Call of Duty: Black Ops III Impressions #1

Hey Guys, it has been a week since Black Ops III released and I really did not make any progress in the campaign. Realistic difficulty can easily make even the most season player quit in anger. I'm not going to lie, but I did not even make it past the second mission.

Even though I did not put the time in for campaign, I have put it a lot more attention to the multiplayer section of the game. What can I say about the multiplayer? The "old me" would have said nothing has been done to the multiplayer and it wasn't fun.

However, I really could not find the will to actually say that Black Ops III sucks. The multiplayer is enjoyable! It's best to play with friends though.

I can't recommend the XR-2 enough

Although the multiplayer is fun, I feel that it's not balanced. The XR-2 is easily arguably the best weapon in the game but overpowered.  I consider myself to be a causal player, but I can get kills supernaturally fast with the XR-2.

If you want to get as many kills as possible, use the XR-2. The KN-44 is pretty good as well, but I swear I feel that most of the weapons of the game do not have recoil. I'm sure it's just me, but recoil needs to be increased for most of the weapons. By the way, the perk system is pretty much similar to Black Ops II.

I was disappointed by the character customization. There is a limited number of options you can choose from. However, I am not too worried about this feature.

Hopefully, I will get around to playing the campaign and actually getting a review out for the game. However, I am so busy with Fallout 4 because of how awesome it is. Black Ops III has a fun multiplayer mode, but I would not say to rush out and buy it.
Till Next Time!!

This is why the COD: Black Ops III Loyalty Program kind of sucks...

Hey Guys, sorry it's been about a day since I last posted. I've actually been out of the house almost all day and didn't have the time to post anything. Fortunate, nothing major has happened yesterday. However, I do want to talk about this loyalty program that Black Ops III will have and why it kind of sucks. No, I'm not saying this is important either. I just ran out of things to talk about.

Is this appealing? 

This offer applies to players who have played Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. You do have to reach the levels presented in the image above and link your account by November 5th, 2015.

Although I may sound like a hypocrite, but I do find it unfair that this is only for current generation console owners and PC. It's just a calling card, some reticles and a camo. Will it really make a difference to give it to last-gen users as well? I'm actually surprised they didn't make this an exclusive to PlayStation 4 users.

However, that's my main complaint. It's just a calling card, some reticles, and a camo. If this "loyalty" program really wanted to thank players for playing past Call of Duty games, why not give some free map packs or discount them at the least? Seriously, this is coming from a company that can afford this due to how much money they will make on just this one game.

Why in the world do people have to link their account anyway? I know it doesn't take that long to link your account, but Call of Duty: Ghosts calling cards or background designs to players who have played Black Ops II or Modern Warfare 3.

I'm sorry I can't go on any longer. I'm feeling pretty tired as I'm writing this pretty late at night. In all seriousness, this still sucks.
Till Next Time!!

Black Ops 3 will not have a campaign on Last-Gen consoles: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Hey Guys, it's been recently announced that Call of Duty Black Ops III will be lacking a single player campaign on PS3 and Xbox 360. I know some of you may be angry about this, but I'm pretty sure most Call of Duty players really won't care. However, there are pros and cons that I believe should be addressed about this.

The Good: I think this would encourage more people to actually buy the current-gen version of this game. It sure doesn't warrant buying a new current-gen console, but Call of Duty: Black Ops III is best experienced on a PS4, PC, and Xbox One. There really is no reason to be buying this game on last-gen console unless you don't have a current-gen console or don't want to pay full price for the game for any number of reason. You'll still have multiplayer and Zombies, so be happy about that. Did I forget the $50 price tag? I believe it should be much lower than that to be honest.

The Bad: According to a blog post by Activison, "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player coop Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware". I wish I could facepalm so much harder. Everybody knew that the 4 player co-op mode would not be possible on last-gen consoles ever since the game was announced, but did it really mean that the campaign had to be removed? You could still play Borderlands by yourself and it really wouldn't effect the story. I guess Activision was too cheap to make sure the game's campaign can still function even if a player is playing on his/her own.

The Ugly: This game is no where near the technical hardware limits that Grand Theft Auto V or even The Phantom Pain have reached. Black Ops III is not really a next-gen looking game. Sure it may have a buttery smooth framerate, but it doesn't mean that it's really that beautiful. The game looks good, but not THAT good.

Honestly, I wish I could say more, but then I'll just be rambling. However, I will say that last-gen users have to understand that they are getting left behind each year when a new game releases. I anticipate by next-year that most AAA games will not be releasing on last-gen consoles and most of the games on last-gen will probably be kids games and sports games.
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Black Ops III's eSports transition to PS4 is a bad sign

Hey Guys, normally I don't like to talk about Call of Duty due to the fact that this game is a love/hate thing. The only time I would mention Call of Duty is when there is something that has to be called out whether to commemorate it or berate.

When Activision announced the eSports for Call of Duty, I pretty much shrugged it off. However, I sort of praised it when it implemented the ban and protect thing. It's a step into a new direction that could be used in other games to prevent people from using over-powered weapons or explosives.

Despite this new implementation, eSports will only be available on PS4. It kind of goes back to my console exclusivity arguments that I used in the past. It's not the game that should be worried about; it's the fanbase that should be worried about.

This is all just a marketing technique that is pretty much causing console wars. PlayStation fanboys are probably laughing at Xbox users that they can't have eSports. The Call of Duty franchise is still selling strong, so this will only persist the problem. Sony is pretty much sending subtle details to try to persuade people to go out and buy a PS4.

