Welcome back to Pandora

Borderlands 2 is out and the reviews in general have been more than favorable.  In fact, the only truly negative review I read (forwarded by a friend) basically says "BL2 would be better if it were COD..."  I'm not going to spend a lot of time reviewing the same things most reviewers tackle, but I will talk about what I enjoy about it and for those who have played a decent amount of the first game, what changed.

As I've described to so many people, the original Borderlands scratched an itch that I didn't even know I had.  I've always had a slight aversion to RPGs, but Borderlands showed me that it wasn't the strict elements of RPGs that turned me off, but the combat.  Genre blending is a bit of a newer trend in the game industry and the folks at Gearbox really struck a wonderful chord creating a game that throws together shooters and RPGs.  Games like Bioshock, and even Mass Effect were great, but I don't think the marriage of the two genres was complete in those.  Those games were awesome in their own right, but they tended to lean on one side more than the other.

That simple yet in depth formula continues in BL2.  Part first person shooter, part MMO style RPG, part Diablo loot hunting... BL2 delivers on all the familiar fronts from the first game.  The cartoonish cel-shaded style returns which is an appropriate fit for over the top, psychotic world. It feels like a bit of a cop-out, but it's easy to say that if you liked the first game, BL2 is a safe bet.

Things that have changed:

- Character customization has gotten better than just simple color selection, but I'm still a little surprised that there isn't more specific customization.  Basically you get to choose between a head and a body type (which also dictates the color scheme), all revolving around the general theme of your class.  With the crazy amount of guns in the game all with unique stats and characteristics, I would have expected individual clothing pieces to be swapped, changed, etc., but it seems that Gearbox doesn't want to hand that over to players for some reason.

- In general, I've found more loot on the ground than I have in chests, which is a switch from the first game.  Very rarely in the first game would I find anything of value from downed baddies, but now, all the good stuff seems to be coming from them... The game drops rarer loot when you play with friends and have more people in your party, so that might be contributing to this trend.  I really liked finding chests, waiting for it to open, then being surprised by what was inside... this still happens, but definitely not as frequently as before.

- The naming system for weapons has varied somewhat, which is confusing.  Every gun in the first game was randomly generated, given a unique name (usually including numbers and characters) based on what the gun did.  A modder could create his own weapon and it would have a unique name due to the specific attributes contributed to it.  Now the naming system is all a word based system and you need to read the specific stats or descriptions to discover the subtle (and sometimes important)  differences.  For example, relatively early in the game a character gives you a special weapon called the Teapot.  Everyone in our party received the same weapon, with the same name, but all of the stats were slightly different.  One did more damage, one had deeper mags, and one fired 2 shots per round at a cost of accuracy.  I don't mind the new naming system, but by the end of my run with the first game I was able to identify some of my favorite weapons just by their description and if looting for weapons, I could tell just by the name if the gun was worth looking into.  

- The new quest organization system is really elegant.  Similar to the first game, active/completed quests are prompted in their own menu, but now quick travel screen will let you know if an area you are considering travelling to has any active quests.  "While you're there..." will let you know what else you could do in an area if you're just passing through.  Not groundbreaking stuff, but definitely more streamlined than before.

- I'm only about halfway through my level cap, but the story so far is better.  Many of the jokes and character interactions do hinge on having previous knowledge of the first games characters (including DLC) but it is still fun regardless.  Without spoilers, it's just a better story that is told in a more cohesive fashion than previously.  It doesn't make sense at times, but let's face it...  Borderlands isn't the type of game you play for engrossing narrative.  It helps drive the gameplay, but the gameplay is so intrinsically addictive you could play with the story off and still have a good time.

- The jump in / jump out has been drastically improved.  From the home menu you can see all of your friends who are playing, what class they are playing as, and their level. (very similar interface as Halo Reach) Scrolling over them will let you know how close of a match you would be if you joined in with them.  XP is then rewarded appropriately, but I don't know if it adjusts based off of rank or not.  As best I can tell, everyone gets the same XP, but it appears to be scaled back for someone who is ranked significantly higher than the game's host.  This makes it fair for other players who aren't as far in the game, or for players who want to help their buddies catch up but don't want to be super overpowered.   Whatever they did, it works.

