Bleach Review: Don't Chase a Shadow

"Can't believe I'm fighting someone with a gun again"

Shunsui and Lille begin their fight and while Shunsui is using his unique Zanpakuto abilities Lille is proving to be quite the match.

I guess I don't really have much to say about this chapter, I mean it was interesting and the artwork with it's use of shadows was great but all in all it was just one big explanation of powers. It's always great to see Shunsui's Zanpakuto in action because it is so unique with it's ability to turn children's games into reality but he went on such a long rant about his new game and maybe because of the translate errors but didn't get some of it. From what I can tell Shunsui's new ability is based on the Japanese game Darumasan ga Koronda (which is like Americana's Red light, Green light) and Lille was attack a fake doll of Shunsui because he keep his eyes and sense on that. We also get more on an explanation on sensing Reiatsu in the middle of battle which was what Shunsui was taking advantage of. We also then get Shunsui using Kageoni shadow ability which is always awesome to see but Lille still proves quite a match by saying he can even shoot through the shadows. Besides that there is not much else to talk about but I will mention the artwork again because it is great; Kubo does such a great job of making Shunsui laidback in one panel but then so menacing in the next. Also thought I'd mention that it is a shame Shunsui has told the rest of the Soul Reapers to go on a head because I would have really liked to have seen more try to take on Lille, plus there isn't that much Sternritter compared to the Soul Reapers so we can't just keep having these one on one fights.

Shunsui's shadow moves have always been awesome!

Overall the chapter was really long winded but hopefully that means we can just have some fighting next time and maybe Shunsui will release his Bankai soon.

SCORE: 5/10

Highlights: Awesome artwork
                   Lille vs. Shunsui has the makings to be a great fight

Let - Downs: Too much explaining of the new abilities
                      Barely anything really happened

Gotham Season One: Red Hood

"Bang!"

When several banks are robbed by the Red Hood Gang Gordon and Bullock investigate meanwhile Fish does something drastic and Alfred reunites with an old friend.

Finally get two origins I have been wanting to see for ages; Alfred and the Red Hood Gang and I didn't expect the latter until season two, I'll start with them first and I got to say that the Red Hood Gang is one of my favourite origins so far. I always enjoyed seeing them in the comic and that they are connected to the Joker however I liked that in this the red hood itself became sort of a symbol of power. It was interesting that the gang members fought and killed over it and the way it saved one of their lives, made them famous and gave other confidence made me sort of believe that it could be a kind of cursed object. I do hope the red hood surfaces again and maybe the Joker could be part of the gang in the future; I still believe he was in the last episode and not the kid at the end. As for the gang themselves I did really like them, their different personalities and goals, the cool shootout with the GCPD and that the citizens started to cheer them on as vigilantes; all in all the Red Hood Gang was pretty damn great in this episode. As for Alfred it was of course obvious for a while he had some dark military past but it was great that we got some light she'd on it. He had some great scenes with Reginald like how good friends he is with him but didn't approve of his less honourable method of fight Reginald was teaching Bruce. I think for the next few episodes it might focus on Bruce tracking down Reginald but the reveal of the Wayne board behind Alfred's stabbing was a pleasant surprise and I just wonder how Bruce will deal with them.

Avenge him Bruce!!

As for the rest of the episode Fish's eye stabbing was gruesome and cool and it is great we may see the Dollmaker soon but it felt over the top. I mean is being leader of a group of nobodies in a basement important enough to mess with the Dollmaker or stab her own eye out? However I was more interested in her former comrade Butch whose brainwashing is not what I thought it would be like. He still seems to act like himself but the scars and shaky hands is a reminder that he is different now and very helpful to Penguin by securing some booze for him. I had read some criticism that Penguin doesn't seem to know anything at all but they need to remember that he is young and new at this and I like that the brainwashed Butch is teaching him a few things. Finally the Barbara moment with Ivy and Selina would have been nice if she still wasn't drinking heavily; why do writers (Gotham and Arrow) feel the need to put their female characters through substance abuse? It gets no sympathy from me, especially with Barbara when it is ALL HER FAULT things ended with Gordon, and I just think these characters can go through different crucibles to change. Also props to Selina for wounding Barbara like that; honestly what the hell was Barbara going on about with that whole beauty weapon stuff?

