Spring is over and the hot Aussie Summer is on it's way. Here's a quick wrap-up of the season;

READ

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

- after having read, and been disappointed with, Bardugo's Grisha trilogy, i went in to this book wary of the hype. Thankfully i was not let down. This book was awesome, it had action, suspense, romance, magic... the whole package. I particularly liked that it was very stealthy, manipulative and dirty, it allowed me to draw parallels to some of my favourite games (dishonored, assassin's creed.) whilst still being very much a book. The characters were diverse and well rounded, with interesting motivations and great arcs. I was happily surprised with this book and devoured the next as soon as it arrived.

5 STARS 

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

- This was a fantastic end to a great duology, all the characters hold a special place in my heart. it was great how the characters were all in their own way outliers that found family in one another, even if it was through thieving. The suspense and action was, again, evenly balanced by scheming, character development and humour, and the flashbacks were well placed and never felt like information dumps. I also liked that PTSD is used as a character drive rather than a forgotten trait.

5 STARS

This Savage Song - V.E. Schwab

- The hype for this book reeled me in, and like the other books that have done this to me, left me disappointed. In no way is this a bad book, however, from the blurb, i was expecting a lot more from this story. A problem i had with Schwab's Vicious was that it was set in a contemporary setting with fantasy themes, and i think that was the same cause of downfall with this book. The characters, on the other hand, were great and easy to relate to, and the plot and world building were intriguing. I just felt like there was something missing from it that left me unsatisfied. 

I will be picking up the next one, however.  

3 STARS

An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir

- This was a surprising story that took me for a wild ride. From page one this book got straight to the action, entangling the three main characters in am intriguing web of freedom, love, power, fate and vengeance. There was never a dull moment, the writing was fast paced, the characters strong and well rounded and the plot ever thickening. Can't wait to see what the next book has in store.

5 STARS

PLAYED

Bioshock and Bioshock 2

- Having played Bioshock Infinite in 2015, i was eager to experience the original two (i bought the collection & only played these ones so far) but found myself quite disappointed. I was expecting a great plot like in Infinite, but was gifted with just the gore-y shooter part, (which i do have a soft spot for, not going to lie.) 

the plot was actually quite confusing, as was the world, but i feel as though i need to play it again to fully grasp what happened. Game play was pretty good for a remastered classic but i found i only used a select few of the plasmids and having to complete time-restricted puzzles to deactivate electronics was irritating.

I did, however, enjoy playing as a big daddy, and grew quite protective of the little sisters.  

3 STARS

Uncharted: The Collection

- Thanks to my uncle, I finally lost my Uncharted virginity and I'm so very very pleased I did !!

I love Nathan Drake. 

Going in to the games I expected him to be one of those cocky, self serving male protagonists that are completely bad-ass and quite frankly inhuman. Thank the gods I was wrong. Nate is the best action-adventure protagonist I've ever played as, and it's because he's so human. He makes mistakes, he has large character flaws (that are not forgotten by the writers, !!!) and he gets injured - both physically and mentally as a result. The same goes for all of the characters in the series. 

I was happily surprised to see that these games were very character driven and plot-focused, and that things that occurred in one game were not forgotten in the others (i'm talking character-wise, like Nate being consumed in finding treasure which leads him to neglect Elena, and having Elena remember that and not let it slide.)

I enjoyed seeing the characters grow over the course of the games (the graphics too), and the progression of the game play. 

*EDIT: I made a cute tumblr edit for uncharted, you should check it out!

5 STARS

Uncharted 4

- THIS GAME. WOW. 

I absolutely adore this game. it's my favourite of the series, and not because it has amazing graphics, but because it adds so much depth to Nate as a character. The addition of Sam and way the writers used him to manipulate Nate was so intriguing (i noticed so much on my second play through, like, wow) and it filled in gaps to Nate that I didn't realise existed. I also liked the way that through adding Sam in, it challenge and pushed Nate and his relationships with the other characters as a result.

I really love character driven stories, if you haven't already noticed. 

Game play was smooth, the rope was fun and really nifty in multiplayer, i also liked that they utilised stealth in this game, and that the companion character would also take a stealthier option to take out a guard as a pose to blowing your cover with a spray of bullets *glares at the collection*

I think i might write up a really lengthy post about this game just because i have a lot to say and not enough room here to say it!

5 STARS

Dishonored 2

- Best of the best. I adore Dishonored. It's literally my favourite game - ever. I've played it an embarrassing amount of times and i still never get bored. The characters, the plot, the gameplay, they're all so unique and fit together perfectly. and that's exactly how i felt about the sequel. okay, not exactly, but its goddamn close! 

I loved being reunited with Corvo and the Dishonored universe, bringing back the nostalgia but not too much that it felt like a rehash of the first game. Exploring Karnaca was great, it was interesting to see areas that weren't Dunwall and how it was both similar and completely different both through the architecture, lore, people and geography. I felt like this was Emily's game, however, and the choice between playing as Corvo and Emily should have been a DLC option. Corvo's had his time...

EVENTS

Allen and Unwin YAFANFEST

- To kickstart the season, Mum and I ventured into the city to attend the A&U event. I have to say, it was underwhelming, but I did however preorder a signed copy of Gemina, and got my 'Their Fractured Light' signed by Amie Kaufman (so now my entire Starbound Trilogy is signed, yay!). Part of the reason i attended was to talk to the authors and gather information about writing techniques, the publishing process etc, as I'm an aspiring author. I have to admit, the only helpful author of the panel was Garth Nix, who answered the questions honest and seriously. 

Yes, i'm quite salty about it. 

EB Expo

- I've been attending the expo for the past two years and I have to say nothing has changed..?? This year it was quite boring once i'd played the games I wanted to play, and my friend and i ended up leaving relatively early, even after lowering our gaming standards. 

I played Dishonored 2, the Jindosh Mansion mission, and the guy was impressed that i completed it all in the 20 min demo period we had.

I also demoed Horizon Zero Dawn, one of my most anticipated games of 2017, and I quite enjoyed it. It reminded me of the rebooted Tomb Raider games, which was great because they're my favourites. The robot-dinosaurs are a neat twist, but i would have liked to demo a bit longer to get a proper feel for the game. 

Also, i had my eyes peeled for any cosplay Ezio's and Corvo's, and i was so disappointed when there were literally none (again, i lowered my standard and was still denied. how rude.)

I'm still going next year, even though it was pretty average.. lol!