Season 3, Episode 2:
“Suns and Lovers”
*** out of *****
“Frell me dead.”
“Frell me dead.”
Or, at least, it’s coming back. Eidos-Montreal has made it official with the first game trailer (scroll down to view it), and a GameInformer exclusive: Get ready for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
I honestly didn’t think we’d be getting another game in this series. Foolish me didn’t think there was room for more to go between the ending(s) of Adam Jensen’s story in Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the story of J.C. Denton in the original, but I underestimated the influence of an interested market and the lure of additional gamer-dollars.
This is not a complaint! The original Deus Ex is one of my favorite games of all time, and Human Revolution gave us a prequel that updated the series (and gameplay) for the current generation. (We won’t speak of DX: Invisible War, the New Coke of the series.) Human Revolution didn’t quite capture the greatness of the original, yet it was still a (mostly) excellent game despite its flaws, and worth the long wait. I’m excited to see what they’ve got for Mankind Divided.
Reportedly, Mankind Divided (I’m not crazy about that name, but oh well) takes place two years following the events of Human Revolution, with the canon ending apparently being one where everyone augmented went violent and berserk. Jensen is now with an organization linked with Interpol, apparently dealing with cyborg terrorists. Will we see some of the events alluded to in Deus Ex? (Will the Statue of Liberty get its head blown off? Will UNATCO be formed? Will Bob Page return?
I guess we’ll find out. Eidos has apparently stated that they’ve learned from HR’s mistakes, especially with regard to boss fights. (Why they ever thought farming them out to another studio completely unrelated to the rest of the game was a good idea, perhaps we’ll never really know.) I’ll be waiting for this one, folks. Have a look at the trailer:
One of these days I should go through all of the Percy Jackson chapter titles so far and pick my top 5 favorite, because I’m pretty sure this one would be among them. That’s right, it’s time for the second chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Titan’s Curse…
I suppose it’s possible, despite your presence on this website, that you don’t really know much about Zeus Is Dead. Anything’s possible, right? Well, to give you a quick crash course, it’s the third book I’ve written, the first book of mine to be published via an independent publisher (i.e. the first one that wasn’t originally self-published), and my absolute favorite out of all everything I’ve ever written. Also, the back cover blurb goes something like this:
THE GODS ARE BACK. DID YOU MYTH THEM?
You probably saw the press conference. Nine months ago, Zeus’s murder catapulted the Greek gods back into our world. Now they revel in their new temples, casinos, and media empires–well, all except Apollo. A compulsive overachiever with a bursting portfolio of godly duties, the amount of email alone that he receives from rapacious mortals turns each of his days into a living hell.
Yet there may be hope, if only he can return Zeus to life! With the aid of Thalia, the muse of comedy and science fiction, Apollo will risk his very godhood to help sarcastic TV producer Tracy Wallace and a gamer-geek named Leif–two mortals who hold the key to Zeus’s resurrection. (Well, probably. Prophecies are tricky buggers.)
Soon an overflowing inbox will be the least of Apollo’s troubles. Whoever murdered Zeus will certainly kill again to prevent his return, and avoiding them would be far easier if Apollo could possibly figure out who they are.
Even worse, the muse is starting to get cranky.
Discover a world where reality TV heroes slay actual monsters and the gods have their own Twitter feeds: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure!
But it’s not just me shilling for this book. Other people whose brains I don’t even control have had this to say:
“I have not enjoyed a tongue-in-cheek comedy book this much in a long, long time.” —Abyss & Apex Magazine
“Unless you really like your supernatural fiction all mopey and dull, you’ll find something to love here.” —Jonathan Charles Bruce, author of Project Northwoods
And my personal favorite:
“Zeus Is Dead is full of laugh-out-loud moments, lashings of sly wit, moan-worthy puns, and a complex, fast-paced storyline. There aren’t very many humorous fantasy murder mysteries out there, especially not as intricately constructed as this one. Michael G. Munz takes a ‘What if,’ and runs with it like a toddler with Mom’s smart phone. He evokes a pantheon of characters including, well, the actual Pantheon, plus modern characters who will ring the bell of familiarity without being trite or clichéd. Munz knows his craft as well as his Greek mythology, pop culture, and dysfunctional family dynamics. The guffaw-worthy throwaway bits (stay tuned for the battle sundae) will remind you of Douglas Adams. A very enjoyable read.” —Jody Lynn Nye, author of View from the Imperium and co-author of the Myth Adventures of Aahz and Skeeve
At last I have time to get back to Percy Jackson! I can’t think of anything terribly clever for this intro, so let’s dive right into the first full installment of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Titan’s Curse…