Doctor Who - Genesis of the Daleks "We will BEGIN!!!"

OK, post time again and yep its YET another revisitational one (I need to start writing new ones more I know!) and this is a revisit of my initial revisit of this post for the Doctor Who classic, Genesis of the Daleks. So, in short this is third post I will have done for this story! So, I will do the usual, add to a few sections here and there and expand maybe on the flaws a little more but that's about it.   

So, after 44 years how does this story hold up???  Is it still a great classic??? Well, let's take another look and find out....

And yes the usual is coming up....

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So the story starts with the Doctor being intercepted by the Time Lords while he is travelling to space station Nerva (from the earlier story in the same season "The Ark in Space").  The Doctor meets with a Time Lord (John Franklyn-Robbins) who tells him that he is on the planet Skaro, and gives him the mission to either stop the development of the daleks, or change their genetic make-up to ensure they don't become evil creatures to which the Doctor accepts.   

The Doctor is soon joined by his companions, Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) as they look at their surroundings, which is a barren desolate warground, as the two warring races on the planet, the Thals and Kaleds, have been engaged in a thousand year war.  The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive in a trench and soon attacked by a group of Thals, but the Kaleds soon come to their rescue, however Sarah is left for dead in the trenches, and is soon found by a group of Mutos (Kaleds who are mutated and were banished from the kaled dome).  Sarah is later captured by a group of Thal soldiers who take her and one of the mutos, Severin (Stephen Yardley) for slave labour in the Thal dome.    

Inside the Kaled dome, the Doctor and Harry are taken for interrogation, and the Doctor has his belongings confiscated, which includes the time ring, given to him by the Time Lord, which let them return to the TARDIS.  The Doctor and Harry soon stand witness to the unveiling of the first prototype dalek at a presentation given by the scientific elite's leader, Davros (Michael Wisher).  The Dalek armed with its weapon is about to kill the Doctor and Harry, but one of the scientists, Ronson (James Garbutt) intervenes in time to stop it.

Later Ronson meets with The Doctor and Harry in the prison cells, where he admits his concerns over the dalek project, and how Davros has created a monster with no morals or conscience.  The Doctor and Harry escape from their cell with Ronson's help, as they agree to reach the Kaled councillors and express their concerns and insist they shut down Davros's research.

However Davros's personal guard and security commander, Nyder (Peter Miles) has his spies discover of Ronson's treachery and also of the council's decision to investigate his work with the daleks.  On this basis, Davros decides there is no alternative but to destroy the Kaled race and the dome, as he makes a journey to the Thal dome with Nyder and gives them a formula to destroy the Kaled dome.

The Thals agree to use the formula and the Doctor along with Harry arrives in time to free Sarah from the labour prison before the rocket is launched, but he is too late to stop the countdown, as the Thals launch their rocket and Kaled dome is destroyed.

Meanwhile Davros exposes Ronson as a spy and has one of his daleks exterminate him, and with 20 new daleks in place, Davros uses them to infiltrate the Thals dome and exterminate them.  Back in the Kaled bunker the Doctor and his companions are captured by Nyder and Davros interrogates the Doctor, realising that he is from another planet and time, he forces the Doctor to reveal his knowledge of the Daleks defeats and how they can be avoided, which is recorded on tape.

And from here the Doctor must try and find a way to stop Davros, destroy the dalek force and prevent them from evolving into the most evil dominant species in the universe, if he can....

THOUGHTS 

There are no two ways about the fact Genesis of the Daleks stands easily as one of the very best Doctor Who stories of all time.  The script is brilliantly written by Terry Nation, and the setting is great, a thousand year war between two warring races, and from this war the daleks are born.  And with the new hard hitting style of the show under the producer at the time, Philip Hinchcliffe, Genesis here shows the perfect mix of suspense and drama.

Terry Nation shows his affinity for fascism in Genesis as well, as the Kaleds are dressed in very Nazi-esque uniforms, and the Elite, lead by Nyder, are dressed in almost SS type clothing.  And he would later on use similar themes in Blake's 7 where the human population are controlled by the Federation, a fascist regime, who show ruthlessness to those who opposed them.

The daleks themselve are brilliantly introduced into this story and the concept of their creation is really well devised, with the daleks having been born out of mutations, and in one scene Ronson shows the Doctor and Harry a screen room where the dalek embryos are grown, and Ronson grimly tells them that is the future for the Kaled race. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section my contain spoilers!)

Getting on to the performances they are all top notch, starting with Tom Baker as the Doctor, who by this time had started to grow into his role.

In the early stories everything is still pretty dramatic, but Tom still allows for a few moments of humour here and there in the story and he has his share of great scenes and these include the one where the Doctor asks one of the elite Kaled officers, Tane for a cup of tea.  And in the scene as Nyder leaves, the Doctor says to Tane "Good. Well, now he's gone, any chance of a cup of tea? and Tane looks outraged and barks "WHAT??!!".  And the Doctor continues "Or coffee. My friend and I have had a very trying experience. Haven't we had a trying experience, Harry?" and Harry offers up "Very trying, Doctor!".  

And Tane sharply says to them "Step into the security scan!" and the Doctor says "What no tea?!" and Tane sternly says "Let me point out to you that you have no rights whatsoever. I have full authority to torture and kill any prisoner who does not comply absolutely with my orders. That is your first and last warning!" which leaves the Doctor with nothing else to say except "No tea, Harry!". 

Then there is the scene where the Doctor addresses the Kaled council members at a meeting as he warns them about the Daleks.  And the Doctor delivers a fine speech which goes "Some of what I will tell you relates to events in the future. Not only on this planet but also on others whose existence you don't even know of. But my knowledge is scientific fact. Now, Davros has created a machine creature, a monster which will terrorise and destroy millions and millions of lives and lands throughout all eternity. He has given this machine a name, a Dalek. It is a word new to you, but for a thousand generations it is a name that will bring fear and terror. Now undoubtedly Davros has one of the finest scientific minds in existence, but he has a fanatical desire to perpetuate himself in his machine. He works without conscience, without soul, without pity, and his machines are equally devoid of these qualities".

Then there is the amusing scene where the Doctor and Sarah along with Harry make their way back to the Kaled dome via the subteranean tunnels.  And Sarah says to the Doctor "Listen, I've been down tunnels before and I've just had a rather nasty thought" and the Doctor says "Really?" and Sarah says "Yes.  Suppose there is something waiting for us in there" and the Doctor says "That is nasty. Better not tell Harry, he's gone first".  And in a later scene, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry emerge out of the shafts into the same room where Davros and Nyder are and Davros greets them saying "Welcome back!" and the Doctor turns to Sarah and says "You were right, Sarah, about there being something nasty waiting for us!".

