Why Rainbow Six Siege is alarming for the future of Gaming

Hey Guys, I'm actually posting on a Monday! I do not know how many times I have to apologize, but I really have nothing to talk about when not much is going on. Additionally, there is no way I can do my own "Top 10" awards for video games because I did not play 10 new games this year. I literally just do not have the time to really invest in all of them and give honest opinions on them all. The only games that I have just sunk my time into were Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid V. I did not really put in much time into Black Ops III nor Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.

I actually do not remember what new games I have played this year. However, I know for a fact it had to be less than 6. The holidays are coming up, so I know that I am going to get a couple of more games, but I really am not sure which ones actually interest me enough to play.

Anyways, let me go on to the point I am trying to make on this article.

This was a screenshot I took back in the beta. I meant to use it in my impressions post that was never made.

Rainbow Six Siege has to be one of the most decisive games of the year possibly second to Star Wars: Battlefront. Why would I even mention both of these games in the same sentence? Well, these games actually only give more reason why lack of content is just seemingly acceptable for the public!

Okay, let me get this straight. I loved Rainbow Six Siege! I played the beta back in September or whenever it was released during the closed beta state. I thought it was a great idea. Sure it was merely Search & Destroy from Call of Duty, but team work was the emphasis of the game! If you have been reading my content for a while, you will know how much of a fanboy I am for the Battlefield franchise.

I really do not know much of the difference between the beta and the "finished" game because I have not played the "finished" game. However, the game does not feel much different from the beta, but that is both a good and bad thing. Why good? Well, all of the awesome game mechanics from the beta are still in the "finished" game! The customization is pretty cool especially when it comes to the character you are using. Why bad? The beta was free. If not much has been done to the game and there really is not a lot of maps, then why even charge $60!? Look, I know a lot of betas are like this. However, this games does not have a campaign! Additionally, Rainbow Six is known for its co-op campaigns.

Regardless, I think it's a good game, but I do not believe it should be $60. I think it would be worth $60 if the DLC were free in order to compensate for the lack of content the game released with. However, I guess it would be worth $60 if you were into multiplayer games, but it still does not excuse the fact that you are paying a video game company full price for a video game that feels partially complete.

I could say the same thing about Star Wars: Battlefront! The game lacks maps and a single player campaign. Both Rainbow Six Siege and Star Wars: Battlefront have a ton of replay value. However, it doesn't matter because both games were launched incomplete and are receiving DLC you need to pay extra for.

I really can't say much about Star Wars: Battlefront. I only played the beta and feel that not much has been done to the "finished" game much like Rainbow Six Siege. I'm not saying either are bad games. As a matter of fact, I really loved my time I spent with these games. However, quality does not necessarily come over quantity.

If you enjoy these games, then great! However, this kind of behavior from video game companies should not be condoned. If you are paying full price for these multiplayer-only games with lack of content, then you are only asking for these companies to bend you and your wallet over.
Till Next Time!!

The Game Awards 2015: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, the Game Awards were on Thurday! I did not hear of it until last week, but I thought I check it out to see how bad it was going to turn out. Remember VGX 2013? Yeah, that was pretty bad. I didn't get a chance to see the Game Awards 2014, so I really can't give a fair opinion.

What can I say about it? Well, I thought it was okay. It wasn't great, but I did find some things from the show pretty cool.

I really loved the tribute to Satoru Iwata. They could have done a little more, but what they did was still honorable to Iwara nonetheless. I really wished more would have been said rather than just having sad music played for him.

If you were on the livestream or watched the Game Awards a little later, remember the the Best Performance winner announcement? I thought that was hilarious! I forgot who presented it, but she said Witcher 3 won, but then Viva Seifert from Her Story actually went up to the stage to get the award. It was a minor mistake, but it was pretty funny.

What I took away from the show was Rocket League coming to Xbox One! It won't be coming until February 2016. However, I really was disappointed that cross-platform play will not be allowed on the Xbox One version. You can blame Microsoft for that.

Okay, let me go on about Game of the Year. It was obvious that Mario Maker and Bloodbourne would not win due to them being console exclusive games. I already knew Fallout 4 wouldn't win because it hasn't even been out for a month. Additionally, it would be a pretty boring show if everyone knew it was going to win since the game would obviously win if it were released earlier in the year.

It was between Phantom Pain and Witcher 3. You should have seen the comment section during the livestream. You had people just typing angrily of who would win. I wanted Phantom Pain to win, so you could imagine how disappointed I was to find out that Witcher 3 won. However, I'm not going to complain about how MGSV should have won.

What I am going to complain about is the fact that Hideo Kojima wasn't allowed to be at the Game Awards! Konami is only proving itself to be the lowest of the low in gaming companies. I don't even think EA would pull off something like this!

Overall, I still enjoyed my time watching. You can find the livestream on YouTube, but I think the audio was messed up when it was processing.
Till Next Time!!

