Update

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Craig M

I feel I’ve been neglecting my readers of late and not posting as much as I should. What can I say, life get’s in the way and yes I have a life. But apart from that I really do like posting on this blog even if only a handful of people ever read it…those handful are important though! Anyway I digress. What I wanted was to give you the heads up about a few things I’ve been doing of late. There’s been an emphasis on gaming and well, I got myself some games I need to get around to finishing before the big slew of releases leading up the Christmas. There are too many good games coming out to actually manage to play them all let alone complete – but I have my beady eyes on a few.

For now though two games are on regular rotation, that being Uncharted 4: A Thieves End on PS4, arguably the best looking PS4 game and a rather polished adventure with that as expected Naughty Dog mastery of detail and game design. I won’t say for such a game it’s grabbed me as much as Rise of the Tomb Raider did, but then that game was more about survival and this game’s more a summer blockbuster. But I’m enjoying it. The other game I took a gamble with and downloaded is the much underrated Recore for XB1, like Uncharted an exclusive but nowhere near as well received, which is understandable – Uncharted is clearly a flagship title for PS4 and Sony whereas Recore was under-marketed and isn’t really meant to be a system seller as much as the forthcoming Gears of War 4 will be. However what it is is a rather classic throwback to platform shooter / exploration games like Metroid and I’m enjoying it a lot. I love exploration, puzzle solving and platforming and this does those three things brilliantly. The surrounding game, it’s story and it’s character design isn’t anything to write home about and it suffers from a few technical issues here and there … but it’s nowhere near as bad as the media will have you believe. I’d say If you like the sound of it, give it a chance.

I also have Mafia 3 pre-ordered on the XB1 and have asked for Watchdogs 2 on PS4 for my birthday (note for your diaries readers, it’s 14 November lol). I also would like to dive into the latest expansion that’s been released for Destiny namely ‘Rise of Iron’. I really like Destiny and it’s world and the upgrading of my character and weapons and exploring etc. keeps pulling me back far more than The Division seems it ever will. But to save money and give me a chance of completing those two games above, I’m holding off on taking the leap as of yet. I can also see even Dishonoured 2, a game I’m particularly excited for being put on the back burner until there are not so many games to play.

TV is taking up some of my time too and I’m trying to finish off current seasons of certain shows that I like, such as having just finished Daredevil season 2 (it was great, sometimes amazing, started a little slow but really delivered half way through. I think I still favour season 1 more though). Also nearing the end of the current season of Orange is The New Black which I feel has failed to really hit it’s stride this season apart from a strong opening and the return of a favourite character…I just wonder where it’s going. I’m also watching House of Cards season 2 … yes I’m waaay behind but love it. Its been pretty strong this season too. Also enjoying British police drama Luthor…I think I’m on series 3…but I lose track. Suitably violent and disturbing and well, Idris Elba is fantastic. I’ve also lined up two more Netflix Marvel shows to get into, Jessica Jones which I keep hearing good things about and the imminent Luke Cage which looks a lot of fun. I may focus on Jones first as the two shows seems to connect with one another by looks of it.

Now back on topic … for movies I have a few in the pipeline you’ll be seeing reviews of. I need to get around to watching Everybody Wants Some! Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to one of my all time favourite movies, Dazed & Confused. Also I’m hoping to see The Magnificent Seven with friends from work next week sometime. Did I also mention that I have a special edition of Donnie Darko coming? Look out for an in-depth review of that and how it stacks up on Blu-ray. Also there’s that final Studio Ghibli movie When Marnie Was There that‘s out soon so I can’t wait to get my paws on that.

I’ve not forgotten about my continuing series My Gaming History which will have a new post in the coming days so look out for that. But for now that’s what’s going on with me as far as a few of my hobbies, interests and this blog is concerned.

Craig.

What I’m watching

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Craig M

I thought I’d write a small post about the TV shows I’m currently watching and my brief thoughts on each. Over the last few weeks some have had new seasons start and it’s been fun getting back into familiar characters and storylines. One such programme is Orange Is The New Black which has become one of my favourite shows even though I struggled through season one initially. However the show has gone from strength to strength and this fourth season is already looking very promising.

I am also quite addicted to House of Cards which is currently at four seasons but I’ve been rather late to the party and am working my way through season two. I’m loving watching Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright etc. manipulate, corrupt and conspire their way through U.S. congress. I’ve almost finished the latest season of Game of Thrones, a show I began watching simply because so many people I knew were talking about it and so I caved in and took the plunge and am so happy I did. The earlier seasons were a bit reliant on sex and violence and well, shock factor and that hasn’t changed much but with a greater knowledge of all the characters I’ve really found myself absorbed by it all and it probably is the best big budget drama on TV at the moment.

One I’m struggling with this season is Daredevil – following a riveting, surprising and addictive first season, this second helping has felt a lot more drawn out and tiresome, wasting a pivotal character’s inclusion by descending into yawnsome courtroom drama … but I still like the main characters and will stick with it to see how this season concludes.

Two shows I’ve also started watching again are Wentworth Prison and Luther, the former being the Australian women’s prison drama that’s loosely based on cult Ozzy soap Prisoner Cell Block H and is really well done and stylish and at times quite violent. It’s been very good since its inception and this season doesn’t look like faltering on that initial promise. The latter is a British crime drama series with Idris Elba as a cop who specialises in solving serial murder cases whilst at the same time battling his own psychological demons. It’s a bit samey from episode to episode but the shock factor of some of the storylines and Elba’s performance has drawn me back to this one after a long break.

Well those are the shows I’m currently into and enjoying so far, between movie watching, music listening and occasional gaming.

Update

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Craig M

Apologies I haven’t posted anything lately. Firstly I’ve been busy trying to catch up with a multitude of work in my job after having some time off (more out of using up my holiday entitlement for the financial year than actually wanting holiday…), and this week I’ve felt a bit under the weather, health-wise. It’s nothing major but has meant my usual enthusiasm for stuff has been a bit low.

That’s not to say I haven’t been doing stuff. I finally got my hands on the much anticipated Quantum Break and am enjoying it even if its a bit tougher than I realised (I read a review that suggested putting it on Hard difficulty as the game is supposedly too easy on Normal – I’m starting to regret that a bit…but will stick with it for now). Expect an impressions at some stage. I’ve also chosen to get back into popular TV series House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey – which I’d given a go a while back and for one reason or another only watched a few episodes of. I’ve now decided to stick with it and am enjoying it so far. Also on the TV side of things, just started watching Daredevil Season 2 which I am enjoying, and also continuing with Better Call Saul Season 2, oh and the current run of The Walking Dead is about to wrap up so we’ll see how this season concludes.

On the movies horizon I’m hoping to catch The Huntsman at the cinema as a couple of friends in work have shown interest, and I also intend to see The Conjuring 2 on cinema having really liked the first one and am currently getting a friend to catch up with that by lending him the first movie on Blu-ray. ‘Movie night with Pops’ continues also with a couple of breaks here and there and the last movie I watched but didn’t bother doing a review on was the underrated Red Dragon, that Hannibal Lecter prequel people seem to forget about – and it was a good night’s viewing. I also hope to see Tom Hanks / Steven Spielberg thriller Bridge of Spies soon, perhaps as a rental.

Well that’s all from me for now. Like I said a bit run down right now but plenty of things on the horizon so watch this space for more content soon!

Craig.