Another highlight from Tom is in his scene with Davros where he pleads with him to stop the development of the daleks, and as he realises he is looking at a madman, he grabs Davros's one hand.  And in the scene the Doctor says to Davros "Order the destruction of the incubation section!" and Davros says "Destroy the daleks?!  Never!" and the Doctor presses the button that turns off Davros's life support system, which causes him to wilt physically.  And the Doctor warns  Davros "I'm warning you, Davros, next time that switch stays pressed, now give the order!" and Davros says "Even if I do this, there will be no escape for you!" and the Doctor says "I'll take that chance, now give the ORDER!".

And lastly there is the scene where the Doctor is faced with dilemma of destroying the Daleks by detonating the incubator section and he asks Sarah if he is doing the right thing.  And the Doctor says to her "Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it. The Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace, and never even know the word Dalek!".  And Sarah tries to convince the Doctor that he should and if here were dealing with a disease of some kind he wouldn't hesitate, but the Doctor is still hesitant and he says to Sarah "But I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent lifeform, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks!". 

Next is Elisabeth Sladen, who is great again as Sarah Jane-Smith and she displays Sarah again as being a strong independent women, who in the scene where she is placed in the Thal labour camp, organises an escape attempt to climb up the rocket scaffolding. 

And to kick off Liz's scenes I will mention the one where she weakly tells the others with her, Sevrin and a young Kaled soldier after having finished a shift of loading for the rocket that they must try and escape.

So, Sarah says to the others "We have to do something now. If we work another shift, we won't have the strength to take any kind of action". And the Kaled soldier asks "What do you mean?" and Sarah says "I mean we have to get out of here" and the Kaled says "So we get out into the rocket silo. Where then? The only other exit goes out through a command point, and that's going to be crawling with Thal troops!". Sarah has an idea and says "There is another way. The scaffolding. It goes right up to the nose cone of the rocket. Now, if we could get up there, then there's a chance we could get out onto the surface of the dome". Sevrin however is not so keen and says "That scaffolding is so high" but Sarah tells him "Its the only way. Its our only chance". 
  
Although later on the Thal soldiers capture her, and one of them takes a hold of her arm and kicks her feet away underneath, dangling her off the side of the rocket, and he says "I hear that people who fall from great heights are dead before they hit the ground.  I don't believe that.  Do you??". However, the soldier relents and lifts her back up onto the platform and tells her "You're going back to work. In a day or so, you'll wish I had let you drop. Right, get over!".

Then there is the scene where Doctor is about to destroy the Dalek embryos in the incubation section by wiring it with explosive charges and he holds two wires in his hands. Som the Doctor tells Sarah "Just touch these two strands together and the daleks are finished!" but he pauses and asks Sarah "Have I done right?" and Sarah says to him "To destroy the Daleks?! You can't doubt it!". However the Doctor then asks Sarah "Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?!". And Sarah firmly says to him "We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them. You must complete your mission for the Time Lords!". 

However the Doctor is still not sure and he looks at the two wires in his hands and says "Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it" and Sarah pleads with him "Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you were destroying, you wouldn't hesitate!".  But the Doctor still ponders "But I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent lifeform, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks!" and Sarah says to him "Think of all the suffering there'll be if you don't do it!". 

Ian Marter is also great once more as Harry and for once is actually shown to be a bit more adept at dealing with the action and situations, and a bit less clumsy as he was before.

Other good moments from Ian include the scene where the Doctor, Sarah and Harry near the start of the story wander around the wastelands and find dead bodies and mixed equipment.  And Harry observes the equipment "Radiation detector and a gas mask. The two things don't go together, do they?" and the Doctor says "It's like finding the remains of a stone age man with a transistor radio" and Harry jokes "Playing rock music!". 

Then there is the tense scene where the Doctor stands on a landmine, which appears to be inactive but it is situated unsteadily and runs the risk that it could go off so Harry uses some rocks to prop up the mine so the Doctor lift his foot off.  And in the scene the Doctor says to Harry "Harry, I'm standing on a land mine.  If I move my foot, it might detonate it" and Harry says "Don't move your foot!" and the Doctor says "I won't!".

And the Doctor then tells Harry to back up once he has wedged some thin pieces of rock underneath the gap but Harry tells him "No, Doctor, you'll have a better chance if I hold it firm" and the Doctor says quietly "Come on, Harry, don't be difficult" and Harry firmly says "Don't you argue, Doctor!".  And Harry tells the Doctor "Now just lift your foot very, very gently" and the Doctor does so and nothing happens and the Doctor relaxes, smiles and looks to Harry and says "Thank you, Harry" and Harry says "My pleasure!". 

And last of all is of course that rather unintentionally funny scene where the Doctor and Harry wander through the caves to reach the Kaled government HQ and Harry get's his foot caught in a giant clam. So, after the Doctor manages to prise open the clam and release's Harry foot and the Doctor asks "One of Davros's experiments!" and Harry exclaims "Magna peloris!" and the Doctor asks "What?" and Harry says "Latin" and the Doctor says "Never mind the Latin. Let's have a look at your foot!". So, the Doctor examines it and says "Nothing seems to be broken. Its incredible" and Harry frustrated asks "Why is it always me that puts a foot in it?!". 

As for the guest cast members Peter Miles is great as the conniving and manipulative Nyder, Davros's right hand man, who remains loyal till the bitter end.  Miles has some good moments in his performance, particularly where he tells the Doctor what Mutos are "Mutos are the scarred relics of ourselves.  Monsters created by the chemical weapons used in the first century of this war. They were banished into the wastelands where they live and scavenge like animals".  And the Doctor says "In otherwords genetically wounded?" and Nyder says "Your views are not important". 

And later on in the scene where Nyder approaches Gharman (Dennis Chinnery) and pretends to be on his side by showing his concerns over Davros's ruthless ambitions with the Dalek project.  And Nyder says to Gharman "You know that I have served Davros faithfully for many years. I've never questioned anything he has ever done. But he has become a megalomaniac. He's ready to sacrifice everything and everyone, including us, just so that the Dalek project can be completed!". 