Fallout 4 Impressions #1

Hey Guys, I know this is way overdue. I wanted to release this as soon as possible since the two week mark of Fallout 4's release is quickly approaching. In all honesty, my feeling towards the game have been very bipolar. You have critics praising this game like no tomorrow and you have YouTube reviewers saying things that critics have not been mentioning.

Currently, I am level 34. I know that I am not very skilled at the game. I had my difficulty on normal for the entirety of the main story quest line. I changed it to hard after I completed it. I think I was on level 28 when I changed the difficulty.

Word of advice, if you can handle it try playing the game on hard or even go further beyond. The game is not hard unless you do not have any good weapons or armor. You could go through the whole game in power armor, but you would have to keep searching for fusion cores to keep them going.

Personally, I hardly used power armor in the game. I think I only have about 4 sets of power armor. The reason why I do not use power armor is because I like to have a challenge. If there are moments where I literally am stuck, then I will use power armor as an ultimate last resort. Additionally, I like the look of my character and I just think the power armor just hinders it.

How about the main story? Well, I do not want to spoil anything, but I thought it was okay. The twist was pretty good though! I honestly was not expecting it. However, I really was not satisfied with the ending. In case you're curious, I did side with the Brotherhood of Steel. They have firepower and armor! I may not agree with everything they did, but I got to do what I've got to do to get some awesome weapons.

I do not know if it's just me, but I think Ghouls are a lot more powerful in Fallout 4 then in Fallout 3. Seriously, I remember that I could literally just shoot a Ghoul in the chest and they will go down. In Fallout 4, I try my best to avoid them in pacts! I got this Electrified Chinese Sword that will take most ghouls in a hit or two, but it is pretty much useless if there are too many of them!

However, I do really love the fact that Fallout 4 is a lot more challenging. Well, at least a lot more challenging if you are not using power armor and/or playing on hard.

I think I finished the main story at around the 24 hour mark. I still have a wealth of activities to do, but the problem with that is the fact that you literally have to go on the Fallout wiki to find these side quests if you do not want to have to keep searching the Commonwealth blindly.

I do not know how long I will have a review up on this game. I'm actually going to have to include screenshots for it.
Till Next Time!!

A Response to Samuel Roberts's Article "Why MGS5's ending is one perfect moment in a bad story"

Hey Guys, it's been a while since I mentioned anything about The Phantom Pain. First, I loved the game. It's easily a competitor for Game of the Year! I even gave the game a high score on my review of it. However, I did not give it a perfect score due to the story. Although I may not be a big fan of the story, I would not say it is bad.

I stumbled upon this article and have a mixed response to it. If you want to check out Samuel Robert's article, be sure to click here. If you did not already guess it, but this post will contain spoilers for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Please, do not read on if you plan on playing the game and/or are currently playing the game.

As my usual response posts, I will be breaking down some key quotes made in the article. I will not just be focusing on quotes that I disagree with, but this article does have some valid points that I need to address. Anyways, let me get started,

• "As someone who's followed the series very closely since the original Metal Gear Solid, though, I find so many of the creative decisions behind the story baffling in tone, approach and content". He does have a good point here, but I would not say that there is a complete loss of creativity is this game. A vocal parasite that effects the English language? That sounds pretty unique to me. However, I did feel that this game really did lack a lot of what made the previous entries in the franchise's story so good. 
• "Like a lot of observers I was onto this from the start of MGSV's story. In my review-in-progress piece in September, I called this version of Snake 'an anonymous action hero' and ‘an empty vessel'". If you're confused as to what he was talking about in the first part of the quote, he was talking about how most people were already aware of the fact that you were not playing as Big Boss. If you went into the game without knowing that you were not playing as Big Boss, then you would have already caught on to the fact that Big Boss really lacked in character in the Phantom Pain. Seriously, I think Big Boss had like 5 or 10 minutes worth of dialogue in the entire game. Why the decision was made for Big Boss to remain silent is beyond me, but I think it had something to due with the fact that this is not the real Big Boss.
• "Having lost nine years of his life to a coma, he then gives up his own identity to assume that of his ally for his protection, through both hypnotherapy and plastic surgery, then builds an entire army and forges relationships on an entirely false premise". The Medic is essentially a nobody. Mr. Roberts even addresses this later in the article. If anything, it really makes you want to feel bad for him since everything the Medic did means nothing since most people saw him as Big Boss including himself.
• "But the story feels deliberately unfinished—Quiet, Huey and Eli (Liquid Snake) all just vanish in various ways throughout chapter two, stripping more and more of Metal Gear’s lore away from The Phantom Pain". Honestly, the game does feel unfinished. Chapter 3 must have been cut from the main game because Chapter 2 was just painful to play through. Personally, I felt it was just filler at that point. There really was no closure to the game, but I feel there is as future DLC that will give this game a proper closing. 

In the grand scheme of things, Metal Gear Solid V is a great game. However, it is easily the worst game in the series in terms of story. Honestly, I do not feel the "ending" was great either. When I found out I wasn't playing as Big Boss, I felt so cheated. At the same time, it was still a genius ending as it was Kojima's way of giving the ol' tip of the hat to fans of the series.

