Thursday, June 29, 2017

Xbox Live: Free Games of July 2017- One of the worst months...

Hey Guys, I know that I shouldn't be expecting much from these free games, but we've actually been having decent games in the past two months. However, I guess that streak has been broken for July. Holy Shit. I don't think I've ever facepalmed harder over free stuff in a long time.

Image Provided by Major Nelson's blog















Xbox One users, as usual, got the short of the end of stick. What the hell Xbox? You know E3 was just a couple of weeks ago? Why not make Wolfenstein, Metro, or even The Evil Within free for this month? There are a lot of options that could have been made, but I guess they decided to piss off members this month. I don't understand why even make these indie games free. At least, I think they're indie because I've never heard of these games before.

Kane & Lynch 2 sucks. Like, really bad. If you want to play it, then go ahead. However, just be warned that you're not going to have a good time with it.

The Lego games are decent, but they usually tend to be the same game with different designs. Maybe this is the only game that is somewhat worth a try if you're into Lego games.

Seriously, this month is a joke compared to PlayStation's free games for July. PlayStation users are getting Until Dawn for God's sakes! That game is actually good and has some pretty good replay value. Don't know about the Game of Thrones game.

I'm now considering canceling my Xbox Live membership and moving to outer space. Maybe in the far future we'll get something decent.
Till Next Time!!

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

SNES Classic: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, this is something that I'm kind of late on talking about. I saw the announcement on my way to work yesterday, so I wasn't able to talk about it at the time. Anyways, most of knew this was coming due to all the rumors surrounding the SNES Classic. Let me get into my thoughts.

Image Provided by The Verge


















I already liked the idea of the NES Classic. It didn't come with a whole lot of games, but the games it came with were great. The portability also made it a great gaming console on the go if you were on a business trip or something like that. It was great to be able to experience childhood memories in an HD port that performed well.

The main issue with it was the amount of units that were produced. Every time that they went up for sale they were already gone. Even if you wanted to go to a midnight release, there was a good chance that the store didn't have enough units to sell anyways.

A good amount of people took this as an opportunity to be a scrapper and sell their NES Classic at outrageously high prices. Shit, to this day people are still doing it.

I have the same opinions on the SNES Classic. However, it's a lot better than the NES Classic. The standout title from the SNES Classic is Star Fox 2. Before you could only play it through ROMS, but now it's getting an official release from Nintendo! Sure, it's not going to age well, but it's a Star Fox game that should be good!

I like the other games featured in the SNES Classic, but I feel like there should be other games included. Some of them being Chrono Trigger and Donkey Kong Country. I've seen a lot of fans wanting Chrono Trigger, but I personally wanted Donkey Kong Country more because it was one of the first games that I've ever played.

This is slightly more expensive than the NES Classic because this comes with an extra controller. It's even improved with the cord size and the game quality. Sure, the SNES Classic has less games, but the games featured are objectively a lot better.

I'm hoping the price tag will prevent people from buying it since it's releasing very close to Broketober. In case you want to know, it's releasing on September 29th for $80. According to Nintendo, there will be a higher stock of SNES Classic systems produced. However, it's still going to sell out just as quickly as the NES Classic.

Guaranteed Nintendo is going to discontinue this within a month after release and then we're on the N64 Classic.
Till Next Time!!

Monday, June 19, 2017

Assassin's Creed Origins: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, I think we all knew that this was coming. Personally, I'd prefer if Ubisoft just left the license alone, but I'll give them a shot at how they can improve the franchise after sales of the games started to decline. After seeing gameplay from Microsoft's E3 conference, I have quite an opinion on the game a lot of you may not expect.

Image Provided by Xbox













At its core, this is pretty much the same gameplay style that Assassin's Creed is known for. However, the combat is something that I am optimistic about. You can tell that it's no longer button mashing and is very reminiscence of another game that I know that stars a professional monster slayer who loves playing cards in his spare time.

Okay, you can even argue that the combat is similar to Dark Souls. No longer will a group of guys try to fight you one-on-one. They're going to attack you at the same time to make sure you're dead. I guess they're trying to go in Assassin's Creed Unity's direction in terms of making the game more difficult. Assassin's Creed Syndicate was way too easy despite enemy difficulty being based on what level you are.

Do I even have to mention the visuals? This easily has to be one of the best looking games shown at E3. I am a bit disappointed that I haven't experienced the gameplay in 4K with HDR. Seriously, the environment just looks so alive especially with wildlife just doing their own business.

There are two major issues that I have with this game that I do want to talk about: the story and the open-world environment.

