Xbox Live: Free Games of February 2017- I question my existence...

Hey Guys, this may be totally irrelevant to the topic at hand, but Resident Evil 7 recently released yesterday and the reviews are looking good. I'm doing my best to avoid watching gameplay from it because I think it would be best to play the game blind. Not sure when I'm going to get it, but I'm sure I'll have it within the next two weeks.

Anyways, Xbox has announced its free games for February and my God are they bad. I mean it's much better than what we got this month in terms of Xbox 360 games.

Image Provided by Major Nelson's blog

I don't understand why Xbox One users are the ones to suffer in terms of game quality. I'm sure there are plenty of good games that are a couple of years old that can be made for free. Hell, why not make Rocket League free for Xbox One users? I own the game and feel like more people should be playing the game due to its cross-play features.

I'm not much into racing games, so Project Cars isn't going to appeal to me. What in the world is Lovers? How many 2-D Xbox One games are we going to get? Well, the world may never know.

I've heard The Force Unleashed was a good game, so it can't be all bad this month as usual for the Xbox 360 games. I am definitely going to try to play it, but I need to finish Uncharted 4 before I go start on another game.

What's up with Xbox and this Monkey Island franchise? How many of these games are going to be free? I literally have no interest to be play anything Monkey Island related. Seriously, has anybody been downloading any Monkey Island game? If so, then I hope you reconsider your life decisions because that's only going to give Xbox the idea to keep putting more Monkey Island games in Games with Gold.

Anyways, I'm done here for today. Maybe there will be more hope next month. This month there was only one major AAA game that released and I think most people will be talking about Resident Evil 7 until the next couple of PS4 exclusive games come out next month.
Till Next Time!!

This is why the Resident Evil 7 season pass kind of sucks...

Hey Guys, with less than a week to go until Resident Evil 7 releases there is already a season pass that was listed on Steam. I came across this news as I was looking for more Resident Evil 7 news to calm down my hype. Well, this season pass did more than just that. I'm only saying it kind of sucks just because there isn't enough information, so my opinion can change. Let me continue...

You can view the details on the official Steam page

There is no release date nor price that was listed with the season pass, so I can't really be too critical when it comes to the value of the content in the season pass. However, why they didn't have a release date listed is beyond me.

It's already confirmed that there will be free story DLC available sometime in the Spring, so I guess this "additional story episode" will be something entirely different. I'd rather have it being a side-story rather than it continuing on from the main game that way you wouldn't have to pay for it.

These "banned footages" are probably those VHS tapes you could pick up and play. Whether they have any impact on the main plot or not is unknown. Even if they did, then why would they charge the players for it? That would just be a scumbag move.

As I said earlier, this is still early. Maybe there will be more content available in the season pass, so that might explain why there is no price available for it yet. If it's $40 or less, then it might be worth the price if it's adding story content rather than cosmetics or something similar.

However, the game has to actually be good before a season pass is even worth purchasing in the first place. Personally, I'm looking forward to Resident Evil 7, but I can't get it day one due to time constraints. I hope it turns out to be good and doesn't go into Resident Evil 6's identity crisis.

Sorry for the short post today, I'm trying my hardest to find the time to write at least once or twice a week. Sometimes time management between work and school can get in the way of hobbies.
Till Next Time!!

Nintendo Switch: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Hey Guys, I know that it's been a while since I made my last post, but I recently started school again, so my schedule is going to be tight once again. I'm a bit late on this, but I think it's time to talk about the Nintendo Switch. While there are a lot of good things about the Nintendo Switch, it's important to still discuss the bad parts.

Still coming out much earlier than expected!

The Good
I'll start off with the good. The actual capabilities of the console are neat! If the motion controls are precise
and actually have "HD rumble", then the amount of creative ways to use them would be interesting to see. It's a pretty powerful console, so the fact that they can make it into a handheld is impressive for sure.

The games themselves are a mixed bag. However, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as well as Super Mario Odyssey are easily the two games that are system sellers. Hell, Breath of the Wild is most likely the game that people are going to start off with once they purchase a Switch.  I'll go more into the problems that I have with the games a bit later.

I'll also mention the price point. $300 is a fair price point for the console. I really was looking forward to $250, but $300 is good enough.

The Bad
Ok, the launch titles. What the hell was Nintendo thinking? Literally, I believe it was a huge mistake to have to release Super Mario Odyssey at a much later date rather than have it released alongside Breath of the Wild. Personally, I would buy the Nintendo Switch just for Breath of the Wild, but it's still just one game.

1, 2, Switch is easily the biggest rip-off that I've seen from Nintendo in a while. Seriously, that thing is a tech demo. I imagine people would probably have only a couple of hours worth of fun from that game then people would just get bored. I don't know why they would charge $50 for the thing. Honestly, I hope they have a change of heart and just package it with the Switch because nobody with a brain is going to pay $50 for a tech demo.

