Pacific Rim Uprising: An Awesome and Entertaining Mess.

45%. Forty five freakin' percent. THIS is what movie critics think of Pacific Rim Uprising. With a crushingly low score and low Box-office record (in the United States), people are under the impression that Pacific Rim Uprising is hot garbage. Let me assure you that it is decidedly NOT. 

"Hu u", you ask? Well, I'm JJ: a regular dude with both regular and irregular tastes. I'm a corporate slave--- I mean employee who enjoys anime, video games and movies. I am a consumer of pop culture, a cog in the machine, a denizen of the interwebs and a flat-out geek who like every single male my age, grew up watching giant robots punch each other to death.

"But JJ, why should your opinion count? Where are your credentials proving your authority and knowledge about movies?" That's the point. I'm just an average Joe who likes watching movies and at the same time, I'm also *that* dude who geeks out on Gundams AND Go Nagai Super-robots (Voltes V etc). 

In short, I am you, only angrier. 

I'm not saying that the critics are wrong. Their "complaints" were valid. Pacific Rim Uprising is an inferior movie to the original. The writing was sub-par, the dialogue felt awkward at times, and the overall cinematography was simply WORSE than the original.

In the first Pacific Rim, the audience gets a feel of just how massive and destructive the Jaegers and Kaijus were. Their movements had momentum and weight and the surroundings did not feel like props but real-world locations being deliciously crushed to bits by massive brawling titans. In the second movie, the plot was a cliche color-by-numbers Power Rangers script that was aimed at an older audience but written for (or if you're being mean, BY) 10-year-old kids. But this is where I want to put my two-cents: It MAY BE mediocre but it was definitely NOT the dungheap critics would warn you about.

IN SPITE of all my grievances, I was utterly and thoroughly entertained. Sure, it was stupid. But you're not watching Pacific Rim Uprising for the plot, you're there for what the trailer promised: ROBOTS AND MONSTERS! And Pacific Rim Uprising spared no expense to bring you that.

The fight scenes were epic, colorful and satisfyingly CLEAR, much like watching Ultraman or Voltes V fight against the episode's requisite monster. Sure, the movements looked more like human-sized robots fighting monsters in a prop city, but few people would notice it right there and then, much less your average movie-goer.There were enough cool moments and tension-building portions of the fight scenes to entertain any fan of robot-vs-robot-vs-monster action while retaining that coherence sorely lacking in the Transformers franchise. Name ONE movie (excluding the original) that isn't an animated cartoon that can boast such a feat. No, the Transformers franchise does not count, unless you consider angry junkyard robot sex as fight scenes. 

Plot-wise it felt more like your typical B-movie; a thinly veiled excuse to start a robot-versus-monster fight. It was very similar to your typical mecha anime plot, with maybe a bit of super-sentai/power-rangers "YAY TEAMWORK" elements. Which is again not necessarily a bad thing: Chances are, you're interested in watching Pacific Rim Uprising because you were a fan of the first movie. And like any fan, you were looking for an excuse to see Jaegers fight against other Jaegers. WELL HERE YOU GO! Let's introduce rogue Jaegers! Let's introduce a new type of threat!. Point is, the simplicity of the plot had a purpose: To deliver what the audience came for in the shortest time possible. It needed to move the story forward while justifying the need for character subplots to provide the motivation for the MAIN EVENT. It was created so we can watch Voltes V team up with Mazinger Z and Daimos to punch Godzilla to death. 

Pacific Rim Uprising was a mess. The plot was a mess. The characters were bland (but had good chemistry). The cinematography was inferior to the original. BUT IT WAS FANBOY WISH  FULFILLMENT. It was beyond a doubt, an awesome and entertaining mess.

Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius 2018 Season 2 review

Are you a Final Fantasy fan ever since you were a kid? Do you still remember the day when freeing the World from Kefka's tyranny was the most important mission you have to accomplish? Wanted to use Bellatrix from FF9 for your party but she was just a temporary character? or Tidus and co. doesnt have to proceed with the pilgrimage up to its tragic end? Real life has caught up and you don't have much time to relive those moments.

Don't worry fam, I gotchu.

Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius (FFBE) is a free-to-play turn-based role-playing game for Android and iOS developed by ALIM and published by Square Enix itself. The Global version is maintained by GUMI. Released June 29, 2016 and still going strong with Season 2 of the story.

New mobile games nowadays have incredible graphics better than PS1 and PS2 but FFBE's charm is with it's retro looks and pixel art. There are lots of collaboration with other Square Enix games like Neir: Automata, Tomb raider, Secret of Mana, and many more. 

Gameplay

Most mobile games like FFBE have dungeons where you battle series of enemies in different stages until you reach the boss at the end. One of the unique features of the game is the ability to explore dungeons, towns, castles, forests and other terrains. You can interact with townspeople to buy potions or they will ask you to complete a task or quest. 