Got to admit that, that is really cool

Overall despite just two minor flaws this was a really solid episode with a great origin story to the Red Hood Gang.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Origins on Alfred and the Red Hood Gang
                   Penguin and Butch team up
                   Fish stabbing her eye out but........

Let - Downs: ...........Might have been too much just to be leader of a basement?
                      Barbara as always

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/

The Flash Season One: Rouge Time

The Woman With The Golden Gun

As Barry deals with the consequences of time travel Captain Cold and Heat Wave return to wreck havoc in Central City however this time Cold has brought along his little sister; Lisa Snart AKA Golden Glider (Peyton List).

For a whole week I have been wondering how well they where going to deal with the consequences of time travel and I think this episode proved that it was handled really well. I have read comments that some are disappointed that all of last episode's developments are gone now but I myself really didn't mind because that is how I expected time travel to work in this. Firstly I didn't mind too much that Weather Wizard was defeated in a few seconds because he is such a major member of the Rogues (and played by a well known actor) that I am sure we will see him again soon. Next Wells did a good job of explaining the dangers of time travel and I liked how similar things happened this episode but turned out differently such as Iris rejecting Barry and Wells telling Cisco he is like a son to him but not killing him in the end. Plus Barry's actions did lead to the death of Mason who uncovered more than he should of; I both liked and disliked this because it was cool we got to see Reverse Flash phase through objects (a skill Speedsters have in the comics) but I did like Mason and it is a shame he is out now when he hasn't been in it for that long. Finally this also gave Eobard Thawne a chance to remain Wells for a little bit longer now however that might not last for long with Barry now suspecting him but I doubt he is going to just come out and say something straight away. As for the other Thawne Eddie may have apologised for punching Barry but maybe there was more to it than just Iris, maybe he was affected by the change in the time line?

Always great seeing the Reverse Flash 

Now this episode also saw the return of the Rogues and it is always great to see Captain Cold and Heat Wave and I really liked the debut of Lisa. I liked the banter between her and Cold and how she tricked Cisco (can't blame him though) however if I am honest her gold gun was a bit silly which she does not have in the comics. I also liked the pact Cold made with Barry because it is similar to the way the Rogues work in the comics in that their main goal is The Flash and that they once killed a member for killing a civilian. This was also a Cisco heavy episode again and we actually got to find out more about his family which is something I wanted to learn more of for ages. I liked the rivalry that existed between Cisco and his brother and that Cisco, despite complaining about his brother a lot, still cared enough about him to reveal The Flash's identity. Who could really blame him because Cold was really damn brutal with his torture but Carlos Valdes did an awesome job of showing how much Cisco was tearing himself up over it. My only gripe with the Rogues and Cisco arc of this episode is maybe there could have been more action, the casino scene was basically the only one.

"A few more members and we can have our own biker gang; The Rogues"

Overall I think this was a great follow up to the last episode and it is always good when Cisco has the central spotlight.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Return of the Rogues and debut of Lisa
                   Showing the consequences of time travel
                   Cisco heavy episode

Let - Downs: The gold gun
                      The death of Mason
                      Could have used some more fights

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/     

Revolution Season One: Nobody's Fault But Mine

Half way through the series now.

This episode begins with a Flashback five years after The Blackout where Miles, Monroe and their Militia are fighting in the ruins of Trenton, New Jersey in a what would later be known as the Trenton Campaign. Monroe jokes about how they would be forced to use swords soon because ammunition is running out but Miles is hurt. He tells Monroe to leave him but Monroe refuses sayings that if Miles dies he will die with him.


Joking about using sword; you got to love unintentional foreshadowing 

It then changes to the present and the group are moving through the streets of Philadelphia at night and Charlie is still feeling bad because of the knock to the head last episode. Miles manages to get them inside the house of an old friend of his when he was in the Militia and then leaves to group to find out where Danny is. In Impendence Hall Tom tells Monroe that Miles is likely in the city (because they found the body of Wheatley) and suggests he moves to their base in Boston for a while however Monroe refuses to run from Miles. Not long after that Charlie, Aaron and Nora are captured by Tom who guessed this was one of the few places Miles would try to hide them.