If you haven't noticed in recent years, the story for Assassin's Creed hasn't been strong. Some people like the story and others hate it. Personally, I haven't found them to be interesting since Assassin's Creed III. The future story got fucked up so bad that it just seems to get worse every time it "progresses". Seriously, does anyone even remember the story from the previous games? Honestly, I feel like they need focus their attention to the future timeline since it used to be interesting at one point in time!

Personally, I thought Assassin's Creed IV had a solid story in the past timeline; otherwise, it was the first game that saw the decline in quality in the future timeline. However, I would be happy if Origins has a solid past story and shit future story rather than a shit past story and shit future story.

This is an Ubisoft game. Do we really trust them with an open-world game nowadays? I can already see this being similar to Ghost Recon: Wildlands. A huge open world with not much to do. You're probably going to end up doing the same activities that were featured in Assassin's Creed IV. Hell, the eagle mechanic looks like something from Far Cry Primal if you think about it.

One way I feel like they can avoid an empty open-world is to add an ass load of interesting side quests. Yes, that's the second time I referenced The Witcher 3 in one post. However, I'm being dead serious. At least that can justify having a world as large at this one.

I really don't want this game to be bad. I desperately want it to rejuvenate the franchise, but I just can't trust Ubisoft to make it work. After all, they are the reason why most of their open-world games end up being criticized.
Till Next Time!!

Friday, June 16, 2017

Why Sony's E3 was Underwhelming

Hey Guys, guess we're going to talk about Sony's E3 conference. I've been on PlayStation for six months now because I want in on that Sony exclusive orgy. Before anything was said, I was really looking forward to seeing more of Death Stranding as well as The Last of Us Part II.

Image Provided by Nerd Much?














When it was announced that Death Stranding wouldn't appear at E3, I was pretty upset. I don't if it's because I'm still butthurt about Silent Hills being canceled, but Death Stranding could be that one piece of victory that Kojima could have if Death Stranding is a hit. However, we still have no idea what the hell that game is all about. For God's sake, even Kojima's team couldn't understand it when he first explained it.

I was also upset about there being no Last of Us Part II. It's been some time since we've seen the trailer for the game's announcement. Personally, I feel like development should have been nearly completed when it was announced, so we could get the game a lot earlier.

What made Sony's E3 most underwhelming was the fact that we didn't get anything particularly new. What I mean by that is the fact that we just seen more of the new God War, Days Gone, Uncharted, Horizon: Zero Dawn DLC, and a Shadow of the Colossus remaster for the PS4.

Sure, we got a lot of announcements for the PSVR, but how many have actually bought that thing? It costs just as much as a PS4 Pro, why buy the PSVR if you can just pay for an upgraded PS4?

Before you raise your pitchforks, just know this is my own silly opinion. I'm not interested in the new Spider-Man game. There was a trend that most Spider-Man games after Spider-Man 2 are usually bad. Additionally, I'm not big on Superhero games based on comics. Judge me if you want, but that's because I was raised on comics.

We even seen Call of Duty: WW2 and Destiny 2 during the conference, but those aren't exclusive games. Remember, I already made a vow to never talk about Destiny on this blog again after the disappointment I felt after playing the game. Maybe I'll rent Destiny 2, but I'm on edge about it.

Before I wrap up, I forgot to mention Detroit. Say what you want about David Cage, but I actually liked Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls. I'm looking forward to the game, but I'm not sure if I'm 100% going to get it day one.

As I said before, E3 itself was disappointing this year. Nintendo won E3 because their games are gold most of the time.
Till Next Time!!

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Was Bethesda's E3 2017 Conference THAT Bad?

Hey Guys, I know that Bethesda's conference was a couple of days ago, but I wasn't sure if I was going to talk about any of the conferences. To be honest, this has to be one of the most disappointing E3 conferences in recent years. Out of all the companies that were at E3, I noticed that Bethesda has been getting shit on the most. I didn't see the conference day one. I went back to watch it to see what the fuss is about. Was it that bad? Well, let's go over what happened during the conference.
Image Provided by Reddit

Let's address the elephant in the room. Why the hell are we getting another Skyrim port? I get that it's a way to increase the library of games available for the Switch, but there are so many superior versions of Skyrim available. If you have the options of playing Skyrim on either PC or the Nintendo Switch, I'm 100% sure you would say PC.

Skyrim is a great game, but Bethesda can't rely on Skyrim ports to win over fans. Hell, at this rate we might be seeing Fallout 4 getting ported as well. I'm just hoping that Skyrim doesn't end up going the Resident Evil 4 route in terms of porting.

Fallout 4 and Doom are getting the VR treatment. You see a trend right? So far we are seeing games we have played before, but they are getting updated. While it's cool that Fallout 4 and Doom are getting VR upgrades, I really don't want Bethesda to keep going back to its older games. Doom is a year old and Fallout 4 is going on two years in November.

