Tag: Ryan Hurst

God of War: Ragnarök Review: Making Your Own Destiny.

The God of War reboot was one of my favourite games of 2018.
Sure, I did not play it until many months after its release, mostly because I personally could not connect with the original trilogy.
But when I did finally get around to playing it, I regretted that I had ever waited.
Now, four years later, the highly anticipated sequel, God of War: Ragnarök has finally released and, in my opinion, it is a more than worthy follow up. 

God of War: Ragnarök lives up to the hype and then some.

Directed by Eric Williams this time, and set years after the beginning of Fimbulwinter, Kratos (Christopher Judge), Atreus (Sonny Suljic), and Mimir (Alastair Duncan) are still living in their secluded home, while being constantly hunted by Baldur’s vengeful mother, Freya (Danielle Bisutti).
However, Atreus is far from content and, after a friendly visit from Thor (Ryan Hurst) and Odin (Richard Schiff), he and Kratos have to seek shelter with Brock (Robert Craighead) and Sindri (Adam Harrington), as they begin their search for the imprisoned Norse God of War, Tyr (Ben Prendergast). 
All of this is done in the hopes that they can find the answers Atreus seeks, while also attempting to avoiding the prophesied Ragnarök, which seems to be drawing closer with every action they take. 
The story of Ragnarök is compelling from beginning to end, with plenty of fantastic characters, both old and new.

Many characters from the previous game return, some with bigger roles than others.

There are many interesting twists to this story, which will make a second playthrough much more rewarding to see all of the foreshadowing.
It is the bond between Kratos and Atreus that really makes this story so great, as both characters grow in touching ways, which made me tear up a couple of times.
Christopher Judge is especially excellent as Kratos, bringing so much strength yet so much vulnerability to the character.

Kratos’ continued growth as a father in this game is fantastic.

Then, there are the antagonists, with Odin being quite the surprise for me.
His personality was certainly not what I expected and it made him a fun villain.
Much like Kratos, Thor is also given quite a bit of humanity, despite his terrible actions.
As for criticisms I have of the story, I do wish that certain parts of the final battle had been grander or, at the very least, had a greater emphasis placed on them.
This is a minor issue though and the other problems I have with the story are mostly nitpicks.
So, all in all, the story of God of War: Ragnarök is pretty spectacular and is accompanied by fantastic gameplay.
Seriously, the gameplay here is a great improved on God of War (2018).
There are plenty of new abilities, weapons and, best of all, enemies to fight.
My biggest criticism of God of War (2018) was its servere lack of enemy variety.
I quickly grew sick of fighting reskinned trolls in that game so to see such a diverse group of foes in this game was excellent, and many of them were fun to fight.
This extends to some pretty great boss fights, although I will say that the bosses were overall better in the original, at least when it comes to the gods.

Although I think the god fights in God of War (2018) were better, I still cannot deny that the ones in Ragnarök were a lot of fun.

There are also plenty of great side missions, with many of them being available after beating the main story. 
In my first playthrough, I only experienced a couple of glitches.
The first was a couple of pop ins in the realm of Vanaheim but this was minor.
The second glitch was a funny one, where Kratos’ leg moved to stand on a bench while I was leveling up my armour, making it look like he posing for the dwarf behind it. 

M’Lady.

Other than these few glitches, the game performed perfectly.
The graphics and soundtrack of Ragnarök are also superb, with Bear McCreary delivering plenty of epic and somber pieces.
All in all, God of War: Ragnarök is a stellar video game.
Its epic and emotional story makes me even more excited for the continuation of this franchise in whatever form that may take, now that Norse mythology been convered.
Ragnarök is one of the best games of the year, and you should definitley play it. 

The Walking Dead Season Nine Episodes 12-14 Review: It Just Keeps Getting Darker and Darker.

Just when you think The Walking Dead cannot get any darker it keeps on surprising you.
The second half of season nine has continued with episodes 12-14, “Guardians,” “Chokepoint,” and “Scars,” all of which were great.
“Guardians” and “Chokepoint” continue the story of the Whisperers very well, and “Scars” is the best flashback episode the series has had in a long time.
As stated, the series just keeps getting more gruesome with each episode.
From Alpha brutally decapitating a challenger in “Guardians,” to Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) brutal fight with Beta and the other Whisperers in “Chokepoint”, and to Michonne (Danai Gurira) having to kill children to save Judith in “Scars.”
That last one is especially dark and feels very reminiscent of the season four episode “The Grove.”

Pregnant michonne kills.jpeg
In one of the darkest scenes in The Walking Dead a pregnant Michonne has to kill kids to save her own.

It also serves as a satisfying explanation for the scars Michonne and Daryl have and why Michonne is so closed off.
Along with this, “Scars” is the first episode of The Walking Dead to make me tear up since Glenn was supposedly killed off in season six (before it was stupidly revealed he survived by hiding under a dumpster).
The conversation Michonne has with Judith (Cailey Fleming) about what she went through and how she became isolated to protect her brought a tear to my eye.
This also leads to Michonne finally deciding to open up and go to the fair, which will sadly have disastrous consequences for Alexandria, based off what happens in the comics.
As for the other episodes, they are also strong ones with “Guardians” serving as the introduction of Beta, played by Ryan Hurst.
Much like Samantha Morton as Alpha, I am loving Hurst as Beta because he is perfectly cast.

Beta.png
Ryan Hurst is very intimidating as Beta and was the perfect choice for the role.

In this episode we are also given a first hand look at the way the Whisperers live, which is about as brutal as you would expect.
The scene where Alpha brutally murders the wife of the man who challenged her, and then hands him her head, before killing, is incredibly dark.
The episode also ends on a high note, with Daryl and Connie (Lauren Rindloff) using Whisperer masks to save Henry (Matt Lintz) and Lydia (Cassady McClincy).
This leads to episode twelve “Chokepoint,” which I actually consider to be the weakest of the three episodes because, while it does have an amazing main storyline, it has a very forgettable secondary storyline.
Watching Carol (Melissa McBride) and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) deal with the Highwaymen felt unnecessary and more like the filler we would see in seasons seven and eight.
That said though, the storyline did end on a very funny note.
Also, the main storyline of this episode is so exciting.
The fight between Daryl and Beta had me on the edge of my seat and made me eager to see the eventual fights between Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)) and Beta.

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The fight between Daryl and Beta was very well choreographed and intense, even though I knew it was unlikely either one would die.

This said, I hope they do a better job with Beta’s storyline than in the comics but, if how he has been presented so far is anything to go by, I would say there is a good chance the show can do it better.
All of these episodes are great and have me hyped up for the next episode, “The Calm Before,” which should be one of The Walking Dead‘s biggest moments.
I can still remember reading that moment in the comics and the feelings of shock and horror I felt.
Hopefully the show will be able to do this scene justice, just like they have been doing with the rest of the Whisperer Arc so far.