Then in the following scene Gharman meets with Nyder in private and he tells him his concerns in full and that he hopes to get some more men to back him up, which Nyder goes along with briefly.  And Nyder says to Gharman "Right, I'll try and get some of the military Elite on our side. Who can you count on?" and Gharman says "Kavell, Frenton, and Parran, but there'll be more soon, I'm sure of it!" and Nyder all of a sudden loudly says "Thank you!  That what I wanted to know!" and then out of nowhere Davros appears and says to a shocked Gharman "That information will prove most helpful!".

James Garbutt as the Kaled scientist Ronson is also very good and at times you feel sorry for his character as you realise he has good intentions but ultimately he is sure to be doomed.

And Garbutt has some good moments too that include the scene where Ronson expresses his concerns over the Dalek project to the Doctor and Harry.  And in the scene Ronson says "You see, we believe that Davros has changed the direction of our research into something which is immoral, evil. You see, the Elite was formed to produce weapons that would end this war. We soon saw that this was futile and changed the direction of our research into the survival of our race. But our chemical weapons had already started to produce genetic mutations".  

And Ronson continues saying "Now Davros, he believed that there was no way to reverse this trend and so he started experiments to establish our final mutational form. He took living cells, treated them with chemicals and produced the ultimate creature. Come with me!".  So Ronson leads the Doctor and Harry to the incubation unit where he shows them a screen door containing inside the Dalek embryos.  And Ronson says to the Doctor "Now this is what the Kaleds will become" and the Doctor and Harry look and see something green slithering and making growling noises and Ronson grimly says to them "That is our future!" and the Doctor quietly says "You've got troubles!". 

Guy Siner, who plays the young General Raven, gives a decent account of himself, although his main scene is a bit over the top when he angrily shouts about how they will defeat the Thals.  And Raven in the scene rants "When victory is ours, we'll wipe every trace of the Thals and their city from the face of this land!  We will avenge the deaths of all Kaleds who've fallen in the cause of right and justice, and build a peace which will be a monument to their sacrifice!  Our battle cry will be, "TOTAL EXTERMINATION OF THE THALS!".

Stephen Yardley also does well in his role as the sympathetic Muto, Sevrin, who helps out Sarah when they are captured.

Yardley's most notable scene is his first where Sevrin and one of his fellow Mutos, Gerrill find Sarah unconscious in the wastelands.  And Sevrin says to Gerrill "She's beautiful. No deformities, no imperfections" and Gerrill says "She is a norm!  All norms are our enemies!  Kill her for what she has done to her kind!".  However Sevrin refuses and says "No, why? Why must we always destroy beauty? Why kill another creature because it is not in our image?!" but Gerrill angrily says "Kill her!  It is the law. All norms must die!" and he produces a knife and says "And if you won't, I will!" and the two of them struggle but are interrupted by patrolling Thals who shoot Gerrill who tries to escape, leaving Sevrin and Sarah to be captured. 

As for Harriet Philpin as the Thal girl, Bettan, she does well here and she does have some notable moments in the story even if her character is a bit underwritten.

But I will for time only mention one of her scenes and its her first one where after the Doctor has been captured by the Thals, is released by them just after they have victoriously fired their rocket and destroyed the Kaled dome. So, Bettan asks the Doctor, who sits solemnly "Did you have friends in the Kaled city" and the Doctor grimly says "Yes. Two people very dear to me. I sent them into that holocaust".

Bettan then asks the Doctor what he will do now and he tells her he will start again to find a way to stop the daleks being developed. So, Bettan puzzled asks "Daleks?" and the Doctor tells her "Yes. Machine creatures Davros is developing. Monsters" and Bettan says to the Doctor "Davros? No, you're wrong. It was he who told us how to destroy the Kaled dome. His only interest is in achieveing peace!". The Doctor then tells Bettan "Let me tell you something. The Kaled government was on the point of stopping Davros's experiments, and rather than let that happen, he helped you to destroy his own race!". Bettan then says "You'll never convince my people of that. Davros is a hero" and the Doctor somberly says "Yes, for how long I wonder?". Bettan then says to the Doctor "I must go. Under the general amnesty you are free to leave whenever you want" and the Doctor quietly says "Thank you".   

Tom Georgeson is also very good in his role as the Kaled scientist, Kavell, who joins Gharman in his revolt against Davros's ruthless development of the Daleks.  And Tom has some good moments too that include the one where Kavell quietly tells Ronson he knows that he helped the Doctor and Harry to escape their cell.  

And in the scene Kavell says to Ronson "Does Davros know the prisoners have escaped?" and Ronson says to him "I don't know what you mean.  The prisoners are in their cell" but Kavell tells him "Well, I have news for you. They've reached the city and made contact with the leaders whose names you gave them".  And Ronson looks surprised and asks "How do you know?" and Kavell grins and says "There is some advantage in being in charge of the communication system. All we can hope for now is that they convince the leaders that Davros' work here must be ended" and Ronson hushes with desparation "They must!  They must!". 

And last but by no means least at all is Michael Wisher as Davros, who is simply magnificent as one of the show's most memorable villains. 

And despite the physical limitations that Wisher had as Davros, as he was encased in a half Dalek chair, and he only had the use of one hand (with the other curled into a limp state) his vocal performance is sheer perfection, as he produces the perfect mix of megalomania, hysteria and controlled manipulation. Its certainly one of the finest performances you will ever see on the small screen (or big screen even!).

Wisher has various great moments in the story and to start off there is the scene where Davros does a demonstration of his prototype Dalek, who is about to exterminate the Doctor and Harry but Ronson interrupts and turns off Davros's power switch for the Dalek, leaving the crippled scientist in a state of fury.

And Davros says to Ronson "You dare to interfere! You have the audacity to interrupt one of my experiments?!" and Ronson anxiously says "But it would have destroyed them!" but Davros with rising anger shouts "So you think the saving of a worthless life more important than the progress we have made? My creature showed a natural desire, an instinct to destroy, and YOU INTERCEDED!! YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THIS!!".

And one of Wisher's best scenes is where Davros interrogates the Doctor on his knowledge of the Daleks, and he says to him "Now, you will tell me the reason for every Dalek defeat. With that knowledge I will program them, with that knowledge they will know their mistakes and how to avoid them, with that knowledge there will be no defeats! WE WILL BEGIN!".  And the Doctor pleads with Davros saying "Davros, if I tell you what you want to know I will betray millions of people in the future.  I can't do that!" but Davros angrily shouts at him "But you can!  You will tell me!!  You will tell me!!  YOU WILL TELL ME!!".    