"All according to my plan"

Charlie is thrown in to cell away from the others, which her mother is also in as well and of course she is shocked to find her still alive. Rachael tries to explain but Charlie does not want to hear it because they need to escape and find Danny. Meanwhile Tom has Aaron and Nora in a separate place as bait for Miles to try and rescue. Tom also recognizes Aaron from computer magazines before The Blackout and says that even though he was a fan of his work, he is glad that a once millionaire is helpless at the hands of a once faceless paper - pusher.

How the tables have turned

Miles goes back to the house but notices the presence of Militia and instead goes to Tom's house before Tom gets back. He holds his sword to Julia's throat and demands that Aaron and Nora be brought to him, which Tom reluctantly leaves to do. Back in the cells Charlie and Rachael try to escape but are stopped by the arrival of Strausser who brings them to a beaten Danny. Monroe then orders Strausser to shot one of Rachael's children if she doesn't finish the amplifier that Jaffe was working on. Charlie insists that her mom shouldn't finish the amplifier for Monroe and even says to Strausser to kill her but Rachael breaks and says that she will complete it. Tom brings Aaron and Nora to Miles though he insists he cannot bring Charlie or Danny but says that they are being held at an old power plant, Miles then locks Tom and Julia in a closet before leaving.

"This is the first time your meeting me Charlie, you should be honoured"

The next morning Miles, Aaron and Nora make it to the power plant and find that it is heavily guarded, lucky for them Aaron knows where the back service tunnel is and Miles and Nora infiltrate it while Aaron stays outside with a bag of explosives to blow the front gate. In Monroe's office in the plant Baker asks Monroe if he can bring himself to kill Miles and we then have a Flashback two years before The Blackout. Turns out Monroe's parents and little sisters where killed by a drunk driver and Monroe is at their grave contemplating suicide however Miles shows up and convinces him out of it insisting that they are still brothers.

"Don't hog all the booze Bass"

Rachael then manages to complete the amplifier and at that time Charlie and Danny have escaped from their cell and Miles and Nora have gotten inside the plant and of course all hell breaks loose. After leaving Charlie and Danny with Nora, Miles goes after Rachael who has killed Strausser and after a tense reunion with Miles leaves with him. Baker however catches up with them but they both escape then come face to face with Monroe.

Now your using cover Charlie!

Miles tells Rachael to go and confronts Monroe himself and in a Flashback we see that the two of them have been friends since they where kids and that the Monroe 'M' actually stands for both of their names. Monroe asks Miles to re-join saying that it hasn't been the same since he left and that he will forgive him for trying to kill him. However Miles refuses believing that Monroe has gone too far and saying that he is nothing to him now, this enrages Monroe who draws his swords. After a truly epic clash they are interrupted by Baker and some Militia and Monroe orders them to kill Miles but he manages to escape. 

Like some epic boss battle

Outside the Aaron manages to blow the front gate and the group, which is all reunited, escapes from the plant. The episode ends with the group running across a grassy field but slowly turns around and stares at UH-1 'Huey' helicopter, imprinted with the Monroe emblem and equipped with an amplifier, takes off in the distance.

Yep you are all screwed

I guess the hunting for Danny arc is now fully over and the end of this episode indicts that that war between the group and a Monroe Republic with power has truly begun.

Now that was quite the awesome episode and that is that after nine episodes of the group making their way to the heart of the Republic they finally made it and it did not disappoint. I didn't expect it to be all fitted in to one episode, I thought they would spend one episode sneaking around the city but they only did that for barely the first half of the episode and they rest was an epic confrontation at the power plant.

They used this shot in the trailer

The first part with Tom capturing the group was really good however I thought it was resolved a bit too fast because Miles immediately found out about the ambush and threatened Tom's wife who then immediately frees Aaron and Nora. Also because Tom was then locked in a closet he was not part of the big showdown at the plant and that was a shame because I think he could have been great there. Maybe because Tom is one of my favourite characters but I wanted to have seen him involved in the latter half of the episode.

