Almost forgot that E3 was coming up, and suddenly here it is. Of course one of the first things I noticed was a Dead Island announcement. Anyone picking through the archives on this blog would know that I have a bit of love for zombie games, and Dead Island is no exception. It's a bit disappointing that there's going to be both a class and a level exclusive to the PS4, but hopefully that's going to be a timed thing. Still, it's something that's becoming more common that I don't really care for. I think a game should be the same from system to system. If you want a game to be system-exclusive, then make it system exclusive. I don't really like this practice developing content that's exclusive to another system, then charging me full price for the game anyway.
A new top-down Tomb Raider has been announced, and it still leaves the same funny taste in my mouth. Similar to the first game like this, I just feel weird calling it "Tomb Raider". Yeah okay, so these games are called "Lara Croft and the [Blank]", but it is what it is, and what it feels like is a completely different game where they just replaced the main character with Lara Croft and then called it a Tomb Raider game. It does sorta beg the question, though, of why a character like Mario can be in just about any game and feel natural, where this Lara Croft series of games just don't feel like Tomb Raider titles despite being thematically similar.
And naturally, since the "first" one sold so well, they're putting-out a sequel to the Tomb Raider reboot from a few years back. It has a completely laughable title, but I was willing to just ignore the game and move-on until Lara had to open her mouth. She harps-on about some "destiny" crap, to the point where you look at the title and suddenly "Tomb Raider" isn't just the name of the franchise, but apparently it's what Lara is "meant to be"? Like there's supposed to be a specific "Tomb Raider"? I dunno, I'm not buying it. Smacks of "We don't care about the series, but we gotta put together another one because the last one sold, so we'll just call it 'destiny' since that's certainly what it feels like to us."
Okay okay, that's enough complaining about E3. I do like to try and keep positive, so tomorrow I'll dig-up some stuff that I'm actually looking forward to seeing (aside from Dead Island 2). Until then, game well.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
PAD #14: Now With Titles!
Heh, just noticed that I forgot to add a title to yesterday's PAD. Normally I just write the number and then come back to add a title once I know what I end-up rambling about, but I guess I forgot about the second part yesterday. Ah well. Late PAD today because I was out all day. First I went to a graduation party for one of my cousins, then it was to my sister's place for the rest of the day for a party she was throwing. Over-all, it was good times.
While at my sister's, my dad and I watched Inception (while other family members came and went). It's only the second time I watched it, and forgot how awesome of a movie it is. Definitely the kind of plot that you have to watch more than once to really get. I suppose that's a turn-off for some people, but for me it's just the kind of movie I love. It was interesting watching for some of the stuff I'd been reading about since it came out; like the theory of how Cobb's wedding ring was actually his totem, while the top he carries around was his wife's totem. It would explain why she's seen holding it during some flashbacks, and it's a theory that adds some extra symbolism at the end when he forgets about the top (a reminder of his wife) in order to go be with his kids. The movie certainly isn't without its flaws, but today was a fun reminder that its virtues more than make up for them.
While at my sister's, my dad and I watched Inception (while other family members came and went). It's only the second time I watched it, and forgot how awesome of a movie it is. Definitely the kind of plot that you have to watch more than once to really get. I suppose that's a turn-off for some people, but for me it's just the kind of movie I love. It was interesting watching for some of the stuff I'd been reading about since it came out; like the theory of how Cobb's wedding ring was actually his totem, while the top he carries around was his wife's totem. It would explain why she's seen holding it during some flashbacks, and it's a theory that adds some extra symbolism at the end when he forgets about the top (a reminder of his wife) in order to go be with his kids. The movie certainly isn't without its flaws, but today was a fun reminder that its virtues more than make up for them.
