the superficial bit out of the way and state that Before the Storm is the better-looking game and has some genuinely great animation, with loads of little details that really bring the characters to life.
- I also much prefer the Chloe of Before the Storm, which I know is more a result of getting to pick how she reacts to things rather than her being an independent character in Life is Strange, but it doesn't change the fact that I much prefer this younger version of Chloe.
- Having said that, I don't think the writing or performances are anything special, but they do the job and it's always going to be difficult to make things interesting about characters when we already know how things will turn out for them.
- After all, we finally get to meet the mysterious Rachel Amber, whose disappearance preoccupied Chloe's thoughts in the original game right up to the point where you find out what happened to her.
- Rachel has a lot of 'informed positivity' around her character, with constant praise being heaped on her for nothing readily apparent to me, although it never went far enough overboard to the point of making me dislike her either.
- Then there's the bonus episode, "Farewell", which takes place on the day Chloe's father dies as she and Max spend one last day together before the latter leaves for Seattle with her family.
- It's only short, but provides a more direct connection to the first game thanks to controlling Max again, even if it is a little odd to be jumping further back in time than the main story of Before the Storm.
- While I liked Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered, I don't think I can recommend it too strongly as it is limited by its nature as a prequel, in addition to the lack of time travel powers, but it's still a decent little story to enjoy if you liked the first game. [7/10]
TV
- Ooh boy, For All Mankind's second season was a disappointment, coming close to making me give up on the series completely.
- The biggest issue I had is with how the season was structured: a good first episode to establish the status quo, then loads of time spent with the various characters before a final pair of episodes to round out the season with a bang.
- This structure worked for the first season because we're obviously having to not just be introduced to the characters, but also to fully establish who they are and why we should care about them.
- If you really like the characters, then you'll love how much time you get to spend with them in this season, but it does make the world feel a little like it's standing still until the characters are in the right places for the various story threads to progress.
- Having all the action and story substance then crammed into the last two episodes really makes the pair fly along, ending the season in style but also lacking a certain amount of catharsis because it feels like it takes to long to get to that point.
- Apparently, there's a full seven season plan laid out for the show and a lot of what's being shown in the episodes between the season opener and the final pair might well pay off spectacularly in later seasons, but that doesn't make some of the character-centric stuff this season feel any less insubstantial or tedious.
- It's also really odd how the Soviets are being portrayed, swinging wildly from "Hey! They're just like us!" to others suddenly attacking the American base, murdering and torturing people.
- Now that For All Mankind is starting to really enter the realms of science-fiction with the last shot of season two showing someone on Mars in 1995, I'm curious enough to continue, but season three is going to have be much, much better for me to stick with the show beyond that point. [4/10]