Even if it's powerful that is one ugly amplifier

Next is the action that happened inside of the plant and it was some of the best that Revolution has had so far. We got some awesome gun fighting with Charlie and when Miles and Nora first got in but what was truly a standout was the fight between Miles and Monroe. It has been really hyped of a major confrontation between these two characters and it lived up to it; we had them fighting over that rifle, Monroe dual wielding against Miles. It was all shot brilliantly, none of it looked fake and it was not some over the top, jumping all over the place sword fight. We also got more back story on the two of them and that Miles has refused Monroe's offer to re - join the Republic and I have to say that I side and sympathise more with Monroe. When his family was killed Monroe only had Miles and he just tired to kill him and then abandon him, Miles really has to take responsibly that he has influence Monroe in to who he is now.

You wasted your chance Miles

Finally we got a truly awesome shot of that helicopter at the end, it was really cool how they did it; hearing the blades whirl in the background, the group slowly realizing what it is and the look on their faces when they see a helicopter for the first time in fifteen years. One of the best reaction shots in the entire series, even more than when the light house was turned on.

"I haven't been idle these past fifteen years Miles"

Two things that I wished could have been different, and this first one is small, is that I wish we could have seen just a bit more of Philadelphia. As I mentioned above I didn't expect the infiltration of the city to be done in one episode so we didn't get a chance to see what the people are like there and just how the way of life is at the capital. Secondly (and again) Rachael does ruin parts of this episode for me because I can't believe she is the one to kill Strausser, I wanted him to go out a lot better than that I just hate it when Rachael kills people in the series. Its hard to explain but it just feels wrong and makes me hate her even more; like when she killed someone like Jaffe and I just wish someone like Charlie or Miles killed Strausser because they probably wouldn't have gloated over his corpse like she did.

Baker should defiantly have been in the series a lot more

Overall this is one of the best episodes of the series and a great mid season finale because they went on a break for a couple of months when this was airing.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Miles and Monroe confrontation
                   Showdown at the power plant
                   The shot of the helicopter at the end

Let - Downs: Tom not part of the second half
                      Strausser deserved a better death
                      Didn't see as much of Philadelphia as I would have liked

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/

Game Review: Hitman Absolution

  

Been awhile since my last review but now I am back with a review of a really great game; Hitman Absolution. I wanted to review the Hitman HD trilogy but I have had Absolution a lot longer so it just feels right to review this first.

Hitman Absolution stars Agent 47 who, after the events of Hitman Blood Money, has been assigned to find and assassinate his old handler with the I.C.A; Diana Burnwood, who has went rouge and plans to expose the agency. Upon completing the mission 47decides to go break off from the agency himself and keep a girl named Victoria safe, which was the dying wish of Diana. 47 is now a rouge agent with the I.C.A, the police and even an arms manufacturing company after him and all because of this mysterious girl Victoria.

The story in this game is a real strong suit for it since I feel there is a lot more depth in it than the previous entries, I think the better graphics have contributed to that but there is more to it. For example I think that there is a proper overarching story to the whole game now than just a series of hits to complete. It has a lot of surprises in it and seeing 47 has a rouge agent now and seeing him dealing with it through the cut scenes.

Has for the gameplay it has many features from the previous games that we know and love and many of them have been improved. For example controlling 47 has never felt easier; I don't know about anyone else but for the other games the controls felt a little bit awkward, as if the games did not make the move from PC to console very well. The movement in this game is a lot more fluid, especially when it comes to the shooting which I will go in to detail about now.

The shooting in the game is still similar to the other ones, where the camera angle is behind 47 and it goes to over the shoulder but there was no need to change this anyway. One great aspect that has been added is instinct mode a kind of sonar like vision which allows 47 to predict enemies movements to a certain degree, it however uses a gauge so you have to be careful how long you use it for, this gauge however change be refilled by taking out enemies and completing objectives. Another new mechanic that uses the gauge is a bullet time mode which lets 47 slow down time; while in this state he can mark targets and then quickly take them out and it was a hell of a fun! This slow down of time however uses a lot of the gauge so it cannot be spammed which I think is a good thing; stops players from relying on it too much.