Friday, June 6, 2014
PAD #13:
After returning home from seeing Maleficent, it's time to blog a little before diving back into Wildstar. My opinion? Eh. It wasn't great, but it certainly could have been worse. I think my favorite character was the crow who acted as a spy for Maleficent, even if he was only included for the sake of giving her someone to talk to during the movie, almost to the point of acting like her conscience. Probably the best part of the movie is that it doesn't really make Maleficent out to be an "anti-hero" as much as the trailers made it seem. She was never fighting against some grander evil, but rather the movie portrayed her motives as being purely revenge-driven. Still not sure how I feel about Maleficent being given a heart, but it does make for an interesting dichotomy; the original movie being things as told from the perspective of the royal family, and this new one being Maleficent's side of the story. It's worth seeing, if nothing else.
There's an interesting interview with Todd Howard that should interest Elderscrolls fans. During the interview, they talk about how he's in Germany right now because he's receiving a Lifetime Award from the LARA Awards, which is pretty awesome. Though I think that the most interesting part of the interview was Todd mentioning how Morrowind basically saved Bethesda. As he puts it, Daggerfall did well, but then the company "spread [itself] thin". Not only did they release those little-known Elderscrolls spin-offs that didn't do well, but he also mentioned that there were projects that no one ever heard about. So they merged with Zenimax, and that was the saving grace that let them create Morrowind and "go all in". It's also great hearing a video game developer talking about the great things that you can do on the PC, and saying that he doesn't care that sales on consoles tend to be better because PC is just the best way to play their games. He also mentions that the reason that they haven't announced their next game is because they're waiting until it's closer to being done, because they don't want to just trickle-out information. They want to announce it and BAM, there's tons to talk about with it. Still, fingers crossed that it's Fallout 4. I would be all over that!
There's an interesting interview with Todd Howard that should interest Elderscrolls fans. During the interview, they talk about how he's in Germany right now because he's receiving a Lifetime Award from the LARA Awards, which is pretty awesome. Though I think that the most interesting part of the interview was Todd mentioning how Morrowind basically saved Bethesda. As he puts it, Daggerfall did well, but then the company "spread [itself] thin". Not only did they release those little-known Elderscrolls spin-offs that didn't do well, but he also mentioned that there were projects that no one ever heard about. So they merged with Zenimax, and that was the saving grace that let them create Morrowind and "go all in". It's also great hearing a video game developer talking about the great things that you can do on the PC, and saying that he doesn't care that sales on consoles tend to be better because PC is just the best way to play their games. He also mentions that the reason that they haven't announced their next game is because they're waiting until it's closer to being done, because they don't want to just trickle-out information. They want to announce it and BAM, there's tons to talk about with it. Still, fingers crossed that it's Fallout 4. I would be all over that!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
PAD #12: Trailers and Controversy. Yay! ^_^
My back was really sore yesterday, so I spent most of my time taking it easy and watching Game Grumps and Zero Punctuation while laying at my bed. Unfortunately, this meant I didn't want to sit at my desk since that would have aggravated the problem. As much as I want to get a post per day up, it isn't worth doing more damage to my back than has already been done. On the plus side, I got a new chair for my desk, the old one being the main reason my back went out.
There's a New Witcher 3 trailer. Never did play the second one, but I loved the first one, so I might have to pick that one up when it comes out. I'll have to see how the stories tie together and if I should beat The Witcher 2 first. I suppose some people would tell me that I should just on principle. On that note, I just learned that there was a gameplay trailer for X that was released a while back. Looks like its combat is going to be a retread of Xenoblade's, which I have mixed feelings over. The combat system wasn't bad per se, but it felt clunky. It seems like it was set-up to be controlled with a keyboard first, and later jury-rigged to work for a controller set-up; which might make sense if it wasn't a console-exclusive title. Basically, it was a fun game, it just feels like I should have been playing it on my PC instead of the Wii.
