Bioshock Infinite

Not a review, just a quick opinion I need to let air out because I just finished the game.

Bioshock Infinite is so good, but not because it does any one thing better than anything else.  I say anything else, because to call it only a game does not do justice to the experience.  I'm not attempting to be overly romantic about it all - these are just the appropriate words.  I didn't "play" Bioshock Infinite, I experienced it.

I've developed a concept over the years... In the context of narrative based gaming, players do not want free choice and freedom, but the illusion of it.  It's why choose your own adventure books were always incredibly anti-climactic, and why we go theaters to see stories where the perspective and plot is well thought out and chosen for us, i.e. film.  Irrational Games proves this theory right. By putting all the appropriate pieces where they need to be, creating an enriching enough story with enough twists to fit into this narrative model, and making the 'game' aspects of the experience as solid and familiar as they could be, the player becomes a part of the world, not just a passive participant.

I can't even begin to go on without spoiling the ending, so I won't.  You owe it to yourself to experience Bioshock Infinite.

Judgement on Judgement

It’s appropriate that they didn’t name it Gears of War 4 because I can hardly call this a continuation of the Gears series. That’s my overall impression, but to be fair it’s not a bad game it’s just not what anybody expected or perhaps wanted. I’ll touch on its stronger points later but let me first unload the hot mess of mistakes that Judgment brought to the Gears games. (Bear with me as this is my first public review of anything)

Bad
Game types. The fun factor goes way down for me if I can’t play the game types that were curiously removed from the list- specifically King of the Hill, Capture the Leader, and Horde mode. King of the Hill appears to be replaced by ‘Domination’-fromCOD::cough::cough:: The widely popular Horde mode was replaced by ‘Survival’, which is more like Rush from the Battlefield series- featuring a class system that’s rather limited.

Flow. Compared to its predecessors, the pacing is a lot quicker, controls feel looser, and movement, like other changes about this game, make it less… “Gearsy”.  Multi-level maps combined with the ability to jump off high cliffs add an unnatural verticality to the flow of games and I feel sometimes pieces of cover aren’t used for combat but are just obstacles and obstructions.
               
Ugly
Multiplayer. Down but not out (DBNO) is only used in specific game modes, you can’t curb stomp in ANY game mode (despite the fact that I’ve seen bots to it), the Locust are no longer playable characters, punching a guy is more effective than shooting him…with your GUN, and somehow the Sawed-Off still exists. Some of these could be my own personal distaste, but for the most part, a lot of the characteristics that defined Gears of War have been mysteriously removed, much to its disheartening dismay.

Good
Campaign. The interesting backstory told from multiple perspectives makes for a solid prequel and I found myself eager to keep playing through the single-player mode. ‘Declassifying’ missions modifies them so you might have to use a certain weapon or fight in reduced vision and these challenges make it more enjoyable/rewarding. Plus, in story mode, I can down a locust with my Lancer then properly finish him off with a chain saw to his chest.

Weapons. Unique, new weapons and grenade types diversify the action very well.  Just don’t ask where they were during the rest of the war.

By the skin of its gruesome teeth I am able to say I got my money’s worth, but the upsetting changes in the Multiplayer are slowly swaying me to possibly selling it or at least going back to Gears 3 so I can obliterate someone’s skull with my size 14.

The PS4 and Next Generation

So, anyone have any thoughts on the PS4 event?

I came away very impressed for a couple different reasons.

One, they beat Microsoft to the punch in a big way.  They didn't have to reveal anything at all.  They could have simply just waited to E3 and delivered it all, and more things like what it looks like and price, but they jumped the gun and have gotten the excitement train rolling!

Two, they're attempting to do things that I don't believe Microsoft or Nintendo will have the capability of doing.  Last year Sony bought a game streaming service, Gaikai, and lots of people guessed it would be used for the PS4 and that couldn't have turned out to be more true.  Try demos without downloading.  Watch your friends play games in real time.  Stream any PS1, PS2 or PS3 game offering a library of games literally in the thousands and thousands.

