Month: April 2023

Dead Island: Definitive Edition – A Review

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

It’s about time I reviewed the lengthy and worthwhile video game that is Dead Island. It was released to what I would call mixed reviews. Particularly given the gruesome and controversial trailer that showed a family torn apart by zombies before jumping from the balcony of a massive hotel.

The expectation was a linear zombie apocalypse game in the luxurious Banoi resort. It was good looking graphically. Today players can indulge in the upgraded Definitive Edition which helps bolster graphics for modern consoles among other improvements. What we got in return wasn’t quite to peoples expectations – including my own – about the games narrative and structure. Ultimately proving to be a very long game with over 30 hours gameplay in game, easily.

What this meant was the resort area of the game, looking quite exotic, was only one map in what would turn out to be several huge maps. Don’t get me wrong this was a hidden surprise which I thought made the game more enjoyable. As I played I did become bored and at the time didn’t enjoy the story and found it long, boring and too much effort.

It wasn’t until years later after its initial release in 2011 that I played the game, and really enjoyed it. I think my naïve attitude during my initial playthrough was going into it with certain expectations rather than just exploring and enjoying what happened next. Those playthroughs years later allowed me to better understand the story, the characters and ultimately enjoy the game for what it was – essentially quite a big open world, with many possibilities.

In 2015 Dying Light was introduced which took many ideas, themes, weaponry etc from Dead Island and built an entire game which was enjoyable. However, it doesn’t have a nice looking world, being set in the slums. Dead Island does have a nice looking world which made the game all the more enjoyable.

I would liked to have seen more interesting side events or side missions in the game – Dead Island – because once an area had been completed and you have helped all the survivors, then you are pretty much seeing the same things over and over again. But, the innovative weapon crafting and management system make the game fun, with thousands of weapons combinations and creations available to you. This made the zombie killing a lot of fun.

The game also boasts a fantastic zombie gore system, each kill will be different. The weapon you choose impacts the damage to the undead. For example, using a machete can decapitate a zombie or cut its arms off, whereas an electric baton will literally electrocute them. I hadn’t seen this sort of thing in Xbox games before, nor had I seen it in any zombies games. Now though, the disintegration of zombies is a part of big names like Dying Light and of course Dead Island 2 – recently released.

Playing through the campaign solo is a lot of fund, with a lot of world to explore and a lot of people and zombies to kill. In unique ways. However, I played the entire campaign with a friend a few years ago and the experience is a lot better. This is a fantastic game to play coop. I encourage you to do so with a friend so that both of you can enjoy the experience together. You can also benefit from having a teammate revive you during those difficult missions. Get a buddy!

Overall the game is good, despite my initial reactions. Perhaps everyone needs time to adjust to something, or maybe it was just such a good game that I needed time to appreciate it. I think this is the case. I would say it turned out to be one of the better games of the decade, and one of the best zombie apocalypse games to grace consoles.. I am extremely excited to play Dead Island 2, although at £60 I will wait until it is reduced or on sale!

5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Horror; great atmosphere, haunting, scary, challenging.

Visually: holds up well, good animation, good movements, lovely world textures.

Story; well-developed, thought provoking, intriguing, sustained and innovative.

I Ate Tasty Polish Dumplings for Lunch!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I tried something new for lunch today. After reading about a little restaurant called Beerogi in Greater Manchester, I had to try this Polish cuisine.

Specialising in the Polish dumpling, otherwise known as pierogis in Poland, I found a glorious menu priced at 10 dumplings for £12. I think that is rather fair given that they were both scrumptious and healthily filling. I ordered two flavours; White Polish dumplings – potatoes and cheese, also known as the classic flavour. And I asked for the Beerogi special, which was also a variety of cheese; albeit with more flavour. I was asked what I’d like to drink before eating as is usual in restaurants. I ordered a diet coke delivered in a very nicely designed glass I might add. The glass in the picture contains an energy drink which I purchased from another store.

The feel of the restaurant was welcoming, with comfortable seating and compact table arrangement with nice decorations on the wall – as in the above photo.

Below are the pierogis. My goodness!

Since these are suitable for vegetarians I would say these are extremely well priced. Very filling. I found them flavoursome and interesting to eat. You get 10 and I mixed two flavours, however one of my accompanying guests had 2 of each!

The green was cabbage and the black was a fish specialty. I was surprised not to see spinach on the menu list! The side was some variety of cabbage/salad and my other guest had pork with potatoes which came with some variety of sauerkraut.

All in all it was very nice and made a huge difference to what I’d already eat. If you come to Manchester and want something different/foreign then come to this restaurant. It makes for a great lunch!

Five star service, very friendly.

Adventures and New Story Coming Soon

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by to read my blog post. I’ve not been posting here that much but hopefully you’ll be understanding as to why.

Despite being spring England isn’t, or doesn’t feel like it. Yes the flowers have bloomed and the trees and green again but it is still very cold. I hope this incoming heatwave will change things.

I’m still writing and as promised Survivors Part ii will come out sometime this spring. Hopefully soon. You can sneak peak the cover below.👇🌟 The story takes place in the woodlands of the town. There’s some radio action, lots of zombie fighting and personal conflicts. People are quite grumpy considering the end of the world has left them stuck in the town. The undead threat is twice as bad as it was last week.

The cover has a dark bluish feel and uses a font that resembled new paper cutouts. I don’t know when it will be out but expect it soon. If you are looking forward to this let me know.

I’m also working on other stories. I’ve written a few including a novel although I don’t publish everything so who knows if they’ll ever be available from online stores.