The battery life is pretty bad. Depending on the game, that battery is not going to last. Breath of the Wild is already confirmed to drain the battery out in about 3 hours. I'm not going to totally complain about it since it's a very large game running on a powerful console, but what can you accomplish in 3 hours in an open-world game?

While the Joycon controls have some neat features, I think the main question I have for it is whether or not it will be comfortable for all users. I have some pretty large hands, so I think it would easily cause some cramping in them as well as for people with large hands. This console already seems like it was designed for children. I think there should be an option to purchase Joycon controllers that can fit for people with large hands. Then again, what if you need to put both controllers on the tablet?

The Ugly
The pricing of the accessories are insane! If you want both Joycon controllers, they are going to run you $80! What the serious fuck!? If you want to buy them separately, then it's going to run you $50 a piece. What about the pro controller? It'll run you $70.

Seriously, this has to be the only reason why I wouldn't want to buy a Nintendo Switch. The controllers cost more than an Xbox or PS4 controller. I have no idea what kind of sense that makes. Maybe they just cost more to make?

If I'm going to being paying that much for a controller, then those controllers better be able to grill something for me or something.

Those are my final thoughts for the Nintendo Switch. I would pre-order one, but I have school tuition payments to be making, so it wouldn't be a great idea to be buying one anytime soon. I hope for the console to be a success. So far, it's a massive improvement over the Wii U.
Till Next Time!!

Nintendo Switch Leaks: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, it's been a while since my last post, but not much has been going on. However, just today leaks have emerged from a UK retailer, GameSeek, the possible release date and price of the Nintendo Switch. Keep in mind that this might not be completely accurate.

The possible release date is March 17th and possible price point is $245

Before I say anything else, I want to say that I want to see the Nintendo Switch become a success. The Wii U proved to be a failure to Nintendo. Even though there were some great games released on the Wii U, it just couldn't sell well. The Nintendo Switch might be Nintendo's saving grace.

We're supposed to see the Nintendo Switch in-depth presentation on January 12th. Maybe they will have the exact price for the console as well as the release date. We know for sure it's supposed to release it March, but we're still unsure about the games for it.

If the leaks are true, then I am extremely glad that Nintendo made the right choices. I'm still surprised that the Nintendo Switch is being released this early.

Even though there wasn't enough demonstrations for the Nintendo Switch, I still feel like it's going to sell like hotcakes just based on the price alone. $250 is dirt cheap for a brand new console especially from Nintendo. Then again, I do see there being more versions of the console being released at different prices based on the storage.

Nonetheless, it's perfectly fine to remain skeptical. Until more games have been announced or more models are announced, I could see why people are either not buying the console or not seeing it being able to sell well.

Either way, the Wii U had a launch price of $300. It's not bad, but there wasn't a whole lot of games people wanted to purchase to warrant a purchase for the console. I hope everything turns out great for Nintendo.
Till Next Time!!

Overpriced Collector's Edition: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, I hope you guys had a wonderful New Year's Eve day or whatever. First day of 2017 and I'm already tired. Anyways, it's been a pretty slow weeks in terms of gaming news, so I think it's time to have a discussion about something that has been on my mind for a while. Collector's Editions.

Image Provided by GameSpot

Okay, I am aware that people are allowed to buy whatever they want since they worked to get their money, but there is no denying that these collector's editions are getting way too pricey. This For Honor Collector's Edition is literally $220.

This particular collector's edition comes with the Gold Edition of the game as well as a big ass statue, which probably adds that extra $100 to the price tag. The Gold Edition itself includes the season pass. Everything else is just physical merchandise.

Personally, I never buy games that have a collector's edition. For one, they are pretty expensive. Second, they only appeal to a certain group of people. I'm not a fan of these collector's edition that includes steelbook cases and lack of physical merchandise. The Titanfall 2 Vanguard Edition or whatever it was called is easily the coolest collector's edition I've seen since it includes a wearable helmet. However, even that was a bit too pricey.

Remember Amazon's Battlefield 1 Collector's Edition? One of them didn't even include the game, which could either be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

What I'm trying to get at is that these collector's editions are getting way too expensive. The cheapest collector's edition I've seen in a while would be Dishonored 2, which was only $100 and came with a replica of Corvo's mask. Video game companies or retailers should allow collector's edition that either include the game or not to knock off the price a bit.

An even better solution would be to just move on and not buy them at all. Hell, some of them lose their value overtime, so you could probably find them a lot cheaper online or something.