Also, Sony says that remote play of PS4 games on your Vita is something they're hoping to have available on day 1.  Microsoft has no handheld so it's not even in the cards and the 3DS is lacking the joysticks and inputs needed to make such a leap happen.  The PS3 has already done this with a handful of games and it works really well.  I think they extra horsepower supplied by the PS4 is what will be needed to make this a seamless experience.  The ability to play my PS4 from anywhere with a decent wifi?  That's thinking ahead.  That's the future and it's amazing.

The controller redesign is exactly what I was hoping for.  The DS is still in there, but it's been tweaked.  Adding some new functionality with a couple new buttons and a touchpad like the Vita's and a lightbar that points forward.  What's so great about this is it's going to allow much more input and versatility while not drastically changing the controller like the WiiU.  It's still the controller that I know and love, but a bit more ergonomic and with better triggers.  What's not to love?

The games look typical, but solid.  I'm probably most blown away by Watch Dogs at this point, but as Salad and I already agreed it looks to be a modern/future(ish) Assassin's Creed.  The concept seems very strong and the animations are pretty jaw dropping.  Plus, it's in future Chicago and I was picking out stuff I recognized from the demo.  Awesome!

Another Killzone is certainly another big pull for me.  While it's not a revolutionary shooter by any means it does play in a way that unique to any other shooter out there I know with a weight and feel that's more "realistic" and a truly scary enemy that's also, surprisingly, easy to sympathize with.  They just want the right to live after being fucked over!  I'd welcome a game where I get to play as a Helghast trooper killing the ISA!

I'm sure that there's many more games to be announced, but so far my interest went from a 3 to a 10.

Will I get one at launch?  If the price isn't crazy high I think it's safe to say that I'll be playing a PS4 on Christmas morning.

Sony came out swinging and really set the stage for the next gen.  I'm not saying that Microsoft can't top that, but they sure as hell have their work cut out for them. 

What did you guys think?

P.S.  I would like to repoint out what I said a year ago when the WiiU was announced.  Nintendo is cooked.  Just focus on relaunching the 3DS in every color of the rainbow.  It's all you guys can do anymore.

Pre-ordering and Day 1 DLC: I've had enough

Is anyone else sick of this trend in gaming? Why do I need to pre-order a game? Are they gonna run out of copies?

I was super-pumped to play the 3rd chapter in the Dead Space series, which releases tomorrow. I was set to order it to get a $20 credit, but then I read this article about the Day 1 DLC and microtransactions in the game. I don't know why, but it's really getting under my skin with this one. It's pretty much convinced me to not get the game, and just wait on a sale down the road.

It reminded me of this article I read a few months back. I really enjoyed reading it then, and it immediately shot to the front of my mind here. Why do we need to do it? I don't have to pre-order anything else in life. My favorite line brings to light how the developer has you on the hook before you can be warned off. Essentially paying for something before it's even completed. It's crazy. And stupid.

I ask again....is anyone else tired of this? Day 1 DLC (why can't it just be on the disc if it's done?), useless pre-order bonuses spread across retailers, using real money to buy stuff in games? I have an idea: just make a great, complete game and have it ready when the game launches. Stop trying to squeeze more pennies out of me when I'm already paying $60 to buy a new game. It's a really expensive hobby.

99% sure this isn't true, but...

The interwebs are screaming that this is a hint at the announcement of the PS4.  Given that it is in less than a month and that details are incredibly scarce I highly doubt its true.  If it is, they have ran an incredibly tight ship over there at Sony with almost no leaks.  Regardless, seeing this and reading about the potential next Xbox, I have to say... I'm not ready for this. I am more than happy with this generation. It is still constantly improving and has not yet grown stale. For once in my wife I'm saying "slow down technology".