Now one thing that has always been the main attraction of the Hitman games was it's massive level design and the ingenious ways you can use the environment to your advantage and that is still the case here. The levels in this have been broken down in to different areas, kind of like checkpoints, but each area is still expansive and detailed be it either Chinatown or the hotel. My favourite level is the strip club were, like most of the other levels, there are many ways to kill your target which encourages replay a definite plus for any game.

One thing however that is present in every level is the point system which may or may not be a good thing. On the one hand we can keep track of our scores constantly so we can know how well we are doing and this is a good thing if we are trying to get the high score. However it good be rather off putting sometimes when we see are scores reduced for a small mistake made at the last minute. Made me thing more than once of replying the level to get it right even though everything else was going good.

Another thing that might irk some old players, but like the score this is a matter of preference, is that in this game we cannot chose are weapons and prepare ourselves before hand. This is explained in the story because 47 is a rouge agent and now has to procure weapons on site but some may have wanted to chose their weapons first. This does not bother me but it may bother some other die hard fans of the old system. As for the weapons there is plenty of them from 47's trusted Silverballers to sniper rifles and machine guns and a lot of melee weapons from knife to household items. This once again adds to the many ways you can take out your targets.

With online being a big craze nowadays it would have been weird not for Hitman Absolution to include one and I have to say it is one of most favourite online mode I have played. What you have to do is replay levels you have played but now you can chose the targets and the method in how to take them out and these targets can be anyone; from the enemies you already encountered in the story to civilians you passed. After you have completed the mission you can post it online to see if anyone else can pull it off, it is a compelling and interesting mode for online and I spent hours trying to create the hardest level.

Two things however was a bit of a let down however and first is with the many disguises that 47 can use throughout the game. Even if you change in to a disguise to enter a restricted area the enemies can still spot you regardless if you do anything suspicious or not. For example if you dress like a police officer you can still be spotted by other police officers unless you constantly hold the R1 button to hide your face. This was not in the other games and it felt like unnecessary to add that in here. This makes it hard to enjoy infiltrating places in a disguise like before and holding the R1 constantly drains the gauge which is annoying.

One more thing which was disappointing was the bosses that they have in it; they are no different from ordinary foes. For example I was really looking forward to facing the Saints in the games; a group of leather clad, dominatrix nuns who I thought were really cool. However when their level game they just acted like the other patrols around them which was a shame. I don't know how else the could have done it, I just wanted them to be more unique.  

Moving on to the graphics and I have to say that they are stunning! The facial expressions of all the characters are the best they have ever been because for the previous games, like the controls, I found the graphics would have suited a PC more than a console. The same can be said for the levels which look so detailed, I don't think I have a single bad thing to say about the graphic here it suited the game perfectly.

Lastly the characters where all well acting and thought out in this games from David Bateson as the ever awesome 47 to Keith Carradine as the antagonist Blake Dexter, who can be a real ass in some of the cut scenes lol. There are off course many great side characters as well like Powers Boothe as Benjamin Travis the head of ICA, Traci Lords as Layla Stockton, Jon Gries had Sheriff Clive Skurky and many great more.

Overall Absolution is my favourite entry to the series let down only by the disguise and the bosses but despite that this is a most have for anyone's Hitman collection.

SCORE: 8/10 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revolution Season Two Episodes 1 – 9, Thoughts So Far and why I like it this series so much

I am now back with some more reviews but I have decided to do something a bit different today and do an overview Revolution Season Two episodes 1 – 9 as a whole and how much I have liked it so far. I have decided to do this for two reasons; Revolution is one of my favourite TV series currently airing right now I can not get enough of it and secondly it is because here in the UK I think the series is back on Saturday and I wanted to do this quick review before then.

Also because I will be discussing the characters and events in season two so far there will be MAJOR SPOILERS, I will be going really in depth in them.