Also in the scene where the Doctor asks Davros if he would have created a virus that would kill all life, would he use it and Davros admits he would.  And Wisher here delivers a chilling speech as Davros says "Yes. Yes! To hold in my hand a capsule that contains such power, to know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything! Yes, I WOULD do it! That power would set me up above the gods. AND THROUGH THE DALEKS I SHALL HAVE THAT POWER!".

And in the next moment Nyder knocks out the Doctor and asks Davros "What do you want done with this?" and Davros says "For the moment he must be kept alive. He has knowledge that is vital to our future, and I will drain every last detail of it from his mind!  And then, he will learn the true meaning of pain!".  

And last of all there is the scene where Davros makes a final plea to the Kaled scientists and personnel who are against him.  And Davros angrily says "Do you believe that I would let a lifetime's work be ended by the will of spineless fools like you?!  You have won nothing!  I allowed this charade to be played out for one reason only. To find those men who were truly loyal to me and to discover those who would betray me!  We, I shall GO ON!!". 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

In terms of the direction David Maloney, a regular director with the show, well he rarely puts a foot wrong here, as he keeps the mood of the story as intense and brooding as you could hope for.  And Maloney was no stranger to directing some of the show's best classics such as The Talons of Weng Chiang, The Mind Robber, The Deadly Assassin and of course this one.    

And as for the incidental music, by the regular composer, Dudley Simpson, again there are some great passages of music, especially in the scenes with the daleks being introduced and overall he produces here one of his best scores for the show.  And by this time Simpson had gotten away from the cheesier sounding incidental music he scored during the Pertwee era and in the early Baker era he started to introduce a far more intense and dramatic sound for the show, which works just great.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

As for Genesis of the Daleks flaws.... well the story has a few but nothing too glaring or serious but it does have to be said that one or two of the cliffhangers are a bit weak, such as in episode two where Sarah falls from the rocket scaffolding and the picture is freeze framed, it makes for a pretty duff one.  Then there is the one at the end of part three where the Doctor is zapped by electricity when he attempts to sabotage the Thals rocket but I think a better climax would be when the Doctor looks on in horror as the Kaled dome is destroyed by that rocket and he says "And I sent Sarah and Harry in there!". 

Also there are one or two cheesy inclusions, one of which is the uninentionally funny inclusion of Davros's "destruct button" which has the words "Total destruct" written on it in the scene where he dares the scientists to destroy his work.  And it serves as unintentionally funny moment in an otherwise pretty dramatic and intense scene.

The inclusion of the giant clam is also really daft, as it is yet another crappy looking prop in the show, where Harry get's his foot caught in it, and the Doctor feebly uses a big rock to hit the clam and force it to let go of its grip on Harry.  Its another laughable moment in the story that serves as an unintentional laugh and you even see later on the Doctor telling Sarah and Harry to be watch out for them as they head their way back to the Kaled dome, yet in the scene the clams aren't even moving!

Another issue with the plot was to do with Sarah being exposed to toxic radiation during her time being held captive by the Thals and as she is forced to do manual labour to load up the Thals rocket with explosives.  And clearly you see how weak Sarah looks as she is affected by radiation and it makes you wonder how she didn't actually end up dying from exposure to it!  And when the Doctor turns up to save her, she suddenly becomes animated and springs to life like the radiation effects on were never there!

You could also argue that by the end of the show that the Doctor really hasn't accomplished anything with trying to prevent the Daleks from turning into an evil race, as they still will grow into the evil scumbags that we have come to know in the series, so you could aruge from that point of view the story was a waste of time!  However that doesn't stop it from being a classic does it?!  Nah.

Then there is the moment where the Doctor faces his moral quandry over wiping out the Daleks as he holds the two wires with which all he has to do is touch them together to detonate the incubation room the Dalek embryos are in. However Gharman enters and saves the Doctor the bother by telling him that the Kaled scientists and personnel have won and defeated Davros in their power struggle. However...Gharman doesn't even seem to notice what the Doctor was about to do by holding the wires to set off the explosives to wipe out the Dalek embryos! Its like Gharman never thought to ask "Wait a minute? What's that you are holding there in your hands?! What are you up to??". Basically this guy really isn't that inquistive it has to be said! 

And last of all I find it a bit strange how Davros somehow did not find a way to encode or ensure that the Daleks would end up not obeying his commands as they (SPOILER!) turn on him at the end of the story.  And its here where Davros finally realises that he has made a dreadful mistake in creating them without a moral conscience but only just a little too late it has to be said!  So in the end, Davros, despite his genius intellect really is a prize numpty! 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summing up, Genesis of the Daleks still remains one of the great classic stories in the show's history and its a story that has just about everything with a great script, a great villain and great performances particularly from Michael Wisher, who delivers the performance of a lifetime here as Davros.

And yes the story has its niggles of course, which I've already mentioned above but they are totally outweighed by the story's good points and this remains one of the very best stories the original series had to offer, which is still great after 44 years.

OK, so that's it for now and I will be back hopefully with another post before the end of the month.

So, till then its bye for now! 

Tomb Raider: Underworld Review "Drop it, Zip, or I'll drop you!!"

OK, this is another game related post and this one is a revisitation (yes another lol!) of my original post for the action adventure game, Tomb Raider: Underworld. So, as usual it will be a reasonably sizeable rewrite with new stuff and all the paragraph headings added in like I do with my current posts.

So, after 11 years, does Tomb Raider: Underworld still hold up??? Well, let's take another look and find out....

And yes the usual is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

Right well here's a bit about the story and it begins with Lara (voiced by Keeley Hawes) who's mansion has been set on fire and it explodes, with Lara desparately trying to escape, as she reaches the exit door, one of her team, Zip (voiced by Alex Deser) suddenly shoots at her and she ducks out the way.

The story then moves back in time to a week before the explosion with Lara having travelled to the Mediterrenean sea, in an effort to try and learn about the disappearance of her mother.  Lara travels underneath the sea and finds an ancient temple of Norse legend, and within it she finds one of Thor's gauntlets.  After Lara travels to the surface she intercepts the ship of one of her adverseries, Amanda Evert, and onboard she battles with her mercanery soldiers and finds an imprisoned Jacqueline Natla, another of Lara's old enemies.