Additionally, it shows just how greedy video game companies are becoming. Sony knew how successful Call of Duty was in terms of sales and wanted to get in on some of the profit. Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg even told IGN during E3 2015 that Sony really wanted to partner. You can actually check the full article here. Doesn't this just set off alarms? It was bad enough that Xbox was getting special treatment, so what makes PlayStation any different?

I said this once and I'll say it again. This is just a bad idea. If you purposely start a console war, then you're pretty much saying that your console is better than the other since they have special access to whatever content. This marketing "technique" really needs to stop since essentially it's trying to create a sense of entitlement into console owners.
Till Next Time!!

Call of Duty will have a ban and protect system for eSports - lol, not bad!

Hey Guys, this has to be the most hilarious news story in video games that I have read in a while as well as the most hilarious video game feature as well. If you want to read the full IGN article about this feature, you can check it out here.

Honestly, I don't really care much for eSports. I'm not that competitive when it comes to video games because I believe they are about having fun. However, Call of Duty is a whole other story when it comes to being competitive. People take this game way too seriously. I really hate when these narcissistic jerk go into a lobby and say things like, "Get out of regular matches! They don't count!" or "Tournaments are all that matter is this game". Not all people who play competitively are like this, but for those of you who say things like this please get over yourself. I paid $65 for the game and will play it the way I want to. I can go on about competitive gaming for a long time, but this is not the point of this article. Anyways, let me get back on topic.

So here's how it will work. Before even starting a match, one member from each team will be able to protect or ban any score streaks, weapons, specialists, or abilities. Essentially, these people get to dictate what you can or can't use.

Depending on how this is used, it actually makes the game fair. If people just ban shotguns, C4s, rocket launchers, and snipers, then I'm totally for this feature. It's about time that people do get to chose what people can't use. Seriosuly, it gets annoying to have people running around with shotguns while throwing C4s and other explosives all over the place just to get a cheap kill.

However, it's a totally different ball game if you have to bad rifles. Rifles are totally versatile and are useless in the hands of a bad player. If the rifle is overpowered to the point where even a noob can get a kill, then it should be banned. However, rifles that are not overpowered shouldn't have to banned because people just happen to be good with it.

It wouldn't have been a bad idea to implement this feature in regular matches too. The only people who would complain about this being implemented into regular matches would be by players who use nothing but shotguns, explosives, and sniper rifles. However, I feel no sympathy for them because they have to rely on "cheap" weapons to get easy kills.
Till Next Time!!

Call of Duty Black Ops III: 'Juggernog Edition' Leaked - It comes with a fridge.....

Hey Guys, a New Zealand retailer Mighty Ape leaked some information regarding a Juggernog Edition. This edition was more than likely supposed to be announced alongside the announcement of the Zombies mode. Anyways, check out the image below to see what it looks like.

I kid you not. This thing actually comes with a mini-fridge

I must mention that this is not official yet. This is all leaked information, but you should expect to see a formal announcement from Treyarch at Comic-Con in about a hour or so. This edition includes,

• Season Pass- This would get you all the DLC for free. This usually goes for $50 on its own.
• Perk-a-Cola Coasters with Custom Tin
• A Collectible Steelbook- I actually was never of fan of this. I prefer that it comes with the regular game case.
• The Giant Bomb bonus map- This is probably going to be free DLC once it releases.
• The official soundtrack- Oh jeez. Does anybody even buy soundtracks anymore?
• In game content that includes the Cyborg personalization pack, Black Ops III pack, and Weaponized 115.
• Limited Edition Concept Art Cards

I'm pretty sure I mentioned everything, but that mini-fridge is a shocker. I never once seen anything like this before! I think it's pretty cool to have as a collector's item, but I'm pretty sure nobody is actually going to use it to store anything. Imagine just having someone over and seeing you use that mini-fridge. I don't think that would end well.

Before you ask, it's around $195 in US currency. However, I anticipate it to be more once a formal announcement is made. Jesus, you can get an Xbox 360 or PS3 for the same price. You can see the listing itself here. Good job, Mighty Ape.

Till Next Time!!
*UPDATE*: Treyarch made the official announcement that this bundle does exist

Should we really care about Call of Duty's Timed Exclusivity?

Hey Guys, by now most of you have heard about Activision now switching over to PlayStation to release Call of Duty content earlier on. Call of Duty DLC used to release first on Xbox platforms before the switch had occur while the other platforms got the DLC a month after or so. I'm pretty sure most of you think I'm about to go into an console fanboy defense mode, but I am not. I am doing this for the sake of all of us.

My photo editing skills are not very good

Just today, Treyarch Studios announced that the Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta will be open first to PlayStation 4 users on August 19th while there is a PC and Xbox One version planned for later.

I'm going to answer the question by saying yes and no. No, we shouldn't care because not all of us are into Call of Duty, so these people can suffer. Yes, we should care because other games companies will do the same thing and just create console wars. Don't believe me? It's already happened!

Yes, Assassin's Creed IV and Destiny are prime examples

This all just screams out console war! Companies are pretty much telling their customers that "you won't get the same experience of our game unless you buy it on this console"! It's as if they purposely create angry customers, so they can go on about how much a console sucks and how one is better than the other.  The fact that Call of Duty has been doing this for a while is still shocking to say the least. I don't know why companies still continue to do timed exclusives.

I don't want to hear the whole "it's better than console exclusives" argument because this is a lot worse. You know why? It's because we already know that this game in multi-platform, but those who are getting more content or getting early content are receiving better treatment than everyone else. It creates this sense of false entitlement.
Till Next Time!!