The game also uses concepts from other Final Fantasy games like magic, limit bursts and summoning Espers. 










Battle System

Zidane, Orlandeau, Terra, Lightning,
2B(Nier Automata) and Yuna fighting against Ultros

You will have to create a team of 5 characters that can be obtained via the Gacha system. You can add a 6th member from your Friend list. The battle system is similar to Valkyrie Profile where you have to press the button of one of your team members with the correct timing to perform a chain which increases the damage output of your combo.


The game will be easy at first but there are Trials which will test your team's strength.Another difficult content called Chamber of Arms which consists of 12 Legendary weapons and you have to battle the Guardians with 10 characters to obtain one of the weapon.


Story 

There are times when you want to keep doing the story because the events are exciting but there are also fillers which are boring. 

There also Story missions which are time events which features back stories of other characters in FFBE that features Romance, tragedy, perseverance, and mystery. Some are very well written and some are just bland. 

Music

The BGM of this game is amazing. It's one of the reason why it doesn't feel like a mobile game but a legit Final Fantasy entry.  

I barely spent any money on this game and I was able to obtain the main protagonist of different Final Fantasy series, it just takes time. 
I've been playing this game for over a year and I'm still enjoying the difficult battles and the story progression which is the reason why we are playing games. 


Have fun everyone. 

Top 10 Recommended Hidden Gems on Steam

Searching some cheap good games on Steam may be a bit hard due to the amount of games being added to the platform weekly.

Here are some of our recommended games that you can enjoy alone with some that have multiplayer included.

1. Vagante An adventure game that can be played solo or multiplayer for both online and local. With several classes to choose from you can customize your character further along with skins and background. Unlock and collect items, classes, music and other secrets that will make the adventure even enjoyable. The game has decent difficulty enough to satisfy hardcore and experienced gamers with good replay value due to the procedural dungeon setup along with multiple classes available to choose from.

2. Dead Cells A Roguelike Metroidvania game that focuses heavily on combat, learn every time you fail or die like Dark Souls but on 2D. Very flashy combat despite its pixel art style. Make sure to check the page or watch the video as the images don't do the game justice to warrant our recommendation. Fair warning as the game is still in early access and will have more content on the way. 

3. Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition  A shoot em up game that looks like Metal Slug but plays like Monster Hunter in 2D format.  The game has different missions and craftable weapons.  If you like the grinding for crafting gear style of Monster Hunter, you will enjoy this.  You can play multiplayer online or on a shared screen as well as with other platforms.  Great music and smooth controls make this game enjoyable to play for hours.

4. The Escapist 2  A top down sandbox game set in prison.  The game can be played solo, team co op up to 3 players or versus mode for a race on who can escape prison faster.  Assemble a crew with your friends to build the ultimate prison escape team.  You will have to do your regular prison life with the rules inside prison, jobs, roll calls while planning and executing your escape.  A fun game with a different kind of goal, highly recommended playing with friends.

5. Valdis Story: Abyssal City  A great 2D Metroidvania game with focus on combos.  Multiple characters to choose from with different weapon sets to choose from and skill trees to select.  A decent side scrolling rpg adventure game with good replay value including unlocking other characters.  

6. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King  A top down adventure rpg that takes inspiration from Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past.  It has very similar gameplay and mechanics from its inspiration with collectible hearts, equipment, puzzles, big dungeons and side quests.  If you don't have a Nintendo device but miss playing a top down Zelda like game then this is a game you need to play.  

7. Axiom Verge  A side scrolling action adventure game that takes its inspiration from the 2D Metroid games.    Acquire abilities, weapons and items to complete puzzles in this game.  Well designed levels with emphasis on puzzle solving and exploration.  Metroid fans surely know this game but for those who haven't been into the console scene may have missed this great game.

8. Iconoclasts  Another Metroidvania game with a mix of Megaman X into it.  This game may not be that much known to most as it was recently released early 2018.  A 2D Platformer action adventure game with puzzles and a great story.  

9. Broforce A fun 2D action game that has multiplayer up to 4 people with cooperative mode and competitive deathmatch.  Its like the old Contra games but with humor.  A mix of Contra, Alien, Rambo, Predator with a lot of chararacters to choose from.  If you like playing co op multiplayer action games you'll definitely enjoy this one.

10. Enter the Gungeon  A roguelike dungeon crawler bullet hell game with multiplayer co op option.  Several classes with different equipment sets and passive skills to choose from.  Dodge roll and table flip your way to find the ultimate treasure that the gungeoneers seek.  Great game even when playing solo for its difficulty but also fun with friends.

The games listed here are available on Steam. While some are still on Early Access, every game listed is priced 500 php or lower.  Enjoy!