Natla tells Lara that she must locate Thor's hammer and by using it, Lara can then unlock the underworld and find her mother and Natla gives Lara a potential location for the hammer in Thailand, after which Lara escapes the sinking ship, as a result of her battle with Amanda's mercanaries.  Lara then travels to Thialand but she doesn't find the gauntlet but does find evidence that her father had been and moved it before he died and Lara soon deduces where he moved it, right back home at the Croft manor.

As Lara returns back to the manor she searches beneath her home and finds her father's secret office in a crypt and she also discovers the other gauntlet as well as tape recording from her father warning her that Helheim contains a potent weapon.  However at this point the mansion is set on fire, which leads into the events at the start of the game, and Lara briefly encounters her doppleganger, who also shoots one of Lara's team members, Alister.  Zip who believes that Lara shot Alister, fires a few warning shots at her, but Lara convinces Zip that it wasn't her and after a brief fight with her doppleganger who escapes, Alister dies.

Lara afterward then decides to continue her quest to find Thor's hammer, which takes her on a dangerous path to where she will eventually learn the truth about what happened to her mother.

THOUGHTS 

Tomb Raider Underworld is another strong entry in the Lara Croft series and it sees the continuation of what made Tomb Raider Legend work so well with a good solid storyline as well as some excellent voice acting from Keeley Hawes, who in many ways is the definitive voice for the chraracter.

The game also saw some subtle changes made to Lara's character as she no longer wears her usual turqouise sleeveless top and khaki shorts, but a dark brown top and and black shorts.  Lara also like she does in Legend, has a few costume changes throughout the game at different levels, and her movement is now far more realistic as the movement is now fully motion captured and was modelled by an olympic gymnast, Heidi Moneymaker (sounds like a James Bond character!).

GAMEPLAY 

Gameplay wise Underworld is also where the game scores very well and there some enhancements to the game effects such as Lara can now be stained with mud when she runs through wet or mucky terrain, which is then washed off by the rain.  Lara can also push foilage aside when she runs through environments such as jungles and her movements also feel that bit more immediate and dynamic than before given the motion capture.  Lara can also open jugs or pots that contain medicine or valuable items, which she can kick open with her feet and these are spread throughout the game.

Lara in certain levels uses a motorbike which features more prominently here than it has done in previous games such as Legend and she can use it to navigate traps and obstacles.  Another improvement to the game is in the combat system as Lara can now shoot her guns and aim while she is climbing or driving rather than just having to do just statically do it when she is running on the ground.  There is also a change to the adrenaline moments where you can take control of Lara during the moments where time is slowed down and she can move out of the way of gunfire. Movement wise Lara can also now in addition to swinging from poles, she can also lift herself up and walk on them side to side as she prepares to jump onto another area.

Guns and ammo wise Underworld offers not much in the way of new weapons but you do get the choice of your own weapon before the start of a level such as two submachine guns, an assault rifle or a shotgun, but personally I always go with the submachine guns!  However unlike Lara's main dual guns, the other weapons have limited ammo so you need to use them carefully against the bigger more dangerous enemies in the game.   

GRAPHICS 

Graphically speaking, Underworld is easily the best looking game up to this point in the series so far as the graphics are stunning and the environments are rich and very well detailed, and the environments are once again quite varied.  Lara's character model was also up to this point, the best yet as she looks pretty fine with plenty of facial expressions, big brown eyes and erm big something else! ;-) Yep Lara it has to be said still has a fine figure and her chest is very nicely in proportion here without appearing too ridiculous (well put it this way, I've no complaints about it!). 

The graphics also have much improved environmental effects such as rain, lightning, sun, smoke and also snow effects.  Lara is also affected by the weather elements as she will get wet when she swims or when it rains and as previously mentioned, she will also be covered in mud or dirt at certain points in the game depending on her environment.

VOICE ACTING (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

The voice acting in the game is also excellent overall.


Keeley Hawes as I previously mentioned is great in her voice role of Lara Croft and for my personally, I still think she is the best voice actress to have played the role.

And Keely has some good lines of dialogue for Lara such as in the scene where she discovers the location of one of Thor's gauntlets, which turns out to be back at Croft Manor, hidden by her father. So, in the scene Zip over the radio asks Lara "Did you find anything?" and Lara says "There was a map but father destroyed it" and Lara's other assistant, Alister says "Well, the acorn certainly didn't fall far from the tree!". Lara then tells them "He did it deliberately, to keep the information from Natla. But I'm sure he recorded everything first, and what's more, he found Thor's other Gauntlet" and Zip asks "Where did he put it?" and Lara tells Zip "Right under your nose!".

Another good scene is when Lara, back at Croft manor, get's geared up to go into the crypt underneath the manor. So, Alister asks Lara "Why didn't you tell us this was down there?" and Zip nervously says "Hell, I wish I still didn't know!" and Lara takes out a couple of torches and jokes with Zip "I did warn you that playing your music so loud could wake the dead!".

Then there is the scene where Lara's doppledanger shows up at the manor to steal the gauntlet and it kicks her butt and shoots Alister, who soon dies from his wound. Lara, then later carries Alister's body out of the manor, which the doppledanger set on fire.  Lara tells Zip "I've only seen something like it once before - a doppelganger that Natla sent after me years ago, but that one didn't have a mind of its own". Zip then asks "What are we going to do?" and Lara says "After I deal with the authorities, I'm going to Southern Mexico to retrieve Thor's Belt!". Zip outraged at Lara's words asks angrily "What?! Alister is dead and its business as usual?!!" and Lara vengefully says "I need Thor's belt to get his hammer, and I need the hammer to kill a god!".

Alex Desert is also very good in his role as Zip however its a bit disappointing to see his role scaled back in the game this time round and his witty dialogue that he shared with Lara and Alister has also been reduced greatly here too.

However, this doesn't prevent Alex from having some good moments in the game such as the one where Zip angrily shoots at Lara, having believed her to be the one that set fire to the manor and Lara's bulter tries to stop him and shouts "Its Lara!!" and Zip shouts "I know!!". So, Lara ducks out the way and then points her guns at him and says angrily "Drop it, Zip or I'll drop you!" and Zip shouts back "What so you can shoot me again?!". And as Zip puts his gun down, Lara asks what happened and Zip tells her "All right, say it wasn't you. Someone who looked a hell a lot like you opened it using the retina scanner!". Lara then asks "Then what happened?" and Zip still a bit angry and confused tells Lara "You... she got away with Amanda's Wraith stone".

