Pros and Cons: Dying Light

Basic Information:
Developer:  Techland
Genre:  Horror, Survival, 1st Person Shooter, Sandbox, Online Co-op, PVP
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date:  Jan 27, 2015

What You'll Love:
  • 1st person parkour mechanics
  • Mostly solid voice acting
  • Melee combat (which is the primary mode of combat) is really fun!
  • Side quests are almost as involved as the main quest (and there are a lot of them)
  • Day/night mechanics innovatively used as really tough and fast infected come out only at night.  This adds a time management facet for players to make sure that they make it to a safe zone before sundown
  • Fleeing the tough zombies at night make for intense chases!
  • Weapon and item crafting are pretty involved allowing players to add blow torches, batteries, etc. to melee weapons to add elemental effects
  • Good mix of enemies as there are the infected types along with humans w/melee weapons and humans w/firearms and grenades.  Sometimes a combination of all of the above
  • Leveling system is pretty good in that your agility tree, survival tree, and combat tree all level up separately at rates depending on what skills you utilize the most.
What You'll Have Mixed or No Feelings About:
  • Main quest plot will probably be forgotten after a few days if you even cared at all
  • Generic main character
  • Cool enemy types but mostly carbon copies of Left 4 Dead enemies
  • Gunplay is a little sluggish but is still okay
  • Lockpicking is similar to Fallout 3 but annoyingly difficult on the higher difficulty locks.  Sometimes you'll take five whole minutes and break ten lockpicks just on one lock.
What You'll Hate.........Or Find Hilariously Bad:
  • Sometimes things that should be climbable aren't ie; some rocks, metal grates
  • Human enemy AI is incredibly simple.  They will never try to flank you
  • Why does Jade keep her eye shadow looking so good at all times in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?
  • Final boss battle is strictly a quick time event.  Disappointing...
Games Similar to This:
  • Left 4 Dead (combat)
  • Fallout 3 (lockpicking)
  • Mirror's Edge (parkour mechanics)

Pros and Cons: Syd Matters - Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles

Basic Information:
Record Label:  Third Side Records
Genre:  Indie-folk
Release Date:  April 5, 2005

What You'll Love:
  • Beautiful and heartfelt performances from all members of the band
  • Great concept regarding a melancholy present and an optimism for the future
  • Incredible use of countermelody
  • Elements of 2000s electronica adds emotional buildups to already emotional pieces
  • Expertly composed; adding all of the right touches in the right places
  • Just about the perfect blend of textures (something that the genre often misses)
  • Despite being a French band, it's English lyrics are above average and, at times, inspirational
  • Simple, but thoughtful album artwork
What You'll Have Mixed or No Feelings About:
  • "Lost Bird" feels a little sub-par compared to the other great compositions on the album.
What You'll Hate.........Or Find Hilariously Bad:
  • As a whole, the album has very little variation in dynamics or meter.
  • The hidden track feels incredibly out of place.  It doesn't "match" the rest of the album's style which hurts what's clearly a concept album.
Music Similar to This:
  • Smashing Pumpkins ballads such as "By Starlight," "Spaceboy," "Galapogos," etc. but with better sung vocals
  • Radiohead songs like "No Surprises," "High and Dry"