Thursday, November 16, 2017

The Star Wars Battlefront 2 Microtransactions Disaster: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, I haven't posted in a week and the time I was gone EA has really been taking a beating from the gaming community. I'm looking through forums and seeing what people think about the SWB2's microtransactions. Wow, EA gets a lot of shit, but this is the year where I noticed that people are not taking their shit anymore.

Image Provided by Reddit

I kid you not, Reddit is full of posts influencing people to stop giving their business to EA and generally giving more reasons to hate the company. I even believe that one of EA's responses to the controversy became one of the most downvoted posts on the site. All of this just puts a big smile on my face as people are taking action.

Want to know how I know people are taking action? EA disabled cancelling pre-orders. You would have to call customer service or something like that in order to cancel your pre-order for SWB2. I don't know if you still have to do that, but it's still funny that they did have to revert to people calling in to cancel their pre-orders. I'm guessing they did this because there was such a large number of people cancelling their pre-orders, so they thought that by having to call customer service they would slow down the amount of people cancelling their pre-orders.

EA had this coming for a very long time. After years of their overpriced DLC, shutting down a good portion of their developers, destroying the reputations of our beloved franchises, and general shady business practices.

However, this certain situation started because SWB2 was essentially a pay to win multiplayer experience. How the hell is it fair for someone to get their ass kicked by someone who paid more for some extra loot crates? I know it's star cards or something like that, but it still runs on random drops. Even if you have the money to drop on these microtransactions, what's the point if it's random?

I do not plan on buying SWB2, so I had to do some serious research on the multiplayer section of the game to understand what is causing this "revolt" against this EA. After reading this article, I can see that the progression system is damn near broken. I gagged as I read this article because of how shady EA is because the progression system is essentially influencing players to buy star cards.

What happens if you choose not to put money into these microtransactions? According to swtorstrategies, it'll take over 4,500 hours of gameplay to earn everything in the game. What in the actual hell? Want to know how much you'll spend if you want to unlock everything in the game? $2,100.

This has to be the final nail in the coffin for EA. Microtranactions are fine unless they are pay to win or generally effect the game to work to your advantage. If the microtranactions were just skins for your characters or weapons, then I'd be cool with that. Free DLC my ass. Sure, map packs will be free, but the actually gameplay relies on grinding which in turn encourages you to pay money to speed up the progress to dominate people in multiplayer.

What a shame. SWB2 seems like a solid game only to be held back by a company that wishes to exploit its brand to screw our wallets. Seriously, fuck EA. Don't give them your business and they'll eventually get the message. I'm also going to practice what I preach and not buy anything from them until they get their shit together.
Till Next Time!!

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

PSA: Black Friday 2017

Hey Guys, in a little over two weeks Black Friday will be happening. Most stores will be opening on Thanksgiving Day at 6pm. I know that Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will for sure be open at 6pm on Thanksgiving. Yeah, what a great time when most people are probably eating dinner at a family's house or are hosting a family dinner. Imagine hosting a family dinner and as soon as 6pm hits you tell them,"Okay, I love you all, but you guys need to get the hell out!". Anyways, this is just going to be a list of general Black Friday tips for 2017.


  • If you're going to be waiting in line before a store opens, make sure to have basic necessities. Have a snack, a couple bottles of water, or even a blanket. I'm from Chicago, so we can get some pretty cold weather. Dress as warm as possible because you're going to be outside for quite some time unless you are fortunate enough to enter the store.
  • Don't be an asshole. Seriously, pushing and shoving will piss people off and that is going to lead to a fist fight if things get out of control. For the love of God, don't even throw a fit if you didn't get the item your looking for because you could have easily ordered it online or get in line much earlier if you can. Well, assuming it isn't a doorbuster deal or something.
  • If you're looking for an Xbox One or PS4, both will be on sale everywhere. I believe an Xbox One S is going to run you $190 while the PS4 is going at $200. Don't expect discounts on the Xbox One X or the PS4 Pro.
  • If you're in the market for a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch games, just know that you're not going to find a discount on the Switch itself nor for Super Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild. 
  • Bethesda fans? Both The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein 2 will be on sale. They are cheapest at Best Buy going at $25 a piece. How about Call of Duty? WWII is going for $40 at Best Buy. 
  • Shop online. It's a cool experience to actually go to the store with all those people, but it's not something everybody wants to go through. Just do it all online, but you'll have to wait for all your purchases to come in depending on the shipping date.
That's all I really have to say. Keep an eye out for those leaking ads. Seriously, stay safe if you're going out to the store. Stay smart as well by shopping online and spend some time with your family on Thanksgiving.
Till Next Time!!