Dead Island Review

I recently picked up Dead Island for pretty cheap to play with some friends from work.  Most of them are Call of Duty loyalists but one night we decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to give Dead Island the old college try.   I was apprehensive, and a little bias going into it - Dead Island came out when I still worked video game retail and I remember all the disappointing personal reviews I heard, how many traded-in/returned copies we had, and frankly, I already had an amazing zombie game in my life, Left 4 Dead. Could anything really replace L4D in my heart? (Spoiler Alert - it doesn't).  Admittedly, I'm not finished with the game, as we're playing in a group through the story, but I have dumped about 15 hours into it over the last week and gotten a pretty good view of where things are going.

Dead Island really separates itself from Left 4 Dead with it's "realism".  I put that in quotes because it still takes creative liberties with gameplay, but it is more grounded: Zombies will physically restrain you, you have a stamina meter that needs to be recharged after doing just about anything, and your flashlight depletes energy, causing you to need to pick and choose your "dark" moments.  Weapons will degrade the more you use them, so repairing and upgrading them is a constant thought in the back of your head. The realistic side of things didn't click with me at first, but it's more a learning curve than anything.

Visuals aren't bad.  Not great, but not bad.  The zombie lose limbs and skin, show visible fire damage, etc.  As a result of this "layered" damage system, the regular humans look weird.  Its not intentional, but it reminds me of stop-motion animation where you can actually see the fingerprints of the animator on the puppets.  It's almost like they were made out of clay by a really talented giant.  Fortunately this really isn't noticeable in the combat because of all the profuse blood flow.  Also, I have yet to see it get dark outside... inside combat gets creepy, but it's always sunny on the beach.

The combat is clearly where the developers put all their eggs.  Taking place on a resort island, they had the decency to realize that it wouldn't make much sense to put a weapon room and stockpiles of ammunition in every closet.  Weapons are found - rakes, poles, baseball bats... morning stars (see what I mean about creative liberties?)  These can be improved with items found throughout the world at workbenches, located in the safehouse areas.  The combat is tactile and fairly real.  First person melee combat always makes me feel weird, but Dead Island overcomes it fairly well.  Hit detection seems solid.  The better your character, the more accurate they become with targeting.  Not unlike aiming in a FPS, you need to "aim" your swing and the cross hairs represent that.  A solid crack with your flaming baseball bat can sometimes create a very satisfying headshot.  (I have heard that later in the game firearms get more common.  I'm interested to see how the story develops to justify this, but one of the characters is a firearms expert, so I hope the guns show up soon.)

Speaking of the story, don't bother.  It's only a means to drive the gameplay.  The characters are half thought through.  The writers attempt to add feeling and emotion to the scenario to compliment the more "realistic" side of a zombie apocalypse, but it's all overdone and laughable.  In order for true emotion to occur, the player needs to "be" their character, and to me, my character is only a list of stats. The player is the classic silent protagonist, so even simple conversations are weird.  It doesn't matter though... you'll skip through all the dialogue to get to the quest info screen and decide if it's worth your time to retrieve someone's necklace from a hut for $500 and a car battery.  Did I mention that the reason you get do do all these mundane chores for everyone is because you have an immunity to the zombie virus?  How convenient.

Really the only thing that surprised my about Dead Island so far, is how much of an RPG it is at the base levels.  The leveling up is done through skill trees, rules for critical hits and elemental damage apply to combat, and the meaningless quest grinding is pushing JRPG levels here.  It implements all these elements well, and does a fairly decent job of burying them amidst gameplay, but its still there, rearing its ugly head at unwanted times - my weapons aren't strong enough, but as soon as I find new ones, repair them, level them up, add some fire and nails, I've leveled up again! The game scales up the baddie difficulty and my weapons are back to being subpar.

Theres this thing about RPGs that I've never understood.  If everything scales to my level, why not just keep me at one level? What's the point of making everything cost more if the game is just going to give me more money after every battle.  Proportionally, everything costs the same, its just bigger numbers.  (My level 1 weapon does 1 damage to a level 1 zombie rewarding me with $1 = My level 10 weapon does 10 damage to a level 10 zombie rewarding me $10)  Is this just a really misguided math lesson? The game doesn't event try to find a happy middle ground when two different leveled characters are in the same game - a level 5 zombie will look and play like a level 15 zombie to a level 15 character.

