Backlogging

Why I haven't posted for a while

So it's been a while since I made a post. I am working on some other posts at the moment about games I've finished. Between work and gaming and other time eating objectives, I haven't had time to get back onto the blog. One of the biggest factors however is my recent find. I've always wanted to write, to be an author is a goal I've had for a long time. But given how I write and my grammar I don't think its a goal that I am going to reach any time soon. Still…I am working on it. Anyway, recently an author caught my eye. One who I had wanted to read the books of for a while as I've seen them around. Brandon Sanderson is the author. I read a single book of his sometime in January. I now have ten of his books. 

Discovering Mistborn Series

For those who don't know Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy fiction writer. He, in my opinion, is a fantastic author and a real visionary right up there with some of the best. The way he writes invokes my imagination and I am able to see the worlds and characters he has created in clear detail in my minds eye. I started with his series of books Mistborn.

Mistborn is a three book series based on a world named: Scardiel. The main Character, Vin, is a Mistborn, someone who wields the power of Allomancy. Allmonacy is magic that incorporates the use of metals as catalysts to produce effects for example Steel, when ingested, can be burned to give the user the ability to "push" off nearby sources of metal. Each metal has a twin to it. The opposite of steel is iron which also has a mirrored effect as steel, instead of pushing off you pull nearby sources of metal to you. 

The first book focuses on Vin and her Allomancy teacher Kelsier. Originally Vin is not aware of her Allomatic ability she later meets Kelsier who is trying to overthrow the Lord Ruler, a man who rules over the Final Empire, like Vin Kelsier is also a Mistborn and he begins to teach her how to use her abilities. Vin is initially distrustful of Kelsier and his plan, as she is also distrustful of all of the other crew members as well, She is eventually convinced to help Kelsier in his plan and she goes on to overthrow the final empire. Along the way she falls in love with a noble named Elend Venture.

The first book of the Mistborn series, The final empire, introduces the main characters and the class system that exists there. There are two different races there are the down trodden slave people better known as Skaa and then their are the nobles who rule the Skaa. The Skaa are treated brutally and its not uncommon to find them dead in the street. A Mistborn is a product of a Skaa and noble union though this is a crime. A noble Mistborn can be created too but the Skaa are only allowed to mate amongst themselves. Whenever a Mistborn emerges who is a Skaa they are Killed.

The overall plot of the first book is finding a way to overthrow the lord ruler and take back freedom for the Skaa while also finding a way for the two races to Co-exist. Its a gripping first volume filled with intrigue and mystery and the way it builds itself up to the end is amazing. I found myself frantically reading each page as I got closer to the end. Some moments had my gaping at what happened. Sanderson does a good job of delivering the right feelings to the reader. 

I won't go on about all the books, I wouldn't want to spoil them for anyone who might be interested in the series. Suffice to say though once I was done with that series I wanted more. Luckily I started reading his books at a time when most of them were available and all subsequent volumes had been released so I didn't have to wait for anymore to come out.

The Stormlight Archive

Perhaps my favourite of his series of books, The stormlight Archive books take place on the world of Roshar. Instead of explaining every detail, since the first book is two volumes, I'll try to summarise. 

The story follows multiple viewpoints, similar in nature to George R.R. Martins Game of Thrones. The main characters that are focused on are: Kaladin, a disgraced warrior turned slave who is aided by a single Windspren named Syl he eventually overcomes his slavery and is made a captain of another characters guard, Shallan Davar, a Brightlady who's house is destitute she goes off to be the ward of a scholar and known heretic Jasnah Kholin, Dalinar Kholin, An ageing Brightlord who is helping his nephew turned King to fulfil the vengeance pact when his brother was assassinated by the Parshendi people Dalinar is tough and grim and is plagued by visions during high storms he eventually learns that his visions carry more weight than anyone realises, Adolin Kholin, the eldest son of Dalinar, Adolin is a skilled Shardbearer and known skirt chaser he respects his father but is troubled by the rumours that his farther is going mad by seeing visions, Szeth-Son-Son-Vallano Thruthless of Shinovar, is the assassin in white who started the war against the Alethi and Parshendi and the one who murdered Dalinar's brother Gavilar. Interspersed in each of the books parts, of which there are many, are interludes which detail minor but important characters. 

The series is long and a little complicated at times the magical system of this world revolves around the use of storm light and surge binding. Stormlight is used as a power source for Surgebinding, which has multiple uses. In the very beginning of the book it details a battle between the Heralds and the Voidbringers. There is also an order of Knights called The Knights Radiant which is made up of Surgebinders. One of the main sources of war and a primary tool of the characters of Roshar is Shard Blade's and Shard Plate. Shard Blades are swords that can be summoned to a users hand after ten heartbeats pass and Shard blades don't cut anything living they instead cut the "soul" of things, when something is cut by a Shard Blade it becomes unusable. For instance an arm cut by a Shard Blade can no longer be used.