As a side note, can you imagine playing Doom in VR? The fast movement is easily going to cause motion sickness, so how the hell is it even going to be playable unless they slow down the game's pace?

The Evil Within and Wolfenstein are getting sequels. Great. I'm not being sarcastic at all. I liked The Evil Within and am happy that we are getting another game. It does have its faults especially for the lead character who seems to be nonchalant about everything going on in the game.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus was an unexpected announcement. The New Order is a criminally underrated game. I liked the gameplay as well as the story. If you haven't played The New Order, you can pick it up at a dirt cheap price.

Do you really want me to go into the Creation Club? I don't know if those credits are going to cost real money or not, but I'm sure they are. Paid mods have never been okay to me. However, there are people who pour their hearts and souls into these mods that do deserve to make a profit. I prefer to not come to conclusions yet as we still have to wait to see what comes of this.

I have yet to finish Dishonored 2, so it does suck that I won't experience the new DLC until I do complete the main game.

So was Bethesda's conference that bad? Well, it wasn't good. However, I wouldn't say it was a trainwreck. There were some good announcements made during the conference, but I guess the Skyrim port and the Creation Club is what really killed their show.
Till Next Time!!

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Metro: The Underrated Franchise

Hey Guys, with the announcement of Metro: Exodus I feel like it's time to have a talk about the series as a whole. Personally, I wasn't expecting to see another game in the franchise due to the events of the previous games, but anyways let me get back on topic. I'm going to speak broadly because both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light have the same gameplay.

Image Provided by Polygon
















Metro has to be one of the most immersive post-apocalyptic, first person shooters of all time. When was the last time you played a game where you played a survival horror game where your character can fight back, yet feel so hopeless at the same time? This game isn't full of jump scares, but it gets your adrenaline pumping when you have to deal with overpowering foes with limited ammo.

There are horror elements in the game. You spend most of your time alone either navigating the underground Metro or out in the open with dangerous creatures. Yes, you have to deal with both human and mutant enemies. Stealth is an option and is strongly recommended to use stealth if you are playing on higher difficulties.

This is one of few games where you should be playing at the highest level. You're not going to have the same experience of this game by playing it on easy compared to playing it on hard mode. In hard mode, you don't even have an HUD that tells you where to go. Additionally, you have to think about every move and action you make because it's incredibly easy to be killed on the higher difficulties.

On levels when you're on the surface, you have to worry about both your health and air filter. That's right, you should always be keeping your eyes out for air filters; otherwise, you're going to suffocate to death due to the radiated air outside. While it can lead to some frustrating moments when you are caught outside without any more air filters, it provides an incentive to explore the area around you.

If you aren't familiar with the plot of Metro, all you really need to know is that there was a nuclear war that devastated the world leading the survivors taking shelter in the underground Metro system in Russia. That's right, Russia. Imagine nuclear winter. It's amazing how any of them are even alive. I guess this also created the main enemies of the game "the Dark Ones". The name may be generic, but the dark ones don't play around. Those guys will tear you to shreds if you don't play your cards right especially on those higher difficulties.

The plot itself isn't half bad. I'm not going to spoil anything, but if you haven't played the game or the novels you're in for a treat as this game has a surprise behind the main enemies. You're just going to have to play the games to know what I'm talking about.

If you missed these gems from the previous generation, you can get them both on Xbox One and PS4 with Metro: Redux. I highly recommend you play them to really understand what I'm talking about. It's dirt cheap and is usually put on sale digitally, so there is no excuse as to why you shouldn't play this game unless you're not into this kind of genre.
Till Next Time!!

Monday, June 12, 2017

Friday the 13th The Game: Review

Hey Guys, it's been a long time since I did a review for a game. What better time to release a review for Friday the 13th The Game? Okay, before I go to talk about the game itself, let me tell you about the current situation.

Friday the 13th: The Game is a mess. I would be dishonest if I didn't tell you how broken this game can be at times. Server issues are still plaguing the game as of writing this, so good luck getting into a quick match. I'm not sure how it's like on the PC and PS4 versions of the game, but Xbox One servers are just garbage at the moment.

If you're on the Xbox One version, always join a private match via the "looking for group" function through the game hub. Private match is peer to peer connection, so if the host has quick internet then you should experience less lag and less disconnection.

Okay, let me go to the review.

Image Provided by Bleeding Cool




















What I Hated
Normally, I like to start off with what I liked, but I'll start off with the negatives.