So as always I will start off with a quick summary of the story; it has been six months after the events of season one finale and Randall had successfully launched nuclear missiles at the Monroe Republic and The Georgia Federation, destroying their capital cities and removing the two new superpowers. Miles, Rachael and Aaron have taken shelter in the small town of Willoughby, Texas with Rachael’s father Gene Porter (Stephen Collins), the town doctor. Charlie meanwhile has decided to leave the group and wander the Plains Nations while Neville and his son Jason are trying to find any news of his wife in numerous refugee camps. While everyone copes with the consequences of the events six months ago a large group calling themselves The Patriots have arrived in several places across America and claim to be remnants of the United States government that have come to restore order and take back the country.

One of the reasons why I like this new plot so much is because it borrows from a famous conspiracy theory that a secret organization will one day destroy the world and then rebuild it the way they want and that is exactly who The Patriots are. Randall admitted working for them before killing himself so we know they dropped the bombs whether or not they knew what the nanites would do and intentionally shut off the power is something that is yet to be revealed. Even though however I really miss the Monroe Republic these Patriots are shady enough that I want to know more about them. Speaking of the nanites we delve deeper in to their working then in the previous season because now they seem to have developed think beyond their programming. As a child representation says to Aaron in the ninth episode ‘He woke them up’ I for one am very interested to see what this new A.I. can do and what it is fully capable of.

Now on to the characters and I will start off with the recurring ones starting off with Miles and Monroe. Like in the first season I have no complaints about Miles he is a badass character and a great leader for the series and I hope he will continue to be so. As for Monroe, though he was a great antagonist in the first season, this season he sides with the good guys and tries to redeem himself to them. I really like this with Monroe because he is now a guy who has completely lost everything now and has become a sympathetic character and it is great to see him and Miles working together now instead of trying to kill each other.

As for Rachael in my last review you will recall that I did not like her that much and that is still the case here. Her back story and her involvement with the Blackout could make great character I admit that, I just really wished they get rid of the smug look she always wears, her always right attitude and her detached personality. For example she finds out her father is cooperating with the Patriots and she acts like it that is even more wrong then him killing or raping someone and she then goes to kill him with a mixer of poison chemicals (Miles stopped her though). I mean for Gods sake Rachael you did not even ask him why he is working for then or how much he is loyal to them. Gene even asks her ‘Haven’t you ever done something bad for the right reasons’ and that is a good point. Rachel worked on the nanites which, when released, kind of caused the deaths of millions then she turned the power back on for Randall to fire the missiles, indirectly causing the deaths of thousands and it was all because she thought she was doing the right thing and did not care what anyone else thought. Sorry for ranting on so much about her but unlike Andrea on the Walking Dead she had the potential to be a good character if they just dialled her down a bit.

Now for my favourite character which is Aaron, some have disliked his character arc in this season because he seems to have control of the nanites and can make them heal wounds and burn people alive, I for one like this development. I want to know more about the nanites and what they can do and I like that they have given the power to Aaron because his character struggles with his usefulness in this new world while this new power might mean that he has more worth than he realises. However those who dislike this arc might rejoice now because the powers seem to leave him in episode nine either forever or temporary. I want it to be only temporary because as I just said I am very like and am very interested in this development of Aaron and the nanites.

Next I want to go in to three characters who I feel have not had much development in this season as they should have had; Charlie, Neville and Jason. Charlie’s character in the first season was great because he had to rescue her brother and then avenge him and we get to see her develop from a sheltered girl of her tiny village to a rebel fighter. In this season however she does not contribute much to the story at all and feels out of place with the fight against the Patriots, the only notable thing she has done so far is bring Monroe to Miles that is it. It is shame and I hope that this changes when the series returns. As for Neville and Jason I think their role in infiltrating the Patriots is great because we get to see more Patriot activity outside of Texas and Neville is one hell of a good manipulator. However I don’t think this part of the season has been given much screen time or progress; a lot of things have happened in Texas, lots of events and happenings but I don’t feel that much has happened when the episode changes to Neville and Jason.

Now I want to discuss two new characters that have been great additions to the series; Gene Porter and Dr. Calvin Horn (Zeljiko Ivanek). Gene is a great character and it is interesting to see him struggling with is involvement with the Patriots and helping out his family. He dislikes what the Patriots are doing but he owes them a lot, as I mentioned above he has seen and done terrible things for them but it has all been for good reasons. I want to know whose side he will decide to take in the end.