A bit of commentary about Early Access games happened on Total Biscuit's latest mailbag episode, and I have to agree with him. The issue at hand was about the writer of the letter going into the open beta for a game, but then seeing in-game purchases all over the place. I think TB puts it best in this video when he says "If you started charging, it's fair game," and later, "anything that claims to be in open beta with a cash shop is not a beta anymore; it's just released. It is a release! If it is a release that has a lot of problems, then tough shit! You decided to release a game, and you decided to charge money for it when it wasn't done." Agreed, 100%. Yes, every game is going to have its bugs, but when a game is released with several (potentially game-breaking) bugs, then it's inexcusable; I don't care if it has an "Early Access" tag. Early Access is not an excuse to have a buggy product.
Still having a blast with Wildstar (when my computer isn't bottle-necking). I think my favorite part is just the combat. After all the MMOs I've played, this is one of the few where just fighting is entertaining. I'm admittedly still in early-game content, so we'll see how it holds-up for end-game, but right now the game is in a state where I actually look forward to jumping into fights, where usually in an MMO the fights are just a means to an end. Another thing I really like is the occasional challenge I stumble into. At random the game will declare "Challenge Begins!" Suddenly I have to kill as many enemies as I can, or maybe gather enough of an item that's laying on the ground, or maybe some form of a platforming challenge. At the end the game gives you a randomized reward. It's a nice little change from the usual grind of just running quests and turning them into the quest giver. Speaking of which, that's another thing I like, most quest givers will call you when you complete the quest, allowing you to turn-in on the spot, and then they'll give you the next quest in the chain. Cuts-out a lot of the back-and-forth trekking that plagues most quest chains in MMOs. All-in-all, while the game does admittedly make a number of MMO mistakes, it does enough things to fix other MMO problems that it balances-out over-all. Throw-in the fun combat, and it's just a good game over-all.
There's a New Witcher 3 trailer. Never did play the second one, but I loved the first one, so I might have to pick that one up when it comes out. I'll have to see how the stories tie together and if I should beat The Witcher 2 first. I suppose some people would tell me that I should just on principle. On that note, I just learned that there was a gameplay trailer for X that was released a while back. Looks like its combat is going to be a retread of Xenoblade's, which I have mixed feelings over. The combat system wasn't bad per se, but it felt clunky. It seems like it was set-up to be controlled with a keyboard first, and later jury-rigged to work for a controller set-up; which might make sense if it wasn't a console-exclusive title. Basically, it was a fun game, it just feels like I should have been playing it on my PC instead of the Wii.
A bit of commentary about Early Access games happened on Total Biscuit's latest mailbag episode, and I have to agree with him. The issue at hand was about the writer of the letter going into the open beta for a game, but then seeing in-game purchases all over the place. I think TB puts it best in this video when he says "If you started charging, it's fair game," and later, "anything that claims to be in open beta with a cash shop is not a beta anymore; it's just released. It is a release! If it is a release that has a lot of problems, then tough shit! You decided to release a game, and you decided to charge money for it when it wasn't done." Agreed, 100%. Yes, every game is going to have its bugs, but when a game is released with several (potentially game-breaking) bugs, then it's inexcusable; I don't care if it has an "Early Access" tag. Early Access is not an excuse to have a buggy product.
Still having a blast with Wildstar (when my computer isn't bottle-necking). I think my favorite part is just the combat. After all the MMOs I've played, this is one of the few where just fighting is entertaining. I'm admittedly still in early-game content, so we'll see how it holds-up for end-game, but right now the game is in a state where I actually look forward to jumping into fights, where usually in an MMO the fights are just a means to an end. Another thing I really like is the occasional challenge I stumble into. At random the game will declare "Challenge Begins!" Suddenly I have to kill as many enemies as I can, or maybe gather enough of an item that's laying on the ground, or maybe some form of a platforming challenge. At the end the game gives you a randomized reward. It's a nice little change from the usual grind of just running quests and turning them into the quest giver. Speaking of which, that's another thing I like, most quest givers will call you when you complete the quest, allowing you to turn-in on the spot, and then they'll give you the next quest in the chain. Cuts-out a lot of the back-and-forth trekking that plagues most quest chains in MMOs. All-in-all, while the game does admittedly make a number of MMO mistakes, it does enough things to fix other MMO problems that it balances-out over-all. Throw-in the fun combat, and it's just a good game over-all.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
PAD #11: Stubbornness is a Great Scapegoat
I was at Half-Price today and spotted a few copies of Transformers Vault. This is one of those gems I missed the first time around on account of me having not heard of it. They were selling for only $15, marked down from the original $35, so I had to jump on that. After checking Amazon and B&N, looks like I got a decent deal, too. Even on eBay I was only able to find one listing at $15, but that guy wanted $15.80 for shipping! Always gotta watch for that on eBay. Meanwhile Half-Price wanted to charge me $1.06 in sales tax. Lemme weigh my options, might have to sleep on that one.
