Bleach Review: 565 God Like You

Long time since I have done a review of Bleach but here it is again, I know I said I would group my reviews of Bleach chapters together but this chapter is so damn important that I just had to review this single one. Now as ever I will begin with a quick overview.

This chapter starts off not with a look at the end of the fight between Renji and Mask De Masculine (I will probably do a review of that whole fight soon now that it seems to be completely over) but with a flashback of the birth of a very strange baby. This baby was born in a vegetative state; he could not move, speak hear or pretty much do anything but what he could do was cure the aliments of anyone who touched him be it physical, mental or psychological conditions. The reason for this is that the baby imparts some of its soul in to that individual which gave that person the power to over come his or her condition however once that person dies the part of the baby’s soul would return to him and he would gain the powers and experiences that soul gained while it was outside of the baby. Because of this the baby began to be able to move, see, talk and hear and the first word he heard was the chant to a God that he would take as his name and that name was Yhwach who in his teenage years grew up to look like Tensa Zangetsu! That is right, Tensa Zangetsu has been confirmed to be the younger version of Yhwach which many already had thought (myself included) but it is good to have it confirmed. 

Back in the present day Yhwach is still upon his throne and talks to the soul of Mask De Masculine and tells him to return to him, this confirms that Mask De Masculine and James are in fact dead. Just outside his door Uryu is about to enter before being stopped by Haschwalth, in the ensuring conversation between the two you can just tell these guys hate each other but since Uryu is named as Yhwach successor he seems to tolerate him and even describes more of Yhwachs powers to him. It seems that not only have all of the Sternritter have a part of Yhwach soul placed within them they have also had a letter engraved on their soul that represents their power, this seems to be a more powerful version of the soul imprinting that Yhwach used when he was only a baby. Haschwalth also goes on to say that the Soul Reapers have a part of Yhwach soul within them as well so that no matter which side gets the most losses Yhwach will continue to grow stronger. The chapter ends with the dawn of the second day of fighting as Yhwach wakes up and looks over the battlefield.

This was one hell of a unique chapter, a bit disappointed that we see no other fights or Sternritter but we get an awesome back story on Yhwach and some new revelations. The obvious one of being that Tensa Zangetsu was Yhwach younger version but one of the most important ones was that his power as a baby must have Auswahlen, which is the power to absorb the souls of Quincies which was how he could revive himself in the present day in the first place. 

Second was that Yhwach must always be absorbing the souls of those killed in battle to not only get stronger but to keep himself from going back in to a vegetative state, I am sure this was the seal Yamamoto mentioned when he defeated Yhwach a thousand years ago. Now does this mean that a thousand years ago Yamamoto managed to stop all the fighting and is that what the heroes are going to have to do now? 

Also since not only the Quincy but only the Soul Reapers have a part of Yhwach soul within him, he is just going to get more powerful the longer and bloodier this war becomes.

Lastly it is revealed by Haschwalth that Uryu did indeed join the Vandenreich to avenge his mother who was a victim of Auswahlen but since he drank the blood of Yhwach he is now bond to him like all the other Sternritter. Will Uryu then side with the Vandenreich or will he still try to avenge his mother? I am going to side with the first option because I really don’t see Uryu has a bad guy but the hatred between him and Haschwalth during their conversation kind of foreshadows a possible battle between them.

Now about Yhwach it seems that Kubo has made him out to be some kind of Jesus a little bit; he cured anyone who touched him, he is worshipped by all of his followers and Uryu drank his blood, like people drink wine at church. The Quincy has always had a holy theme going one with them and Yhwach only reinforces this. Not only that but besides from seeming to be unstoppable a this point he is woven in so well in to the Bleach lore in spite of being introduced in the final arc. Kubo I have to say that you have done a great job with this character!

In conclusion this was a great chapter and a nice break from the constant fighting we have had so far. Some might say it was a little slow and they might be right but since it revealed a lot about Yhwach that more than makes up for it.

SCORE: 9/10

Game Review – Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy

My very first review and I have decided to do it on Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy a 2005 interactive movie game developed by Quantic Dream. Before we begin however a quick word; I have decided to review old and classic games and films to start off with and I won’t be using any pictures during the review. The reason for that is because once a few years on Youtube I had a warning about copyright and after that I decided I will never again almost breach it. Also these reviews will not be spoiler free because I will talk a lot about the story.