The number of maps you could play on this game is extremely limited. There are only a total of three maps you can play on. Maybe it was done on purpose, but we don't necessarily have to stay true to the movies. We could always have more camp related maps. It's something they could add in a future update, but it would have been more beneficial to include more maps.

Rolling perks can be extremely frustrating. I understand that it's done to keep the game balance, but understand that it takes a while to earn points in order to roll for a new perk. While you can sell back the perks you have, you have a chance of still getting duplicate perks after selling them. I've never been a fan of random drops, so naturally I'm not going to enjoy them in any game.

Even though the game was patched, there are still a few bugs and glitches. However, they are more hilarious than exploitative. Before the game was patched on the Xbox One version, there was a glitch where you could place a bear trap very close to a cabin door that can prevent Jason from entering the cabin. Nothing is more annoying than seeing a player use a glitch in order to win the game. Where is the honor is using glitches to win the game?

The progression system doesn't feel rewarding in my opinion.You only receive extra counselors, more clothing options for the counselors, and extra Jason skins. You also get credit points in order to purchase perks and Jason's executions. It's standard stuff.

What I Liked
Despite the fact that Jason has all these abilities, the game is pretty balanced. Yes, Jason can pretty much kill you instantly if he grabs a hold of you, but taking the time to search around the map for a pocket knife will lead to a counter.

It's great that the game forces you to explore the map for the supplies you need to survive and/or escape Jason. The amount of time it takes to escape depends on the coordination of the counselors. You can even have some funny moments. There are some hilarious ways of getting murdered by Jason such as randomly running into him by turning a corner or something.

I love the fact that Jason can hear you and you can hear him. Nothing is more enjoyable than having a trash talking Jason. It just makes the entertainment a whole lot better.

Teamkilling is extremely helpful. Before you gasp in shock, hear me out. It gets rid of the trolls. If I remember correctly, people were able to block cars from moving by standing in front of it. It's just a godsend to be able to kill someone who is trying to screw you over.


Final Thought: Price Drop
If you are a fan of the Friday the 13th franchise or like the cat-and-mouse style of game, there is no reason why you should miss out on this game. It's just a great game at its core, but it's just plagued with connection problems and bugs.

It's nothing a patch can fix, but at its current state it's not worth rushing out and getting it. This is a type of game that can benefit from updates, so I'm sure that a couple of months from now it'll be a lot better than when it initially launched. There is even a story mode that will be added to the game sometime in the summer, so that's something to look forward to.

As a final thought, I think this is a game that the critics got wrong. This is not one of the most disappointing games of 2017, so I just get pissed whenever I see this game get labeled as such.
Till Next Time!!

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Xbox One X: My Thoughs

Hey Guys, wow it's been probably over two weeks since I've written anything. Well, I promise I'm going to make up for it this month due to E3. I've been busy playing some Friday the 13th and actually wrote a review. I'll be sure to post it sometime this week, so look forward to that. Anyways, let me continue to share my thoughts on Microsoft's new console.
Image Provided by The Verge
















Look, I'm not going to get in on Xbox's E3 briefing. Even though I saw the whole thing live, I was really paying attention to the amount of times that "Exclusive" has been said. I'm joking, but I was looking forward to the Xbox Scorpio reveal, which is now known as Xbox One X.

At a glance, this is a pretty good design. While I am not a big fan of the black color on this console that we'll be getting at launch, it's still a beautiful console. It's great to know that this is going to be a tiny console. Well, it's most likely smaller than the PS4 slim and maybe a bit smaller than the Xbox One S. Regardless, its size doesn't hold up the amount of horsepower this beat has.

While it's impossible to experience the true 4K capabilities of the console unless you've been at the show yourself, you can tell that the games just look a hell of a lot better than they would on the standard Xbox One. However, I feel like 4K has been overly stressed during this presentation rather than the performance of the games. If you watch gameplay of Anthem, you'll know what I mean by this. Are these games going to be able to run at 4K 60fps that it's been said it could?

The price is something that I consider fair. $499 was the launch price of the standard Xbox One with Kinect, so I would say that I'm quite surprised that this console isn't way over $499. Good on you Microsoft!

Honestly, we didn't really learn anything new. about the console other than the price and the release date. It's great we've seen gameplay, but I don't think we've seen what this console is truly capable of. All these numbers, but we didn't see enough games that are graphically demanding.

I'm not going to give my thoughts on the conference itself, so that's why I'm not going super in depth about what Xbox did right during the show and what they did wrong. All I'm doing is going over my thoughts on the console itself.

Maybe I'll make a post talking about the conference, but we'll see what happens. You can pick up the console on November 7th, 2017. This isn't a bad console, but I just wish that we could see what this bad boy can really do.
Till Next Time!!