Seems there's some controversy with Mario Kart 8, and I don't mean Luigi's death stare (I could YouTube videos of that all night if there wasn't Wildstar to be played). I guess there's a bit of an exploit in the game where you can hop at the end of speed boosts so that you don't slow down to normal speed as quickly (basically, being on the ground makes you slow down faster than while airborne). Needless to say there's an outcry of how this is going to ruin the online play, being countered by the opposing faction saying that it really doesn't give that much of an advantage. At the end of the day though, if you're really that worried about winning, then learn to do it. It's hardly "cheating" as most detractors say, and jumping is just a single button-press, so it's hardly a difficult thing to learn. It's something easy that everyone can do, and anyone who cares enough about the game is likely going to be at least reading the forums, if not actively posting as well. When you get right down to it, it's just something for people to stubbornly refuse to do so that they can blame it whenever they lose a match. Maybe Nintendo will patch it out (since that's a thing consoles can do now), maybe they'll specifically leave it in even for future games.
Meanwhile, here's an awesome video of an awesome goat. If you can watch this without feeling the need to comment about the amount of dust in the air, then I think it's safe to say that you have no soul. It was included in Goat Simulator's patch notes, which were quite amusing. You should give 'em a read if you're the kind of person who can have a sense of humor about that kinda thing. Anyway, today's PAD is gonna be rather short. C'ya tomorrow.
Seems there's some controversy with Mario Kart 8, and I don't mean Luigi's death stare (I could YouTube videos of that all night if there wasn't Wildstar to be played). I guess there's a bit of an exploit in the game where you can hop at the end of speed boosts so that you don't slow down to normal speed as quickly (basically, being on the ground makes you slow down faster than while airborne). Needless to say there's an outcry of how this is going to ruin the online play, being countered by the opposing faction saying that it really doesn't give that much of an advantage. At the end of the day though, if you're really that worried about winning, then learn to do it. It's hardly "cheating" as most detractors say, and jumping is just a single button-press, so it's hardly a difficult thing to learn. It's something easy that everyone can do, and anyone who cares enough about the game is likely going to be at least reading the forums, if not actively posting as well. When you get right down to it, it's just something for people to stubbornly refuse to do so that they can blame it whenever they lose a match. Maybe Nintendo will patch it out (since that's a thing consoles can do now), maybe they'll specifically leave it in even for future games.
Meanwhile, here's an awesome video of an awesome goat. If you can watch this without feeling the need to comment about the amount of dust in the air, then I think it's safe to say that you have no soul. It was included in Goat Simulator's patch notes, which were quite amusing. You should give 'em a read if you're the kind of person who can have a sense of humor about that kinda thing. Anyway, today's PAD is gonna be rather short. C'ya tomorrow.