We can't help but feel bad for the medic since his story is pretty tragic. Although we are not playing as the real Big Boss, it does not take away from core gameplay. As I said before, the story isn't bad in terms of video games in general, but I would say it's bad in terms of Metal Gear standards.

Till Next Time!!

Xbox Live: Free Games of December 2015 - This also sucks....

Hey Guys, I'm still working on that Fallout 4 impressions post, so keep your eyes out for that. I have completed the main quest line, but there is still so many activities I can do in the game.

Anyways, the list for Xbox Live's Game with Gold for December has been released today. Usually, I would say if it sucks or not, and this is no exception. Want to know why it sucks? Well, I'll let you know as soon as I actually show you which games will be free.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will be free for Xbox One owners for the entire month. Thief will be free for Xbox One owners starting December 16th to January 15th.

For you guys still on Xbox 360, CastleStorm will be free beginning December 1st to the 15th. Sacred 3 and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will be free on the 16th up until the 31st of December. All of these games will be backwards compatible for the Xbox One.

Now onto my thoughts.

I will give Microsoft this, they had the kindness to give one extra game. However, was anyone asking for any of these games?

As a matter of fact, wasn't Thief free on Xbox 360 a couple of months ago or something like that? Technically, we really are not getting an extra game. I think they were aware of the fact that they made Thief free already, so they decided to give us an "extra" game as a way to cover it up.

I guess it's better than nothing. I never played Operation Flashpoint, so I might as well try that. Additionally, I personally find it more appealing than the other games. I tried getting into Thief, but it couldn't hold my attention. It literally felt too much like Dishonored.
Till Next Time!!

PS2 Games on PS4: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, it has been a little over a week since backwards compatibility released on Xbox One. Although the current Xbox 360 game line-up is about 104, there are more to come as time goes on. I am little disappointed by the fact that most of the popular requests were not made backwards compatible. I actually wanted Black Ops II to be backwards compatible, but I guess we all have to wait until that day comes.

Anyways, I'm here to talk about Sony's announcement of a PS2 emulator for the PS4. It's going to work the similarly as the Xbox One's Xbox 360 emulator. Right now, not much is known as this announcement was only made yesterday.

Do I think this is a bad idea? Well, it's totally opinion based. Most fan-favorite games have been remastered to both last-gen consoles and current-gen consoles. The Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection and Silent Hill: HD Collection come to mind. I am not going to lie, but there are some PS2 games that still hold up to this day. However, it will be a very small list.

A PS3 emulator would have been the smarter move. I never owned a PS3, but I do plan on getting a PS4 purely for console exclusives. Imagine a person who has never owned a PS3 or has a PS3; they will want to buy a PS4 because they have more options on what games they can play.

I can give Sony this, they manged to actually make an emulator for the PS2. Microsoft has been talking about making the original Xbox games backwards compatible, but they have not done so, yet.

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything. It's kind of hard to juggle time between video games and real life. I'm still working on the Fallout 4 impressions post, but I need some screenshots without spoiling the game. I'm kind of stuck on a quest as part of the main story, so I'm in the middle of doing some side quests to get more supplies.
Till Next Time!!

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!!

Update Post: Fallout 4 and Black Ops III

Hey Guys, sorry it's been a while since I posted anything as there really wasn't anything major going on in the gaming industry.

While I was gone, Call of Duty: Black Ops III released. I need to beat the campaign and put in at least 20 hours into the multiplayer as well as play the zombies mode to actually put out a review. However, I don't even know if I'll even have the review out in time because Fallout 4 is coming out this week.

I might do impressions for Black Ops III and Fallout 4 as a way to build up for the reviews for each game even though there is a strong possibility that Fallout 4 will just get a 10.

So far, I'm actually liking Black Ops III. I'm kind of playing on Realistic difficulty, so it might take me a while longer to beat the game.

I might even forget about Black Ops III because I'll be too busy with Fallout 4.
Till Next Time!!

Here's when the New Xbox One Experience and Backwards Compatibility Releases

Hey Guys, Major Nelson has revealed that the highly anticipated backwards compatibility feature and New Xbox One Experience will release much earlier than originally thought.

Check the tweet here.

 I'm sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. I'm kind of feeling terrible after what happened on last night's Walking Dead episode. I'm not going into full details as I don't want to spoil anything.
Till Next Time!!

Get Fallout 4 22% off on Steam

Hey Guys, sometimes I wish I was a PC gamer. I was on Destructoid and apparently there is this coupon code you can use to get Fallout 4 22% off as well as a number of other games on Steam.

I'm not so sure how true this is, but it wouldn't hurt to use the code as it's only for the weekend. If you do use the code, then Fallout 4 should be $46.80 instead of $59.99.
Code: WINTER-ISCMNG-22PERC

I'm sorry that there is nothing really new for today, so I had to find something to post about.
Till Next Time!!