Blues and Bullets Episode 2 "Shaking The Hive" Review
By Edwin Velez
Improves Upon Episode 1 In an Exciting, Trigger Happy 2nd Episode
Taken from the review of Episode 1 “Blues and Bullets is the latest game by A Crowd of Monsters, and is a choice based interactive episodic adventure in a similar fashion to that of Telltale games and Life Is Strange. The story follows Eliot Ness, former cop and now the owner of a diner, as he is brought into a mystery that brings more questions than it does answers. When more and more children start disappearing, Ness’ experience is needed to find out why. Without the constraints of the law, he tackles the case in a variety of ways which are entirely up to the player.”
Episode 2, titled “Shaking the Hive”, picks up right where 1 left of and see’s Eliot Ness entering a submarine. Following up on a lead he received hinting toward those involved with the disappearance of Al Capone’s granddaughter, Ness is now deep undercover and the slightest error could put him at risk of exposure. Right away players are introduced to a tense scenario, and a new antagonist named Ivankov. Ivankov, along with his ominous body guard, lead the way to more clues as to where Sophia Capone is. Returning players have some idea as to where she is, since some final moments of the first episode are played as her, but the details are still light. The episode vastly improves upon the first, making for an exciting and even more intriguing session.
Episode 2, titled “Shaking the Hive”, picks up right where 1 left of and see’s Eliot Ness entering a submarine. Following up on a lead he received hinting toward those involved with the disappearance of Al Capone’s granddaughter, Ness is now deep undercover and the slightest error could put him at risk of exposure. Right away players are introduced to a tense scenario, and a new antagonist named Ivankov. Ivankov, along with his ominous body guard, lead the way to more clues as to where Sophia Capone is. Returning players have some idea as to where she is, since some final moments of the first episode are played as her, but the details are still light. The episode vastly improves upon the first, making for an exciting and even more intriguing session.
Most of the gameplay that follows Ness in the present time features Capone’s friend and body guard Ray. It is great to see this “forced partnership” dynamic between him and Ness, who get along yet do not go out of their way for each other. We also see some strong character showings from Capone who engages more with Ness in this episode (with a short segment that even lets you play as him) and also from other Untouchables. The narrative was much stronger and players will finally see their actions have repercussions. This is a great sign for the future episodes, as it was one of the things I thought episode one severely lacked. Blues and Bullets isn’t pulling any punches either, whether it is gruesome imagery or crude language, the title delivers on it’s tones.
Many of these tones and themes are reinforced throughout the episodes scenes. Infidelity, morality, religion and more all play a part in A Crowd of Monster’s epic twist on noir, and I am eager to see where it all leads. The story telling is engaged and deeply rooted, with more moments feeling like they matter this time around. There is an amazing first person segment that embodies a Layers of Fear type feel that blew me away, and tons of action between these story telling moments to keep it fun. Though episode 2 improves in many ways, it is still not without its flaws. Thankfully, most of the flaws this time around where small technical issues and not bigger scope problems. Things like inaccurate lip syncing are still here as well as some under developed facial emotions. Some animations look incredibly awkward when the characters face does not emote the same feelings as their body language. The previously mentioned Ivankov also looks like a tweaked version of Capone, which I feel could have been altered to make stand out more.
Many of these tones and themes are reinforced throughout the episodes scenes. Infidelity, morality, religion and more all play a part in A Crowd of Monster’s epic twist on noir, and I am eager to see where it all leads. The story telling is engaged and deeply rooted, with more moments feeling like they matter this time around. There is an amazing first person segment that embodies a Layers of Fear type feel that blew me away, and tons of action between these story telling moments to keep it fun. Though episode 2 improves in many ways, it is still not without its flaws. Thankfully, most of the flaws this time around where small technical issues and not bigger scope problems. Things like inaccurate lip syncing are still here as well as some under developed facial emotions. Some animations look incredibly awkward when the characters face does not emote the same feelings as their body language. The previously mentioned Ivankov also looks like a tweaked version of Capone, which I feel could have been altered to make stand out more.
Coming out of Episode 1 I was intrigued but still on the fence about Blues and Bullets. After an excellent sophomore showing, I am entirely on board. Everything from narrative and the action was reigned in and balanced really well. My time spent on this episode was highly enjoyable, and I got everything I wanted out of it that was missing the first time around. With a solid voice cast, an awesome visual style, and an fantastic score still supporting it, Blues and Bullets brings a nice change of pace to the episodic adventure genre. Let’s hope the gap between episodes is not as long this time around, as I am already hungry for more.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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+Art Style
+Improves Upon Episode 1 in Almost Every Way +Your Choices Have Clear Impacts |
-Some awkward animations
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Release Date: 4/8/2016
Developer: A Crowd of Monsters
Publisher: A Crowd of Monsters
Developer: A Crowd of Monsters
Publisher: A Crowd of Monsters