And last of all is the scene where Lara arrives at Jan Mayen Island (which is a real volcanic mountain based in the Arctic Ocean) and Zip talks to Lara over a headset link. So, in the scene Lara drives her motorbike onto a mountain top and Zip fills Lara in on some details of her enemy, Amanda's ship. So, Lara tells Zip "Excellent work, Zip. Thank you. You've earned some rest, I'll take it from here" and Zip coldly says "Be careful. And when you see Amanda, give her my regards!".

WARNING: THIS PARAGRAPH CONTAINS A SPOILER!!!
 
Greg Ellis is also very good in his role as Alister, Lara's other tech assistant however he unfortunately comes to an untimely end here as Lara's doppledanger shoots him and escapes. Lara then holds Alister as he is dying and he says weakily to Lara "I feel bloody awful!" and Lara urgently says "Just lie still!" and with his dying breaths, Alister tells Lara "I'll see you....in Avalon" and he dies and Lara leans over him and shouts in frustration "Damnit!".  

The other voice actors are also very good here but I won't mention their dialogue just to save on time and typing! Katie Soucie does well as Amanda Evert, Lara's enemy as is Grey DeLisle as Lara's nemesis, Jacqueline Natla.

MUSIC 

Music wise the game is also excellent and it features a fine score, which was composed mainly by Colin O'Malley and it has many passages which are dramatic and atmospheric and suit the game perfectly well. In fact the score this time around is largely orchestral rather than electronic and has a more epic grandiose feel to it than previous Tomb Raider games, which still works well for the game.

FLAWS

Getting onto the flaws and niggles of the game.... well yes Underworld does have a few problems.

For starters I would say the combat system, while its good that Lara can fire her guns while she climbs, the auto-aim aspect is a pretty awkward and unnatural looking in practice as Lara aims her guns in every direction at ridiculous speed!  The adrenaline moments, whilst you no longer need to press a specific button at a given moment, don't feel like they really add anything valuable to the gameplay, and they also feel a bit awkward when you try and move Lara in slow motion.

Another issue lies with Lara's movement at certain points in the game where she seems to get stuck when she stops running and hits a wall and you have to make her do a roll to get her unstuck or some such action, which highlights some of the flaws in the game's movement. I found this to also be a particular issue while playing the game on the PC and using an Xbox controller that I had to keep turning the right stick to get the camera to move around which is a bit frustrating.  

I also think the game's climactic battle sequence is a bit frustrating where Lara has to use Thor's hammer to knock out the doomsday device, which involves alot of jumping about over a large area, which can easily lead to Lara loosing her footing or jumping off the wrong way and falling to her death, which in short is a real pain in the ass!

Some of the game's puzzles are also a little frustrating such as the one where Lara needs to open an underground passage in the Mexican jungle, which is timed and she has to ride her motorbike to get there before it closes on her, and its easy to get lost in the jungle and get there after it has closed! In fact the Mexico level itself can tend to get a bit confusing because there are so many different routes that Lara has to take on her bike. 

The game also lacks any actual game bosses as such (with exception of maybe that big troll thing you fight later on at Jan Mayen Island). And this is maybe a missed trick as boss fights could have added a welcome challenge to the game, especially as the actual enemies in the game don't really pose much threat to Lara in the end, which makes for a rather disappointing combat experience.

The game could also do with some more moments of humour as the tone of the game is fairly serious and its lacks the good mix of humour and drama that Legend had and that is certainly an area for improvement here. And its almost like it was a sign of things to come with the Tomb Raider reboot games which were way too serious and grim in tone for my liking. 

And last of all is one issue I have with the game's otherwise excellent graphics is that there are probably too many dark areas in certain levels where Lara has to rely on using her shoulder flashlight. And later on in the game there is a heavier emphasis on dark areas and its a pity that there isn't a better balance for light and dark areas in the game. Don't get me wrong there are still plenty of bright areas to be found in the game but they come more early on than later (although the last two levels aren't too bad for that).

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

But despite all that Underworld is still an excellent addition to the Tomb Raider series and it remains a strong entry in the franchise with its good storyline, terrific graphics, largely excellent gameplay and good voice over cast, which makes it still worth playing.

Right, so that's it for now and I'll see you soon for another post.

Till then its bye fer now!

Top 10 Cheapest Dark Souls Bosses - Part 2 No's 5-1

Right, so its time to continue with my countdown list of my pick for the top 10 cheapest bosses in Dark Souls.

This list will is based on bosses who used cheap shot tactics to either attack or kill your character and while I am not necessarily calling these bosses cheats(!) and they are by no means bad fights, in fact some cases they are really good ones but they do have an element of sneaky, cheatery going on at the same time. However, this is the nature of Dark Souls of course, you are going to get cheap bosses! ;-)

Right, so with that said let's take a look at the top 5 on the list...

5. Aldrich, Devourer of Gods (Dark Souls 3)

So, at No.5 is this guy from Dark Souls 3, Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, a very powerful mage, who has a penchant for cannibalism aswell as wiping out his enemies with brutal magic spells.

Now what makes Aldrich feel like a cheap boss is simply the nature of how brutal his magic attacks are, particularly his magic arrow volley, which is utterly lethal and WILL instakill you if you are unfortunate enough to get the full brunt of it!  Then of course there are his soul sphere attacks and he usually fires two at once but he can at times even spam this spell up to a total of six times! Add on top of this a melee attack with his scythe like staff that can easily chunk off half of your health, if not more, then you really are in a tough fight but at the same time does feel a bit cheap.

And its simply the way in which they made Aldrich able to quickly one shot players with his magic arrows in particular that makes the fight feel cheaper than anything else. The are of course strategies to avoid that primarily involve you running around behind his tail to get away from the arrow volley or in his second phase you really need to run away from him when the arrows come reigning down as they can change direction! His other attacks however require careful dodging and rolling so you don't connect with them because then you will know all about it!

So for me, Alridch is easily one of the cheapest boss fights given the sneaky mage tactics of trying to wipe you out as soon as you come in the door with arrows or even pulverise you with soul sphere spells.  And for that he more than deserves to take his place on the list here in the top 5.

4. Bed of Chaos - Dark Souls 

So, at No.4 is this chick (or tree thing!) from the original Souls game, which is of course the Bed of Chaos, who must rank easily as one of the most hated bosses in the history of the Souls series and she is far from my favourite too I have to say. The Bed of Chaos is essentially just a giant tree like enemy and inside is the Witch of Izalith and her two daughters, who are all in three separate cores of the tree bed. 