- Badass Rank is new, replacing the gun proficiencies from the first game.  Instead of using weapons frequently and becoming more proficient with them (reload speed, recoil, etc), in game "badass challenges" will award you Badass Rank and Badass tokens to redeem for skill bumps.  Want more health, or get more recoil reduction? Apply the tokens appropriately.  Badass challenges happen all the time, totally unprompted, so you get many tokens to spend.  I get the idea that Badass Rank will get very high due to many play throughs... AND Badass Rank follows your console profile, not the character, so once you get Badass, you stay that way with all of your characters.

- On a similar note, Claptrap now offers a special safe where you can share weapons and items found between your profiles.  Found a gun that would be great for another character/class you have? Save it there, then pick it up later.  Cool idea.

This post ran a little longer than I thought it would, like many things I write... congrats if you made it this far.  I'm obviously a big fan of the game and could recommend it to just about anyone, especially if you enjoyed the first game.

XBL Rewards

Just in case anyone is interested:

http://rewards.xbox.com/

You get some pretty miniscule discounts and gifts on birthdays (I'm guessing avatar stuff) but it's free to sign up. Might as well.

WiiU Announcement Thoughts

This is just kind of a general rambling and disjointed thoughts piece, but what are your feelings on the WiiU since they finally unveiled price and release date?

I think the damn thing is too expensive.

I think the gamepad will be a huge battery sucker.  Sure the processing is actually being done by the WiiU, but the size of the controller along with the large screen and other components for movement have to be a killer on the battery.  My Vita gets around 4hrs max on a charge and that gamepad can't be too much more than that, but I could be wrong.

One thing that 360 and PS3 controllers have in common is face button placement.  The buttons are located above the right stick.  The buttons on the gamepad and gamepad pro are below?!  What the fuck?  Nice big fuck you to muscle memory and is another fine example of Nintendo ignoring game norms and it's hard to think that they would have chosen this accidentally.

32GB internal memory?  Who the hell thought that was a good idea?  Salad and I were talking about the 20GB 360 and laughed at how impossibly small that is by today's standards.  It just further shows Nintendo's complete lack of belief in online play, dlc and the future of digital only games.

Bayonetta 2 as an exclusive is a big deal and was a huge surprise to me.  I think it's about as dumb a move that could've happened for a game with such a niche market, but oh well...maybe some people like to not earn more money.

Will I be getting one?  Ever?  No.  There's no need to.  Besides the built in screen on the controller there's nothing this thing will do that my PS3 or 360 can't do already and more than likely do better.  My Vita lets me remote play outside of my home or on my couch so in that regard it's already beaten the WiiU before it's launched.

Do I think the system will sell?  Absofuckinglutely it will.  It's Nintendo.  If Nintendo puts it out people will buy it.  It's the equivalent of Apple for video games.  No matter what they do their products sell.

Do I think the system will be left in the dust in another year?  Totally.  The WiiU will be just as antiquated as the Wii when the next PS and XBOX roll out.

I guess all in all I just don't get the point of this system.  It seems like a catchup game on Nintendo's part that is bound to just keep them further out of the loop of gaming beyond Nintendo first party titles.

Truthfully, I hope this thing bombs.  If for no other reason than to show Sony and Microsoft that doing what Nintendo has done will make you lose in the end.

Rant done.

Halo 4 thoughts

This came to the front of my mind as 3N3MY and I were messaging back and forth a couple of days ago. He told me he saw screenshots of some of the new enemies in the game, and that they looked like "shit." While I respectfully disagree, that's not the point. The point is, the hype machine is kicking into top gear now as we're less than two months away from the next chapter in what is undoubtedly Microsoft's biggest franchise.

This video was released about a week ago by 343i, the developers of the game. Give it a look and make sure to bump the video quality up to HD and listen with some good speakers or headphones.

The game screams, "I'm really polished!!!" As it should. A new composer has been hired and from what I've heard, is giving Halo a brand new sound. Sound effects have been completely overhauled. MoCap and facial recognition have been implemented. In the video at the 5:10 mark, note the improvement in the faces and how they no longer look like they're carved out of silly putty or a potato sack. Seemingly, 343i will overlook nothing, as they've even left off the little armor plates on Chief's trigger fingers for increased "tactile sense." I just thought that was a cool little touch. They also talk quite a lot about deepening the relationship between Chief and Cortana and making Chief more relatable. I sincerely HOPE that they can accomplish it but I will only believe it when I see it for myself.