I won't go into any more detail than that. Suffice to say this series of books was enthralling, Sanderson captured the idea of magic in such a creative way and it was an incredible read. With each storyline eventually crossing over into each other characters will meet and ideas will form while each character acts to stop the crisis as it happens. This is a master work epic and I have to say that it is far more interesting than Game of Thrones, I loved the characters and their ambitions, I loved the setting and the complexity of Roshar and I especially loved a character who appears quite a bit over the Cosmere.

This series is going to be four books long, eight overall as each book is split in two, I cannot wait for those books but its going to be a while before Stones Unhallowed reaches us. If your looking for a different fantasy series then this is definitely one that shouldn't be ignored.

The Reckoners, Steelheart and Firefight 

The Reckoners is a bit of a departure from Sanderson's original fantasy setting. Told from a first person perspective, the story follows David a young man in his late teens, 19 to be exact, who fights against Epics. Epics are humans who were transformed by a tear in the sky which became known as Calamity. Calamity gave superhuman powers to people all over the world and transformed them into Epics. David joins a group of assassins who kill Epics called, the reckoners. Unlike the other books which are set on fantasy planets this series takes place on Earth, albeit an Earth affected by a supernatural power.

Its a griping couple of books as it flips the whole basis of superheroes on its head. These Epic's are mostly all evil or at least are motivated to do evil. None of them have a good bone in their body and will kill anyone regardless of who they are. 

The Reckoners book series really pushes the preconceived notions on the morality of humans and the will to fight back when oppression is forced onto people. 

This series of books was the first I read from Sanderson. 

Final Thoughts

The most recent book that I read of Sanderson's was Warbreaker. I won't go into it on this one as I've blathered on for long enough. Suffice to say Brandon Sanderson is now one of my all time favourite writers and he definitely deserves all the publicity he can get. Who knows maybe I've convinced you to invest time in his work.

Sanderson has created an expanded universe named The Cosmere. All of his main books such as the mistborn series take place within the Cosmere and he has very subtly tied in characters from previous books into others, making cameo appearances that actually carry more weight than your initially led to believe. This is what drew me into his work as there is just so much of it, so much to discover and wait for, so many worlds and their purposes. It's just so…..so……incredible. 

Well I think its safe to say I am a fan.

And thats why I haven't been blogging as much. Because I stayed up until 1:45 in the morning finishing Words of Radiance. I'll be more active now people.

Thanks for reading!!!

Bloodborne

Welcome To Yharnam 

Bloodborne, the spiritual successor to Dark Souls, is by no small margin similar. The two games have very similar introductions and settings, oh and they like to kick the S*** out of you as well. Nice. The premise of Bloodborne is that the main character, you, has come to Yharnam in search of a way to cure a disease he's/ she's been afflicted with. When you begin the game a man in a wheelchair approaches and gives you a blood transfusion with Yharnam blood. Thats when things get weird. Once your out cold a lycan appears from a puddle of blood and tries to end you only to be set on fire by someone off screen. Did I hear someone say convenient plot point overlooked? No. Alright. Anyway, once the bloody creature is dead a group of pale creatures surrounds you and a female voice says "Oh I see you've found a hunter"

Bloodborne, like Dark Souls, doesn't give you much to go on. It can be frustratingly cryptic when it needs to be. It's like a person who goes out of their way to remain inherently mysterious. But thats part of the appeal of it, when you actually find out whats going on and dig deeper there is a lot to Bloodborne. The basic message of the game is, to hunt those that have fallen to beast hood and to seek pale blood in an attempt to escape the nightmare. 

Yharnam itself is very bleak, the setting of the sun in game adds more to the story as in the darker it gets the more serious stuff gets. It's a beautiful place though, with its victorian gothic look it really exemplifies what a city turned to madness would look like. Also Yharnam feels threatening, not only with all of its inhabitants but also with how grim and dark everything is, it just feels like its out to get you.

Seek Pale Blood To Transcend The Nightmare

So Bloodborne. How is it different from Dark Souls? Well on a passing observation they are almost exactly the same. Same bleak everyone has given up attitude, same enemies that will wreck your shit, same cryptic story, same bosses that look like Satan's leavings. But its only when you play Bloodborne that you get a sense of how different the games truly are. Bloodborne is different from its predecessor for a couple of things the first is the regain system which allows you to recover a portion of your health in the 5 second window after losing it. Its a handy system especially when your getting mobbed by a bunch of enemies of course it doesn't always help when in a pinch or if your against a boss, could be intimidating to just charge in and whale on a boss knowing full well it will murder you. The second thing is Bloodborne's evasion move's when locked on to an enemy you can quickly side step to avoid a butt load of damage, it makes combat much easier knowing you can get some distance between you and certain doom. But that doesn't mean its faultless you have to be aware of your surroundings when avoiding attacks. Finally we come to parrying by far the most useful element of the game, a well timed parry can open up enemies to a visceral strike which not only restores a lot of health if you've lost some but also awards you with more blood echoes as well and since you'll be dying a lot in Bloodborne then you can learn all of the common enemy attacks to know exactly when to parry them. Its the most rewarding feeling to parry a boss and get a visceral strike on them. But it takes a great amount of skill to parry every attack someone throws at you. 