So, what makes this boss so cheap???  Well, for me Chaos can become quite infuriating in the way in which she makes the ground collapse underneath your feet and it will end up killing you more times than not if you are not careful. Its also uses some really annoying claw swipes and slams that knock you off your feet and do quite a bit of damage and you need to block with your shield in order to take the brunt of them.

It has to be said though that this boss isn't that difficult, more just annoying and it feels like a very cheap one at that. However, the one thing going for this boss is that once you knock a core of the tree bed and if you die afterward, it will checkpoint your progress and you for once in the whole series you do NOT need to start all over again! Phew!

So, for me the Bed of Chaos is a pretty mediocre boss that does feel very cheap and annoying in it use of sneaky claw swipes and breaking up the ground to kill you makes for a frustrating and cheap experience that sees it take its worthy place at No.4.

3. The Twin Princes - Dark Souls 3 

OK, hear me out on this one! I'd like to start by saying that I really like this boss fight, its really good and pretty intense and it has a powerful soundtrack and great cutscenes but by heck I really do have to say the mechanics of this one do feel very cheap overall.

So who are the princes again? Well, they are both crippled princes, who are victims to a curse and the elder Prince Lorian, is mute and cannot talk but he is still quite a powerful figure and posses a mighty sword that can do major damage. Whereas the young prince, Lothric, is a very skinny mage, who has some powerful miracles that he can use to attack you and he also has the ability to teleport around the room.

So, why is this boss fight feel so cheap???  Well, it comes down to the whole teleportation idea with Lorian being teleported via Lothric's magical powers all around the room, he will spring up and surprise you with a massive thwack of his sword! And Lorian's attacks hurt...alot! So, for me the whole mechanic of the two of them teleporting around the room in itself can make for a very frustrating time especially when Lorian teleports right ontop of you or he can take you by surprise with his holy sword attack, which usually results in instant death!

There of course are telltale signs of how to avoid them teleporting in on you as you just have to pay attention to where the beam of light appears, which signifies the spot where they will land next so you step back before they teleport in.  So, this does help counter their attacks but its not a fullproof solution as you will always still get caught out by them at times.

So, yep the Twin Princes, while they are one of the strongest fights of Dark Souls 3 they also happen to one of the cheapest aswell with their teleportation tactics, its one that can be very hard to master and despite their quality, they still take their spot here at No.3.

2. Nameless King - Dark Souls 3

So, at No.2 is this guy...the Nameless King.  Yep, good old Nameless takes the runner-up spot and if you have ever played against him then you will surely know why he is on this list!

The Nameless King, if you are unaware of who he is in the series, is the first born sun of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder (the final boss at the end of the first Souls game) and after time he rejected to live his life among people and left to live with dragons instead. So, when you find him, Nameless will be riding his big dragon, King of the Storm and this is where the cheap shottery begins!

So, yeah why is this fight so cheap??? Well...a number of reasons. First up are the deeply annoying camera angles in the first phase of this fight as the camera spins around relentlessly in a confusing manner as you try and fight Nameless and his dragon, which make it difficult to target the dragon, who is your main enemy in this stage.

Secondly, Nameless will relentlessly cheap shot the hell out of you with his spear as he will whack you with either side of you and he most likely will clip you with on one side and if so just stay down! And worse than this is when Nameless charges up his hybrid sword-spear weapon with lightning and slams it down, which often can result in instant death if you get caught in its blast! Nameless can even insta-kill you with his weapon as run towards him as his dragon will fly towards you and Nameless will wipe you out with a brutal thrust attack! And how can you beat this guy again???!!!
Jeeeeezz!!!

The second phase of the fight isn't too bad in this respect but there are still some elements of cheap shottery on display though as at times, the camera will suck you in towards Nameless if you try and stay away from him. This clearly proves that the camera is totally against you in this fight and one of your worst enemies in the entire game!

So, yep for me, the Namless King, while for the most part is a thrilling memorable boss fight, it still is a big cheap shot fest with endless spear thwacks from Nameless (Endless Namless the Nirvana song springs to mind here lol!) and an even bigger battle with the fight's deeply annoying camera angles.

And for these reasons, Nameless King takes the runner-up spot at No.2.

So, the Number 1 cheapest boss in Dark Souls is....

1. Manus, Father of the Abyss - Dark Souls 

Yep at No.1 is this son of a gun...Manus, Father of the Abyss, who appeared in the game's DLC, Artorius of the Abyss.

Manus...yep...what can I say about him then. Why is he such a cheap boss to fight??? Well, let's find out!

For starters a bit about Manus, as he was once formerly human but he ended up being corrupted by the abyss itself that turned him into the creature you see before you in the fight. And in the DLC, you are transported through time by Manus as you have at this point one half of a pendant he desparately seeks while another NPC character, Marvelous Chester presumably has the other.

So, why is this guy SO cheap??!! Well, its simply because Manus fights like a dirty bare knuckle boxer, except only he is a boxer with a GIANT fist, which does some major damage and he often will use it to clobber you left right and centre. Manus can also use his large staff to clobber you aswell, so you will need to time your rolls well to avoid these attacks as he will repeatedly spam them at you till your are gone. And what feels so cheap and annoying here is that once Manus clobbers you and knocks you down, he will continue to clobber you again once you've got up and tried to heal with estus flasks, he will knock that health right off you again!

Another aspect of why this boss fight feels so cheap is because in the second phase, Manus will start using his dark magic, which consists of magical orbs, missiles and bolts and are pretty much one-shot material if you take the full force of them. Now to defend yourself you can use a silver pendant to repel his magic attacks, however the toughest part here is trying to alternate between the pendant during the attacks and switching back to your estus before Manus launches a physical attack again, which he WILL do!

So, yep this fight, while its actually a pretty excellent, intense and challenging one, definitely must rank as the cheapest boss encounter in the entire Dark Souls series as Manus takes no prisoners and hammers his opponents literally into the ground with his massive fist and staff and his magic attacks are just as unforgiving.

And for all the above reasons, Manus definitely deserves the top spot here.

OK, so that's it for now and I hope you enjoyed this list and I will see you soon for another post.

So, till then its bye fer now!  

Top 10 Cheapest Dark Souls Bosses Part 1 - No's 10-6

Well, its been quite a while since my last past and as its my first of 2019 I'd like to start and say Happy New Year to you all!