Next is a Patriot doctor and advisor Calvin Horn who has come to Texas to investigate the strange behaviour in the nanites recently and is quick to notice that Aaron is the cause. I like it when he showed up because it proves that the Patriots are more aware of the nanites and what they have been doing than we might have thought and that they obviously want to control them. Why and how is still unknown but it is possible that, like the Monroe Republic before them, they want to be the ones who control all the power.

Back to Horn though the thing I really like about him is that he is not just some Patriot lackey who is just following orders, the reason he wants Aaron and his powers so bad is because he has a tumour in his brain. In the end he did not care much for Patriots plans and only wanted the nanites healing powers to live. He had a great back story and his acting is so well done that it is a shame that he is only in it for a couple of episodes (four I think), but he goes down hard by first causing the death of Aaron’s new girlfriend and indirectly causing Aaron to lose his powers.

Overall episodes one to nine of this season have been great so far, introducing interesting new characters and a great new replacement group for the Monroe Republic. I am not going to give these episodes a score out of ten; I will wait until I see the rest of the season.

Now I would just like to address the rather disturbing news that I have heard in these past few months that Revolution has had a break and that is that NBC is unsure about renewing it for a third season. That would be the most stupid decision that could possibly make and I will give you the reasons why;

It has a strong fan base: I am following Revolution on Twitter and on Facebook and I am confident in saying that this show has a MASSIVE fan base (including myself). I read the comments people put up on those social sites and it seems to me that they will have a thing or two to say if it is cancelled after season 2.

It is something really different: Besides being a great sci fi and adventure/action series it is really something unique. I mean if they get rid of this what are they going to replace it with; a family or friends comedy set in a big American city? There are only about a hundred of those airing already!!

There is still room for more: Luckily Revolution get over twice as much episodes in one season then most shows have; it has over twenty while most have between ten and twelve (Game of Thrones and Falling Skies for example). However I am unsure if they can resolve everything with just this season, I really think they need at least two more seasons that would be perfect. Even if they only have just a third season and it is really good than I think I can be happy with that (it will end with over sixty episodes).

Thos are just are few arguments about why it should have a third season even though I am sure there are lots more. Now I just want to say why I like this show so much and why it is one of my favourites.

One of the first things I liked about it while I was watching season one was that despite it being a post apocalyptic show, humanity has not been completely screwed. Let’s take the Walking Dead for example; great show and comic book however it annoys me sometimes with how easily man has fallen to the apocalypse. Sure they fight zombies in that so it is not a very fair comparison but at least in Revolution we get to see a world were people has managed to rebuild.

Second is a continuation of the first and that is how interesting this new world is and what a great job they did at bringing it to life. It is fifteen years after the Blackout and there are numerous republics to replace the old America; Monroe, Georgia and the Plains Nation for example. So during season one when they were travelling all across the country to get Danny back and restore the power I just loved seeing how the world has changed and it was one of the biggest highlights of the series. Also of course we now have the awakened nanites so it is going to be interesting to see what more they can do.

Another is the awesome fight scenes that they have had in both seasons. It is always a mix of sword fighting and shootouts and both have always been on the edge of your seat brutal.

Lastly are the characters they have created for the season and I think they have done a good job of making every one of them unique. Take Miles for example; the leader type who is one of the good guys but has probably killed more people than any bomb! But despite that you can always say he just tries to do the right thing in his own violent way and that he is a character with a lot of inner conflicts. Then there are the rest of the superb cast like Charlie, Aaron and Neville to name but a few.

However it is not even the main characters but even the minor characters that have influenced this show a lot. Maggie in season one for example had a really sad death scene which started to cause a change in Charlie that I think as shaped her in to the person she is in season two. Then there is Charlie’s dad Ben who dies in the first episode of season one but who is still so important to the story that he appears in a lot of major flashbacks later. Even I will say that Ben Matheson is one of my favourite characters and I wished Rachael was killed off in stead of him and that is mostly because Rachael only cares about herself, cheated on him numerous times and is the most unlike able character in the show. However since I can not change what they have done I hope something comes up in season two that involves work he had done and we see him in more flashbacks.