The other thing about Bloodborne is that it gives you the necessary healing items about sixty percent of the time which means you won't be running out of blood vials and quicksilver bullets to quickly. The rewarding way in which Bloodborne plays out is what makes it better than Dark Souls, in my opinion anyway. Dark souls punishes its players when you die taking off a portion of your health and robbing you of the souls you have collected. While Bloodborne is similar it doesn't cut your health which makes the rage quit aspect of it a lot better. So while the game isn't as punishing as Dark Souls it can still get frustrating in some areas, especially later into the game.

One of the best parts of Bloodborne is its weaponry. At the beginning of the game you have the option to pick between three different "Trick weapons" which are weapons that transform into different variants with the press of a button. The saw cleaver starts out as a saw but when transformed becomes a longer scythe like weapon giving you longer reach, The hunters axe starts out as an axe but can be elongated to become a halberd and finally the threaded cane is a duelling cane to begin with and then becomes a chain whip when transforms à la Ivy from Soul Calibur. These are you're starting weapons and while rudimentary they become an incredible asset later on as you continue to use them. When attacking enemies you can switch to their alternate forms mid combo changing the flow of battle like the weapon. Not all trick weapons elongate, some have added effects when "transformed" such as the Tonitrus which is coated in lightning when transformed. 

The creativity behind the weapons is one of the best parts of Bloodborne to deal with a strange plague you need strange weapons. 


Facing The Fear

What sets Bloodborne apart from Dark Souls is that it seems very…well real. The creatures that you encounter in the game are all believable…..to a certain extent. The forbidden forest for example has snake type enemies and one of the last areas you visit has spiders crawling along the walls. The point is that its very terrifying to face off against some of the enemies of the game as they are literally the stuff of nightmares made real, the worst things a person can make in their mind made reality. This is where Bloodborne thrives though with its enemies that are both frightening and incredible at the same time. 

Whats interesting is that the NPC's of the game are all survivors of the plague and are just trying to get by. You even encounter fellow hunters such as Alfred of the Executioners, Eileen of the hunter of hunters and Farther Gascoigne. But whats even more interesting is that most of the hunters you meet are fairly doomed, Gascoigne can be summoned to help you against the first boss but later on becomes a boss himself, you help Eileen to hunt a hunter that threatened her but later she falls against a stronger one and Alfred talks of his master Martyr Logarius and he ends up becoming a Martyr himself. These NPC's are important figures during the game and its fascinating learning their backstory and reasons for doing what they do.

The NPC hunters you find are also all hostile and if their are a bunch of them they will all crowd in and attack you at once, they really showcase how different weapon and skill builds can be done in Bloodborne and if your not too enthralled by how they play you can stop them.

So lets talk difficulty. Originally I had qualms about playing Bloodborne because I remember how badly screwed I got while playing Dark Souls 2, and I have to say Bloodborne is far more accessible a title than Dark Souls, its telling that From Software decided to release Dark Souls 2 on next gen consoles as well means they are gearing up for something, more on that later. The difficulty of the game though comes through experience and actually thats how both series work. They require experience you have to get knocked down before getting back up, Bloodborne teaches you that lesson at the very beginning of the game when your forced to die by the hands of an enemy before you can reach the hub of the game. Perseverance is the key, learning the patterns of enemies, expecting blows you can't evade and then healing when necessary, parrying attacks to open up chances for visceral strikes it all takes practice. 


Farewell Good Hunter. May You Find Your Worth In The Waking World.

Overall I loved Bloodborne. Even when I found myself beaten down by it, I refused to let it get the better of me. It was a good experience and the way its presented and done is really effective. I found myself getting tense at boss encounters because I didn't know what to expect and that made me excited when I was victorious. One of the most satisfying things in Bloodborne is seeing the message after you beat a boss "Prey Slaughtered" such a good statement to bring your hard earned accomplishment into perspective. 

The enticing nature of Bloodborne and the feeling I got from it made every second of it unique. There isn't a single thing about it that I felt needed to be changed, it was a unique challenge keeping you on your toes while also being rewarding. The theme of blood is prominent, I mean it would have to be what with the title having the word blood in it, it plays a big role in the story and also on the character as you can become covered in the blood of your former enemies. 

Perhaps the one thing Bloodborne needs to develop on is its backstory and lore. Like Dark Souls it is awfully cryptic and a lot of the necessary info you need is left in item descriptions and by NPC's. Trying to glean anything from it is difficult but at the same time its enticing and makes you want to know more about the game. 

Bloodborne is a fantastic game and truly an essential title for any fan of Sony or of From Software. If your looking for a challenge then I would look no further than this. 




Afterthought 

Like I said earlier, its telling that From Software have decided to port DS2 to PS4 and Xbox one. I interrupt that as a clear sign that From Software are testing their previous titles to get an idea of how they will run on next gen. Their intention seems obvious, Dark Souls 3 is a very real possibility at this point. And hopefully later on down the line we will see Bloodborne 2 or DLC. Either way I can't wait to see what comes next. 

Thanks for reading!