First off a quick overview of the plot of Fahrenheit; it is set in New York city during the worst winter in recorded history, you start off as Lucas Kane a man who wakes up from a trance in the bathroom of a diner to discover that he has recently killed someone. During the course of the game up have to uncover what caused Lucas to commit murder while along the way hide evidence from the cops on your trail. This is where Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles comes in; two New York homicide detectives who are in charge of brining Lucas in. It starts off sounding simple enough however half way through the game and near the end you discover that the murder is just part of a bigger plot, one that involves Mayan rituals, secret clans, corrupt A.I. and the destruction of the world.

Now to touch on what I thought of the story it is a love it or hate it kind and I for one loved it however I can easily understand why someone can hate it. It starts off as a murder mystery where you can play as killer and cops but soon it becomes a supernatural sci-fi, the sudden change in the concept of the story will not be for everyone. There are as well several nude and sex scenes in the game that I felt was slightly out of place and just plain awkward.  

As for game play most of it is simple point and click; where you can interact with the environment and other characters. When you talk to other characters you can chose from a selection of dialogue for a response, each one different and may affect the overall story. That was a selling point for this game is that each decision you make will affect the rest of the game, for example; After you commit the murder with Lucas you can try to hide as much evidence about it as you can so that when you play as Carla and Tyler they can have a harder or easier time catching you. However as interesting as it the story inevitably remains largely the same with you decisions only having small consequences.

Another game play element which is interesting is the action sequences when you play as Lucas. This is similar to the game of Simon and you have to move your analog stick in the direction of the highlighted colour just in time for Lucas to make a move. This was a very interesting way to convey the action scenes and they can range from being easy to being a challenge. Some players however who do not like the second half of the story however will not like that later that these action sequences control Lucas as he fights and flies around like Neo from the Matrix.

The best part of the game however is the morale meter in the bottom left side of the screen. This is affected by the choices you make in the games and could fill up or go down and you lose all of it your character it will end the game with your character being either depressed or even committing suicide.

As for the characters I think they are very well done but the do have their flaws. Lucas is a very interesting protagonist who has to deal with the murder whilst keeping it a secret from his ex – girlfriend and trying to convince his brother to help him. He has a really good back-story however a low point of the game is the flashbacks where you play with him as a child; even though it reveals more of his history it is not the most exciting parts of the game.

Carla is a good character to control as well and her investigation scenes with Tyler are some of the best of the game. However unlike Lucas and Tyler she has nothing in her personal life to make her more interesting, it is just all about the job for her.

Now for Tyler and he is definitely one of my favourite characters because he provides the comic relief and he has an interesting personal issue where his girl friend wants him to quit the force. A downside to him however is that half way through the game his role in the story diminishes because it focuses more on Lucas and Carla which is a real shame.

As for secondary characters they are all interesting and well written like the Mayan Oracle who is the primary antagonist, Markus Kane who is Lucas’s priest brother who has conflicted between his faith and his brother and the mysterious Agatha who helps Lucas through the game. There are many more who just have small roles but all are very unique.

Lastly I will touch on the graphics and sound in Fahrenheit on whether or not they are good of bad. The graphics in this game are very good for its time especially with the characters and their facial expressions however that cannot be said about the backgrounds. While the backgrounds are very well detailed they do sometimes look flat and it is noticeable when you spot it but it does not take away from the gaming experience.

The voice acting in this game is some of the best I have ever heard; all of the voice actors play their roles perfectly and you can really feel the emotion off all of them. Like the Oracle for example has one of the deepest and most menacing voices I have ever heard. The soundtrack is great as well and even though I have never heard of most of bands whose songs are in the game the Fahrenheit original soundtrack really goes with the mood of this game.

Overall Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy is a very unique game but it is not for everyone. It is more about telling a story than anything else each which you interact with it which is not for gamers for prefer game play over story. In the end Fahrenheit is a great experience and in my opinion one of the most stand out games of 2005. If I have any major issues with it is that as much as I like the second half of the game I wish the first half, which is all about the aftermath of the diner murder and Lucas hiding evidence, was a lot longer because it was the game’s high point. In the end I recommend Fahrenheit to all those who like major twists in their story and likes something a lot different from other games.

SCORE: 8/10

References:
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