At the end of the day I like Dead Island, but it doesn't do anything any better than the games where it stole its main concepts from.  Borderlands (which came out 2 years prior) nailed the looting system.  Left 4 Dead captured the cooperative aspect better.  I'd like to say the weapon construction is unique, but that is only a functional gameplay aspect if you are good at looting the gear you need to do it.  I don't actually get to design any of the weapons - they're just made out of things I find.  My desire to play the game really only comes from seeing what new weapons the game designers thought of... that and the blood lust of smashing zombie heads open.

I'll enjoy my time with it, then see if I can't my work buddies to cave and pick up Left 4 Dead.

Hitman HD Trilogy

It's finally been released. 

It's a series that is celebrated for many reasons from the great character in Agent 47, to it's amazing attention to detail, tough difficulty and to it's huge amount of possible kills.

To me this game is extra special because my recently passed brother got me into it when he got Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on his PS2.

Please enjoy the videos below.  The first is the HD release trailer and the second was my favorite game trailer for many years.  I still love the way the trumpets crescendo when 47 pulls the Silver Ballers out of their case.

Fucking outstanding.

Fez

Fez is awesome.

I picked this game up during the XBL Christmas sales. I had never even heard of it until I read many different websites' "Top 10 Games of the Year" lists, and sure enough, Fez was on almost every one of them, commonly claiming a spot in the Top 5.

Fez is a puzzle-platformer in the same category as other downloadable hits like Braid and Limbo. It lacks Braid's time-altering mechanics (and pretentiousness) and Limbo's grit and grime, but makes up for it with a vibrant style and the ability to rotate the entire world. This is a 2-D world, but with 4 different sides, if that makes any sense. By pulling the Left and Right triggers, you rotate the entire world one-quarter turn. Stages are very vertically-oriented, involving a lot of climbing and rotating the world so that different platforms "change" position on the screen, further allowing your ascent. This made for some really fun and challenging gameplay. Sometimes you will also have to turn platforms, raise and lower water levels, line up ladders, etc. Later stages had some "timed" wall climbing, where you only have a certain amount of time to climb and rotate before panels begin flipping and you lose your grip. There are also some bomb sections where you'll have to rotate the world in snyc with the explosion to keep it going. Here is the launch trailer with some gameplay footage to kind of give you a visual of what I'm trying to explain.

One thing I love about all these different aspects of the game is how none it is really spelled out for you. The game will tell you how to rotate a platform or that you can pick up a bomb and either throw it or drop it, but that's about it. It doesn't hold your hand at all and I really appreciate that.

Puzzles in this game can get straight-up baffling at times, which I also really like. Half the time, I'll leave a room without even realizing there was a puzzle in that room. The only reason I DID know was because of the map. The map has a key that will tell you what's in each room: bits, cubes, treasure chests, key-doors or puzzles. A great example of what I'm talking about is a very simple room with what appears to be a throne in it. I got the bit sitting on the throne, then left and looked at my map. There was (and still is) a ? on my map next to that room, meaning I can do SOMETHING in there. I have no idea what, and I love it.

There is also some type of "code" in this game that I haven't figured out yet. Hell, there are probably multiple codes that I need to decipher. I feel like I'm close to one because I've found a room with a panel that lights up in different "shapes" when I perform different actions. If I jump, a square shape lights up on the panel. If I look right, a certain shape shows up. If I rotate the world left, different shape. And it's always consistent. There are signs in the world sometimes with these shapes on them, but my problem now is that I can't form some of the shapes with my available actions. I don't know how to make those other shapes, but when I find out it's going to be epic.

There is not really a "story" to speak of. There is a giant cube (the hexahedron) that shatters into bits, and you must collect the pieces to put it back together. You find out eventually that the hexahedron consisted of 32 Cubes and 32 Anti-Cubes. You can find entire cubes all at once, or tiny bits. 8 bits=1 cube.Gathering any combination of 32 Cubes or Anti-Cubes will allow you to finish the game, but getting all 64 will most likely unlock the full, true ending. At least that's what I'm guessing. The simple story doesn't bother me in the slightest, because the gameplay and challenge are so solid and satisfying.