Anyway, all of this is to say.....what is it we frequently complain about in certain other games? Thoughts like "the engine is exactly the same" and "there's no improvement in any area over x or y." This game just looks to be leaps and bounds ahead of any of the prior games in the series (and most other games) just from a production standpoint. I haven't even gone into the gameplay aspect. It's just a feeling that I NEVER got from watching anything that Bungie did on any of the other games. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they just didn't publicize it as much. We frequently joke that Bungie basically screwed around for about two and a half years and then started working on their next game for release six months later. I don't get that feeling at all with this one, and I hope it turns out to be as awesome as it looks.

This will be my first/last/only post on Halo 4 as I'm going to attempt to "go dark" on it in the next two months, not watching any more videos or any of the hype. I want to go into it knowing no more than I do at this time. Peace out.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD Review

I am going to start this review by admitting that i am a HUGE fan of the Tony Hawk series ever since its release in 1999. Whether it was seeing how many goals i could achieve in the 2 minute time frame or playing split screen games of horse with my friends i have put many hours into the series and because it all started with thps 1 the game holds a special place in my list of all time favorite games. 

Over the past 13 years the series seems to have hit an all time low and the newer games never really  lived up to the first 4 games in the series. Sure the graphics were updated but the newer games failed to capture the same magic of the first 4 games in the series... That is until now... 

Tony hawk pro skater hd was just released last week and it marks the return to a time before slow-motion focus meters, million point combos, and terrible over the top storylines... Tony hawk pro skater hd is basically a remake of the first and second games in the series with little done to change the gameplay. There are only 7 levels in the game (3 borrowed from thps1 and 4 borrowed from thps2 with more from thps 3 &4 hinted at as dlc) but the levels have received a huge graphical overhall making this game easily the best looking thps experience to date. Its nice because the levels feel fresh enough to warrant a return but also feel familiar enough that ull be right at home playing them.

The gameplay is exactly like the first 4 games in the series which means in each level u will be given a 2 minute time limit and a list of goals to complete before the timer runs out. These goals range from landing specific tricks in specific spots and earning certain scores to finding hidden objects scattered throughout the level. You can also customize your skaters stats with money received for completing each goal and purchase new skateboards and special tricks. 

The sound track for the game is pretty decent sporting 14 songs total (7 from thps1 &2 and 7 new ones) i was a little disappointed to find that there is only 1 song  though...

I played a couple online matches and it seemed pretty solid over all. 

While i would say the game is worth every penny of the $15 cover price i do have a few issues with the game. My first gripe is the omission of split screen multiplayer... All the other games in the series had it so why cant this?! I loved playing the older ones on split screen and honestly how hard could it be to add it in there? Also there is no "HORSE" mode... I was shocked that they didnt add it in there since it is easily the best mode out of the entire series multiplayer. 

The game itself is extremely fun to play and does a great job of capturing the essence of the first tony hawk games. Throughout my time spent with the ps3 version i only noticed a few frame rate issues and a few instances where my commands weren't recognized by the game but these instances were few and far between. Whether you are a huge fan of the series looking for a ride down memory lane or a total noob to the series tony hawks pro skater hd is a great game and i would have no problem recommending it to anyone.

Remote Play

I know I sent a text to most of you last night with a pic of my Vita "running" Shadow of the Colossus.  Sony has released patches for Ico, SoTC and God of War 1 and 2 to do this. 

What came as the biggest revelation to me was that this remote play won't only just work while you're directly connected to the PS3 locally, but it actually allows you to play your PS3 from anywhere that has a decent wifi with no lag.  This is revolutionary.

What I thought I would have in the beginning was a WiiU type device.  I could play my PS3 games on my couch while my wife watched her shows.  I had no idea that this would actually open the opportunity to literally play my PS3 from almost anywhere.

The Vita's forward thinking design with the back panel allows it to be broken into 4 quadrants so you still have L2, L3, R2 and R3 and it works surprisingly well.  I'll admit that getting used to holding the Vita in such a way that you're not hitting them accidentally will take some getting used to, but still it's an amazing technical feat.

Not only can I now play the 9 different great Vita only games I have, but I'm (especially down the road when this is made available to more and more games) able to play, potentially, any game in my PS3 library. 

This blurs the line between handheld and console all the more.  Sure the Vita isn't technically playing the game as it's just receiving the streaming info from the PS3, but it's a leap toward the future that gaming is most certainly headed.  The Vita and PS3 are just the first powerhouses to make it happen with legit games that aren't Bejeweled or Snood or fucking Peggle.


I realize that this post probably wreaks to high heaven of fanboyism, but seriously....this is awesome stuff and is a glimpse to the future of where games can go.