So, for my first post of the year, I thought I would do another Dark Souls list but a slightly different one where I take a look at my pick for the top 10 cheapest bosses in the series. By this I mean these are the bosses who like to use the sneaky, underhanded tactics to kill off your character and these attacks can be either insta-kill or take chunks off your health.  I will also make suggestions on how to even take out these bosses aswell although I have already done this in my previous lists.

So, this could be quite a tough list to do as there are SO many bosses to choose from here but I'll give it a shot anyway! :-)

Right, so with that said let's take a look at these cheap shotting a-hole bosses...

10. Demon Firesage (Dark Souls)

OK, so at No.10 is one of the many demon bosses that appeared in the original Souls game and this one was arguably the cheapest of them all although all these bosses are pretty similar anyway.

The Demon Firesage himself is basically very similar in design to his counterparts the Asylum Demon and the Stray Demon with the only real difference that he is on fire and can do quite a bit of fire damage at that. And this guy is a pretty cheap boss because as soon you enter that fog gate he can flatten you with his giant club or failing that he will use a powerful AoE fire attack to knock you off your feet and he will rinse and repeat that until your dead.

This boss however isn't all that difficult to beat as you really need to try and stay behind him so he can whack you with that big ass club of his because it really does some brutal damage if you get caught by it. So, its a case of trying your best to avoid facing him and gettting those attacks in between his own.

So, the Demon Firesage is definitely a pretty cheap boss in the series even though there are plenty more even cheaper than he is still to come on the list but he still definitely deserves his spot on here at No.10.

9. Capra Demon (Dark Souls)

At No.9 is another boss from the original Dark Souls game, which is the Capra Demon, who isn't necessarily exactly a cheap boss himself but its more about the whole nature and setup of the boss fight that makes this fight feel very cheap.

And the reason why is because you are fighting the Capra Demon in such close TIGHT quarters that it makes it difficult for your to dodge and evade his attacks. Not only this but CD has two very annoying dogs, who can attack you aswell to make life even more difficult for your in this very awkward boss fight. So, it really does have a cheap shot feel to it as if to say that this boss himself is pretty easy and he's only tough here because we gave you such cramp close quarters to fight him in!

However there is of course a way to fight this boss without even stopping through the fog gate and that is by standing at a certain point outside the gate and lobbing either dung pie or firebombs over the wall until you have killed off Capra and his two dogs. Now, I haven't managed this with dung pies (which turns enemies toxic) but I did manage to kill off the Capra Demon with firebombs, so it is actually quite an effective strategy if you don't want to take on this guy in his cramped arena. So, here you can turn the cheap shot tactics of the fight around to create even cheaper tactics yourself!

So, yeah this fight certainly does deserve a spot on here given that you have to fight in such a tight space, it does cheapen things quite a bit and it deserves a spot here at 9.

8. Sir Alonne (Dark Souls 2)

At No.8 is one of the most acclaimed bosses from what is often considered the black sheep of the Dark Souls trio of games, Dark Souls 2 (which I happen to really like myself!) and the boss is Sir Alonne.

Now, the reason I have put Sir Alonne on here is mainly because of just one move but it really does feel like a big cheap shot all on its own (or alonne!) and that move is his katana impale. And the reason I feel that this is a bit of a cheap shot and even a cheat is because the impale will happen even IF you are off to the side of Sir Alonne, so you can't really always dodge this move. And to make matters even worse once Sir Alonne impales you with his katana it will cause him to buff his weapon and do even more damage!

However, this is possibly more a glitch that relates to the game because there are times where your playable character can do the same thing when it comes to using backstabs as I found I could initiate a backstab from the side of an enemy and not straight however. Unfortunately however this glitch (if indeed it is a glitch!) has been transferred right into the Sir Alonne fight, which can make an otherwise pretty challenging boss fight feel a bit cheap at times.

So, while the boss fight itself isn't a cheap shot fest, that katana impale sure as hell is one all on its own and for that, Sir Alonne deserves his place on here at No.8.

7. Fume Knight (aka Raime) - Dark Souls 2

So at No.7 is the Fume Knight from the Old Irong King DLC in Dark Souls 2 and I have to actually say that the Fumester was my favourite boss from the entire game as he was challenging but also great fun to fight.  However does this stop him from being a real cheap boss??? Nope!


Yes, so why did I put the Fume Knight on here? Well, its mainly because in the fight, the Fumester lulls you into a false sense of security and this happens when he crosses his two swords over to shield himself but this is nothing more than just a ruse to trick you into drinking your Estus or taking a life gem and then before you know it, he charges in for the kill!  So if I have learned one thing from fighting the Fume Knight its this: NEVER drink your estus flask infront of him because: one, its too damn slow for it take effect and drink and second as I said already, the Fumester will see you do it and charge in and kill you outright!

There is also another cheap move from the Fume Knight, which is his annoying backswing on his ultra greatsword (aka FUGS) and it can easily catch you out if you try and move close behind him to try and get out of his way, so Fumey instead decides to trick you with this instead and it more often than not will work!

So yeah OK I admit there are way cheaper bosses than the Fume Knight in the series but he still deserves his place on here because of his charge kill move, which will catch you out more times than not if you are unfortunate enough to try and chug an estus infront of him.  So yep he deserves his spot all the same at No.7.

6. Elena, Squalid Queen (Dark Souls 2)

So, to finish Part 1 of the list is this boss from Dark Souls 2's DLC, Crown of the Sunken King, Elena, Squalid Queen. Elena takes on a rather ghastly appearance and she uses a halberd as her primary weapon but can also use dark magic and summon minions to help her try and defeat you. 

As for what makes Elena such a cheap boss comes down to a few things, firstly she can summon skeletons to fight you, who do poison damage. Secondly, she can also summon one of the previous bosses in the game, Velstadt, who was a close ally of King Vendrick (who by this time has gone hollow in the game) and has a giant hammer that he can use to clobber you.

But what ranks as Elena's sneakiest and cheapest move is that she can also use teleportation to sneak up behind to attack you, which I must admit had caught me out quite a few times that ended up in my character being killed! So, this really does have a cheap shot feel to it and the teleporting move in itself just feel sneaky and when you throw in all her minions, skellies and Velstadt, it just makes matters even worse!

So, for me, Elena definitely deserves her place on the list here at No.6 as there quite a few elements that size up and make this a pretty cheap fight overall with summoning skellies, Velstadt and having the ability to sneak up behind and kill you, it makes this quite an annoying and sneaky experience.

OK, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with Part 2.

So, see you soon!