I apologize if it sounds like I'm rambling. I'm still exhausted and am going to lay in the bed most of the day after this. Seriously, I want to thank you all for reading and waiting on me to continue writing.
Till Next Time!!

Update: My Recent Game Pickups #5- Christmas Edition

Hey Guys, I know that I said I would be posting on either Friday or Saturday, but I had to make a couple of extra purchases as well as add in some gifts I got for Christmas. Yes, even though I am a grown man(legally anyways) with a job I still do get gifts.

In case you can't see the PlayStation 3 games, they are Resistance 3, L.A Noire, inFamous 2, Heavenly Sword, and Heavy Rain

I haven't completely switched over to PlayStation. Remember, I am only buying games that are exclusive to the PlayStation 4. Yes, I also got a sweet soundbar from my parents which I have yet to setup since I have no room for it at the moment.

I bought a couple of PlayStation 3 games over the course of two weeks, so I'm including those as well as part of the pickups I made. Have not played any of them besides Heavely Sword and Heavy Rain. I beat Heavy Rain and am glad that I got a chance to play through it. If you have either a PlayStation 3 or 4, please go get a copy of Heavy Rain. The game still holds up to this day.

In case you're curious, I bought all those PlayStation 4 games. I'm surprised that the PlayStation 4 Pro isn't bundled with at least one game or even a bigger hard drive. I know that I'm only getting PlayStation exclusives, but 1TB isn't going to cut it.

I wanted to get Deadrising 4, but maybe I'll pick it up on Friday or Saturday. For now, I didn't get anything new for my Xbox One.

2017 is almost upon us. If Resident Evil 7 turns out to be an excellent game, then 2017 is off to a great start. I'll be sure to pick it up as soon as a couple of my favorite YouTubers review the game to say if it's good or not. I'm looking forward to being exposed to the world of PlayStation.

I hope you all had a good Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.
Till Next Time!!

Xbox Live: Free Games of January 2017- Xbox Done

Hey Guys, the next batch of free games for Xbox Live users have been revealed. This month's games weren't all that bad and Outlast was easily the saving grace to that. However, next month's games are literally a mixed bag. Allow me to explain.

I don't know what Xbox Live has against Xbox One users. I'm not saying that the games selected for Xbox One are bad, but they are incredibly disappointing. Killer Instinct is a game that never really caught my attention. I'm not big on fighting games, so naturally I'm not going to enjoy the game

World of Van Helsing just looks like a generic over-the-top game, so easily this has to be the worst of the batch of games for January.

The Cave looks like an okay game. The platforming might be fun, but otherwise the game itself doesn't seem like anything special. After the whole Mighty Number 9 incident, I think 2D platforming really should be getting a revamp or something to stay relevant.

Rayman Origins was already made for free on Xbox One. Why on Earth make it free again? I really do hate it when Xbox decides to pull moves like this because it takes away from getting to play a different game.

I'm done for today. I'm thinking of making another game pickups post by Friday or Saturday. It depends how many games I'm willing to buy this Christmas weekend or early next week.
Till Next Time!!

This is why Call of Duty 4's Supply Drops Suck....

Hey Guys, I apologize for not posting frequently. I would be repeating myself by saying that I just don't have as much time to be writing and playing video games. Anyways, I got a chance to play some Overwatch and Call of Duty 4. Both of them had an update while I was gone. While I am enjoying Overwatch's and Call of Duty's update, I can't help but think that the implemented loot system in Call of Duty 4 is completely unnecessary.

There are only a handful of acceptable character models that you can unlock or purchase in the game; Otherwise, almost all of them suck in my opinion

I am totally aware that people were flipping their shit over this decision even before these supply drops were announced to be included in the Modern Warfare Remaster. As a matter of fact, I'm positive most people didn't even care for these supply drops to begin with. Even when they were introduced in Advanced Warfare, I really didn't give a shit about them.

Honestly I think the Black Ops saga had the best customization options in terms of weapons and emblems in the entire franchise. None of them with the exception of Black Ops III had to rely on supply drops to get the best customization items. Well, it is arguable that there is better character customization in Black Ops III than there are in the MWR, but even then there is very limited options for character customization in Black Ops III.

Imagine the potential that this remaster would have had if it had a deep character customization rather than just having to choose from these pre-made character models that really don't have much appeal to most people.

The current customization isn't really good. I never really minded these weapon cosmetics, but I do care about how the character I create looks in multiplayer. If you're into weapon skins and only weapon skins, then this isn't so bad, but for those of you who thought Call of Duty would improve their character customization will be utterly disappointed.

However, I'm not going to be giving this supply drop system that much shit because you can pretty much play MWR without ever having to open one of these drops.