I think it took me about 8 hours to find the minimum 32 cubes to "finish" the game. I'm guessing at least double that to get actually get everything. A stellar game for $15. An absolute steal for me since I picked it up at 50% off. This game is excellent and I highly recommend it. Look out for it on sale again. Or don't.

Max Payne 3 - Brief Review

I've never been so torn on any game in my life.  It's astoundingly excellent and amazing while making me want to take an x-acto knife to my wrists.

Great action with fucked up controls courtesy of Rockstar.  Sometimes the controls would break: roll wouldn't work, get trapped in cover, crouching was spotty and one time I wasn't able to shoot my fucking gun.

Somewhat messy story with lots of acronyms that left me confused.

Lots of cinematics that hide loads that I actually enjoyed.  They were really well done.

Lots of visual stuff going on with effects.  It worked and didn't annoy me like I expected it to.

Seemingly endless run of baddies that left me wondering if I'd killed the world yet.

Great voice acting with an awesome yet absolutely flawed character.

I loved that Max, after using pain pills in the previous 2 games to heal, is now addicted to them.  Every time you pick them up in the game he'll always mumble some kind of justification to use them.  Awesome.

The attention to detail in enemies, levels, guns and Max was second to none.

The last 6 years of gaming have trained me that almost all shooters take place in hot, barren shit holes.  Max Payne was always a WONDERFUL treat because you fought in nitty gritty shit hole New York.  In Max Payne 3 you leave New York and a large chunk of character of the game went with it.  Some of the best levels in the game are flashbacks that take place in New York.  I'm sorry, but this game needs to be kept in the city.

Arguably the greatest soundtrack of any game I've ever heard.

All in all I'm really glad I got this game for 20 bucks as opposed to 60.  It was amazing and frustrating all at once.

I just wish that Rockstar didn't get their grubby mitts all over it and muck it up.

8/10

Winter Gaming

I'm not sure who is buying what this Winter, but Microsoft has this deal going. You'll get 1600MSP/$20 for each game you pre-order. This is definitely where I will be making my Gears: Judgment purchase.....FACT!

SUPER DUPER TRIPLE REVIEW: Sleeping Dogs, Spec Ops: The Line, Binary Domain

This past week has been good to me as I've finished 3 excellent games.  Below are very brief reviews of each.

Sleeping Dogs

Hands down my favorite sandbox game of all time.  Ever.  Great story that tears you between loyalty to friends and the job.  Some truly cringe worthy moments in here of brutality. 

A sandbox game that doesn't compromise in almost anyway.  Great shooting and melee combat that's fun and rewarding.  Good physics and great driving. 

It does pull from every great sandbox game ever made, but it does everything that they do, but does it better.  This game is everything a sandbox game should be.

One of the select few games that gave me a tinge of sadness to see it end.  That the journey was over and the story complete.  I really hope they make a sequel to this game.

9/10

Spec Ops: The Line

Holy fuck.  A modern 3rd person military shooter that has an amazing and convuluted narrative where you never really know if you're the good guy or not.

Throw in some moments that make you feel like a fucking monster and some excellent voice acting and a couple squad mates that mentally breakdown with and you've got the most compelling shooter I've ever played.  Period.

2012 GOTY to me.

9/10

Binary Domain

A random game, I know, but it was a lot of fun.  Over the top action with fun bad guys, tons of robots!!!!

Great action and some memorable characters.  The enemies were a ton of fun because they blow apart in interesting and very visual/reactionary ways. 


It does fall apart on a handful of boss fights that were just dumb as fuck.  Instant knock downs with slow recovery time make the fights a bit of a chore at times.

Creepy humanoid/robotic moments and interactions in here.

Great game that you should be able to pick up for cheap. 

8/10