I’m trying to innovate and create interesting characters at the moment.

All the best.

Part i – available on KU and currently on a free ebook promotion. Check it out below. To claim your free ebook simply download from the link.

https://tinyurl.com/4ea54njm

Changes

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
As we settle into our box

We begin to grow

Surrounded by weeds

We must trim

The new video game Dead Island 2 has finally released and I am super excited to play it. I haven’t got it yet because it is expensive at around £60. I would love to stream the gameplay to this website or upload the videos here for you to watch! That might be a thing in the future.

Let me know if you’d like to watch me play the latest games. Dying Light 2 was released last year but it’s on my list.

Survivors is on a free ebook promotion for a few days. Click the link below or paste into your browser to go to the free download page.

https://tinyurl.com/4ea54njm

Adam Resurrected: Movie Review!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Releaed in 2008.

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe and Derek Jacobi.

IMDB gives it 6.2/10

“In the aftermath of World War II, a former circus entertainer who was spared from the gas chamber becomes the ringleader at an asylum for Holocaust survivors.”

Perhaps not the most detailed account of the second world war this movie decides to focus on Adam, a somewhat unique former circus entertainer with a knack for making Nazis laugh. What we have is a unique movie with some dramatic acting and disturbing concepts.

Adam is living in an asylum in the idle of the desert following the end of the second world war. He has a charismatic way of acting and Goldblum did a decent job with the psychiatric symptoms. Symptoms which can be classed as a severe form of traumatic stress.

Adam was forced to act as an animal in a concentration camp, leaving him scarred. All the more harrowing is his connection with the nurse, a somewhat sexual deviance reminiscent of his days gallivanting about a stage with women. He is keen to get better, and so too are his doctors wanting this. However, he soon discovers another inpatient who is in a worse condition that he is.

A type of spiritual dramatic movie, Adams personal journey through mentally unwell to a released and normal person is warming, and is quite good to see.

Willem Dafoe doesn’t make much of an appearance but when he does he’s playing the bad guy, which isn’t unusual for him. He’s a harrowing Nazi who abused Adam. Perhaps the directors and writers were themselves confused as to how to use his character. He wasn’t going to play a very big physical but instead emotional role in Adam’s recovery.

It’s a little bit of a hidden gem, but it also certainly no Schindlers List. If you want an uncomfortable movie to watch this is it. Not least down to the acting. I felt like Adam was a bit too flamboyant. There’s little wrong with the set design. It is fairly grim as one would expect and lighting and camera angles were good. Unlike other movies which tend to flick back and forth several times a minute.

I can’t bring myself to rate it more than 7/10 but I do feel it is worth a watch.

Overall verdict: 7/10

Elders of the Fold

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
Twisted smoke lakes

shimmer under moonlight

bloodied fangs

awaken

What I’m currently reading

I’m currently reading ‘The Eagle Unbowed’ (Poland and the Poles in the Second World War) by Halik Kochanksi. An in depth historical book which covers Poland and eastern Europe to some extent. It is a big book and has a lot of interesting material and some photos throughout.

I’ve pasted the link below in case you want to buy it, or download it on a digital device.

Banned Brands in Russia – Does It Even Matter?

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Swiss cheese, British cheese, Italian wines, French wines, German sausage, Coke, Xbox and Playstation, Hollywood blockbuster movies…

Those are a few of the things that have been banned in Russia. Or, to be more specific, the things that the west has banned from being sent to Russia. Let’s not reason that VPN exists though, which means that Russians can still in fact watch new movies. Also they can still play their console games.

But, they will have to go without the Coke and Sprite, and without McDonalds. Although Russia, being the big industrialised country that it is, has created a new brand of McDs called Vkusno i tochka. Selling replacement foods that are quite similar to the predecessor. The Tasty burger – and I admire the simplicity of the new branding – has received very good reviews.

No longer reliant on the west, Russia is sourcing all its products and some from neighbouring countries for the new franchise. They have saved significant sums of money and are making tons in the process. The restrictions and brand bans have for the most part been absolutely useless.

They have their own colas too, and brands of vodka. Not to mention production and manufacturing are in fact taking place in Russia for a large amount of things, including; bread, meat, dairy, clothes, music, film, fruit and vegetables, vodka, and a whole lot of others.

Does it matter that they were excluded form luxury – overpriced – brands? No. And to be frank I applaud them. They have one of the fastest growing economies in the world. They have such a massive production that western countries look like ants compared to them. They do it themselves, and make a lot of money in the process.

One final thought, more like a fact, is that products in Russia are still cheaper than the UK or America! Take a look at some of these comparisons! The UK price is on the left and the Russian on the right. You can also see the percentage difference!

McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)6.00 £
(599.65 руб)		4.00 £
(400.00 руб)		     -33.3 %
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)1.49 £
(148.47 руб)		0.69 £
(69.14 руб)		     -53.4 %
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g)1.04 £
(103.98 руб)		0.46 £
(45.74 руб)		     -56.0 %
Potato (1kg)1.07 £
(107.11 руб)		0.52 £
(51.89 руб)		     -51.6 %
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment197.75 £
(19,763.81 руб)		79.96 £
(7,991.81 руб)		     -59.6 %

Ladies and gentlemen, it might come as a shock to know that the only countries that are suffering from the price crisis and inflation seem to be the west of Europe, UK and America. Russia is a thriving economy and has surpassed the UK in every respect. You can get an apartment in a city centre for a 1/3 of the price of a UK equivalent!

So, what do you think? Drop a comment below. Thanks for reading.