What I want you guys to takeaway from this is that even though supply drops suck there really is no need to be freaking out over them. All you really can do is either ignore them or just move on to a much better game than MWR. Maybe play some Titanfall 2? Dishonored 2? Battlefield 1? Something else?
Till Next Time!!

Should World Size Matter? Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Hey Guys, I just go through finals week and feel like a mess. Now, I have to put in long hours at work and get that overtime pay for the holidays. Seriously, I am way too busy even though I'm done with school for the next three weeks. However, I will do my best to write and play some games when I can.

Anyways, not much has happened since I made my last post other than The Last of Us 2 teaser, Death Stranding, Capcom bringing back old franchises, and the debut of the Nintendo Switch. Okay, I missed quite a lot and don't have a lot of time to cover them, so I guess I get to just have a little discussion about open-world games specifically with Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

Image Provided by Polygon

The last time I've played a Ghost Recon game was back with Advanced Warfighter. I have yet to play Ghost Recon: Future Solider. Maybe I'll pick that up on PlayStation 3 or on Xbox 360 if it becomes backwards-compatible.

The last Tom Clancy video game I bought was The Division. While I am having fun playing the game with a friend, I can admit that the game has problems. Believe me, it's far from a great game. Other than Destiny-like gameplay and a relatively "dead" world, the game is okay. Hell, I don't even call the game "The Division". I like to call it, "Tom Clancy's Pedestrian Simulator".

There is a reason why I call it Pedestrian Simulator is because you spend a large majority of the game just walking and running to places. Yeah, you can fast travel, but it's limited and is not available in all locations especially The Dark Zone, which I hardly touch due to scaling issues. Seriously, if I have to travel on foot to places at a slow pace then my experience isn't going to go great.

Even though Pedestrian Simulator is pretty large, there hardly is anything to do other than random events and missions, which get boring after a while. I think I spent so much time doing the same shit in the game that I forgot 90% of the "story".

This brings up the question of does world size matter?

To make a long answer short, no. Linear campaign video games have shown that either gameplay and/or story are the core elements of making a good game.

If a game does have a large open-world and pretty much treat it as a main element in the game, then there better be life in the game. The Witcher 3, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid V, Red Dead Redemption, and most likely Breath of the Wild are prime examples on how to treat an open-world. All of them(well besides Breath of the Wild since it hasn't came out) have a good balance of gameplay and/or story.

There is no guarantee that Ghost Recon: Wildlands will be a good game or just end up like Pedestrian Simulator. Just by seeing the map, it would be cool to see different ecosystems, but will they effect gameplay to force people to play differently based on location? We won't know until the beta.

If Wildlands is going to have a large world, then there better be a strong narrative, transportation system that includes vehicles rather than just fast travel, and just avoid the mistakes made by Pedestrian Simulator. Maybe make Wildlands similar to Pedestrian Simulator's Survival update or Day Z or at least give a game mode like it.

I'm done for today, guys. Just as an update, I'm thinking about getting a PS4, but I need to get holiday shopping done as well as paying my tuition for the next semester at school. Additionally, I'm still working on my PS3 game collection and just ordered a 500GB hard drive for the PS3.
Till Next Time!!

PSA: Don't Buy a PS3 12GB System for over $100

Hey Guys, you might be wondering where I have been. Well, long hours of studying and working have been holding me back from writing. Over the weekend, I was able to catch up on some video games and actually make a couple of pick ups. It's nothing too special, but I do have some announcements to make for those of you who are either collecting old video game consoles.

I ended up getting this baby from my local pawn shop for just $60.

She's a bit dusty, but she runs just fine...

If you never been to a pawn shop before, then all you need to know is that you get what you pay for.
Everything is not labeld with specifics and I bought this console not knowing that this was the 12GB model. While I only paid about $60 for it, I still feel like I was ripped off.

However, it's not too bad as I could always upgrade the hard drive at a dirt cheap price since the PS3 is not too high in demand nowadays. I literally found a 500GB hard drive for this specific model for around $37, so I pick that up at a later time since I won't have time to use it. If you're wondering what games I bought with the system, then here they are...

It really isn't anything special...

No, I didn't pick these up at the pawnshop. I got them from GameStop since I could use some more points to get some coupons. If I had the time and didn't have to do holiday shopping, then I would have bought a lot more games. I've always wanted to play The Last of Us and Uncharted series, so I just couldn't pass up buying a PS3 on the cheap.

My plan is to collect most of the PS3 exclusive games as well as games that I couldn't find for the Xbox 360 either because they are cheaper or obviously couldn't find them. Eventually, I'll get a PS4, but I literally have no spare room to put it.

I know I did a bit of clickbait, but seriously don't go to GameStop and get this 12GB model for over a $100. You can find it a lot cheaper pretty much anywhere online and just upgrade the hard drive.
Till Next Time!!