There you have it, my review for season two so far, why it should continue and why I like it so much. I may have ranted on for ages but this is one of my favourite shows and I just like it so much. I can not wait for it to continue here in the UK, I have no idea what happens after episode nine of season two even though it is past that in the US (I have not even read about it).

TV Series Review: The Walking Dead Season Two

Took me longer than I thought to get round to this but I am finally doing a review for The Walking Dead season two. As always these reviews contain spoilers so I advise you not to read this review unless you have watched season two first.

This season begins almost immediately after the events of the final episode of season one and Rick and his group have now left the Atlanta area and are now on the road. Without going in to too much depth of the plot this season focuses on the events of the graphic novel that takes place at a farm owned by a man named Hershel Green (Scott Wilson) and he lives there with his daughter Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and several others.

What I immediately like about this season is that the number of episodes has been increased from six to thirteen and it introduces more characters from the graphic novel. However while this is great it is also a let down because it means more room for filler that was not included from the source material. A notable example of this is that a lot of the content for episodes one through seven focuses on finding Sophia Peletier (Madison Lintz), the daughter of Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). Even thought this story arc is interesting I just felt that it did not need seven episodes to devote to it. Also another example stretching out something that seems trivial is that half of an episode is about the group trying to pull a zombie out of a well and another is deciding whether or not to kill someone they captured who is from a dangerous group. I know deciding to kill some one is a serious thing to do but it took a whole episode and really nothing else happens in it.

However I am not saying that all original stuff in this season is bad there is a great episode where Shane goes to a school to find surgery equipment, a shootout at a bar, a fight between Rick and Shane and the final episode are all great moments. The final episode is really great because any zombie killing action moments that might be lacking in some of this season’s episodes are all made up here.

The new cast additions are great, especially Hershel who is really similar to is comic counterpart and whose acting is great. It is really seeing him and Rick’s conflicting views on the zombies for the first half of the season. The rest of Hershel’s family and friends are great as well and the old cast still does a great job but once again this is let down slightly by Andrea who I have mentioned before as being a complete miscast and annoying character. She is more annoying than ever now that she wants tries to act tough with a gun; she listens to no one and thinks she is the best zombie killer of the group. There is a scene where Lori says she dies nothing to help out anymore only stands on the RV with a gun getting a tan and she is right about that. Andrea contributes nothing to this season what so ever; her character development is uninteresting and not done well and she has no major consequence on what is happening.

Now I will be talking about the deaths of a few characters now so I am saying again to be wary of the SPOILERS a head, I am leaving nothing out now:

First let us focus on the death of Sophia; in the graphic novel she is a minor character who is mostly there as a romantic interest for Carl. She does not die but neither is she really the most interesting of characters, so since her death scene was done so well in this really took me by surprise. It was really so emotional and you can really tell how hard it was for Rick to but her down when they found her as a zombie. This was one hell of a great moment for the Walking Dead series.

Another death that I think was completely unnecessary however was the death of Dale near the end of the season. He lives a lot longer than this in the graphic novel and was such a major character as well, so killing him at this point at Hershel’s farm was something I did not like even though I did not see it coming. Another thing about it was that he was killed by just one zombie so it was a poor way to kill him, plus Jeffery DeMunn as Dale played the role perfectly so I really wished that is they had to kill a major character early it should have been Andrea.

Finally the death we graphic novel fans have been waiting for was the death of Shane at the hands of Rick and then shot in the head as a zombie by Carl. Like Sophia this was done really well because you can just tell that Rick seriously did not want to kill Shane that he was made to do it. It is a shame that it was not exactly like the death in the graphic novel, fans will notice that the roles of Rick and Carl are reversed in his death. Still it was a good way to end his character who has been around a lot longer than his graphic novel counterpart.

Overall this is a good follow up to season one with interesting new story arcs and characters but it is however let down by those same story arcs being dragged on for an unnecessary long length so it makes some of the episodes feel more or less like filler. No matter how good the rest of the season was because of this fact I have to give this season a lower score than the first one.

SCORE: 6/10