Monday, June 2, 2014
PAD #10: 'Cuz Sundays are Blurg
Yeah, I know. I missed a day. It was a slow and lazy Sunday, and my cold was making me feel all bleh. I think I'm just gonna take Sundays off in general, just a day to relax and do whatever. Like re-watch old Grumps episodes or Futurama reruns. :3
Got into a pre-screening for Edge of Tomorrow. It was... not bad. Not great, but not bad. I guess my main gripe is that they took what could potentially have been an interesting story and just kinda didn't do anything with it. Without wishing to spoil anything, the ending didn't really do it for me, either. I'd compare it to the same reason that the ending to The Dark Knight Rises kinda turned me off. The action scenes are good, so we're gonna re-tread my thoughts on the latest X-Men movie with the ole "If you don't care about story you'll probably like it". I tend to get that impression with a lot of movies, you'd almost think that movies were a terrible medium for storytelling if it weren't for that occasional gem that just blows me outta the water. Rare moments like Nightmare Before Christmas, or Paranorman, where I just can't help but fall in love with the characters.
Absolutely loving Wildstar so far. Unfortunately my computer doesn't agree with me on that notion. Perhaps it's time to start saving-up for a replacement. My current build has actually lasted quite a while for being a quick patch job to get a computer back up and running. It's lasted long enough that I've actually forgotten what broke that I needed to replace. Even putting Wildstar aside, though, she's been showing her age recently. Seems with every game I get, I have to turn the settings down just a little bit more than before. Ole girl's been having issues caching properly, too. So it's making some games really choppy at the start until all the assets are loaded, and then gets choppy again if something new comes along (which can be easy in an MMO where you can bump into classes with different abilities, or even the same class using a different build).
Talked to an old coworker the other day, and I'm thinking I might go back to driving. It wasn't a great job, but it paid decently and kept me on my feet pretty well. Between my hours being cut at my current job, and my computer quickly showing her age, I'll need to find something. Admittedly, I do kinda miss delivering pizzas, some days. Something about being able to drive around during the nicer days that made the lousy days worth enduring, mixed with the pay being fairly good for the effort. It's hell on the car, but at the same time pays enough to keep-up with maintenance for the most part. I dunno, something for me to consider.
Well, I guess that's that for tonight. I'm gonna get in another hour or two of Wildstar before turning-in for good. C'ya tomorrow.
Got into a pre-screening for Edge of Tomorrow. It was... not bad. Not great, but not bad. I guess my main gripe is that they took what could potentially have been an interesting story and just kinda didn't do anything with it. Without wishing to spoil anything, the ending didn't really do it for me, either. I'd compare it to the same reason that the ending to The Dark Knight Rises kinda turned me off. The action scenes are good, so we're gonna re-tread my thoughts on the latest X-Men movie with the ole "If you don't care about story you'll probably like it". I tend to get that impression with a lot of movies, you'd almost think that movies were a terrible medium for storytelling if it weren't for that occasional gem that just blows me outta the water. Rare moments like Nightmare Before Christmas, or Paranorman, where I just can't help but fall in love with the characters.
Absolutely loving Wildstar so far. Unfortunately my computer doesn't agree with me on that notion. Perhaps it's time to start saving-up for a replacement. My current build has actually lasted quite a while for being a quick patch job to get a computer back up and running. It's lasted long enough that I've actually forgotten what broke that I needed to replace. Even putting Wildstar aside, though, she's been showing her age recently. Seems with every game I get, I have to turn the settings down just a little bit more than before. Ole girl's been having issues caching properly, too. So it's making some games really choppy at the start until all the assets are loaded, and then gets choppy again if something new comes along (which can be easy in an MMO where you can bump into classes with different abilities, or even the same class using a different build).
Talked to an old coworker the other day, and I'm thinking I might go back to driving. It wasn't a great job, but it paid decently and kept me on my feet pretty well. Between my hours being cut at my current job, and my computer quickly showing her age, I'll need to find something. Admittedly, I do kinda miss delivering pizzas, some days. Something about being able to drive around during the nicer days that made the lousy days worth enduring, mixed with the pay being fairly good for the effort. It's hell on the car, but at the same time pays enough to keep-up with maintenance for the most part. I dunno, something for me to consider.
Well, I guess that's that for tonight. I'm gonna get in another hour or two of Wildstar before turning-in for good. C'ya tomorrow.
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