May 2014

at 12:58 PM 0

Here it is, the yearly release of Call of Duty. Is it another one set for failure like Ghosts? With all the hype and the awesome trailer but no result? Well maybe, I'm not getting my hopes up, I can say without a doubt the possibility that this game will be complete rubbish like Ghosts and MW3 is very high. Even though it will most likely be another horrible Call of Duty it does perk some interest, and one of those things is that it has been in development for 3 years by Sledgehammer games, which is a company founded by some of the creators Dead Space. Now Sledgehammer games did work on Modern Warfare 3, which lets be honest was pretty bad, but I'm starting to think that Modern Warfare 3 was decent now that I have seen and played  Ghosts. So what will it take for this game to be successful? Here is my personal four things for Call of Duty Advanced Warfare to be a success.


First thing they need to do to make this game a success is to use a new engine, not just small updates to the old engine. Lets face it destructible and interactive environments is a must have now, its expected by players and playing in Call of Duty's non interactive worlds makes it seem dull and boring. The Second thing is that the Exo Suits have to be truly unique and not just a rip off of Titanfalls system. So far we know that the Exo Suits can wall climb, jump large distances, punch through things, and let you drop kick, which could be awesome! If it actually turns out they play like they are portrayed.


Third thing is that the trailer shows vehicles such as hover tanks, hover bikes and spider mechs. Now if these are in multiplayer and not just campaign then this could change the way that Call of Duty plays forever and give some much needed innovation the the franchise.  Fourth and one of the most important is that multiplayer needs to change, spawns need to be fixed for starters, but what I really want is innovations to gameplay! Exo suits is a good start if it can be capitalized on. One thing they could do is remove quick scoping, they could also give us interactive environments, vehicles, unique guns, well designed maps, more players, and creative game modes.

So there it is, those are the changes that I believe need to happen for Advanced Warfare to be a success, and one that new and old players can enjoy. Lets see some creativity and not just a bunch of copy and past for the money. So to all the gamers out there I say keep playing and keep having fun!


Read more »

at 11:52 AM 0
In a move almost everyone saw coming, the Xbox One drops the Kinect June 9th taking the Xbox One price down to 399.99$. This move was made just to compete with the Playstation 4s 400$ price, now the 100$ gap between the two has been closed. Credit to Microsoft that they have listened and changed almost everything consumers have asked for, and slowly but surely the respect of their fans and of the gaming community returns. Most fans didn't even use the Kinect, even though the device is a cool innovative way to use the console, and without the device all the cool features shown at E3 are mostly useless. Microsoft’s head of Xbox, Phil Spencer said "We’ve also heard from people they just like to play games with a controller in their hands," "We’ll continue to innovate on Kinect, I think it’s an important differentiator for us, but I also know there are people out there that want to make the choice when they want to make it." The $499 model with Kinect will continue to be sold, but Microsoft will also introduce a standalone Kinect sensor for Xbox One "later this fall." Most people didn't want a home entertainment system they just wanted a gaming console. I think Microsoft had the right idea and a good one but I believe it was a bit ahead of its time.
Read more »

at 11:43 AM 0

Opening 
Well I finally got into the Strife closed beta, and I'm here to share my thoughts. First of all I have to say I was strongly annoyed by the forced tutorial! Even though the two tutorial missions were not very long, it still should not have been forced. For players who have played MOBA games before it's annoying thing to be forced to sit through all the things you already know. Nevertheless, I have to say Strife is quite addicting. I found myself just playing again and again and again! I actually played Strife one day instead of League of Legends. Now I'm not saying Strife is better the League or Dota but it definitely has its finer quality's.


Is Strife a copy of Dota 2 and League of Legends?
Well, you could say that every MOBA is a copy of League of Legends and Dota because those were the first MOBA games, and all MOBA games are similar. So in a way, yes, Strife is sort of a copy of Dota and League of Legends, but Strife makes itself stand out. One of the things that makes Strife stand out is that for people who are not familiar with MOBA games, they will be able to jump into Strife fairly easily.


What is different about Strife from other MOBA's?
As I said earlier, the main thing is that new players to MOBAs can get into Strife easily. The second thing that I found to be a very nice game mechanic is the use of a buff  like creature that the whole team attacks, and if you defeat it you get a giant gorilla like creature that pushes a lane like a siege engine. The game also has a crafting feature where people can choose what items build into a main item which is a very interesting idea. The game also gives you pets which basically are just spells. they have spell like abilities like removing CC (Crowd Control) effects, Heals, or Mana regen etc...


Can Strife Last or Compete in the MOBA Genre?
Actually, yes I believe it can! Strife sets a bar for MOBA games in the fact that it it fairly easy to jump into, so for people who want to get into the genre and want to play games like Dota, League of Legends, or Smite but are afraid of the complexity of these other MOBA games, they can play Strife for awhile and get a feel for the MOBA genre.

Closing Thoughts
All in all Strife is a fun and fairly easy to play MOBA, and its one of the first new MOBA's that has kept my interest, with great map design and decently balanced gameplay even in beta. Strife shows promise, so go ahead and sign up for the closed beta and give it a go!





Read more »

at 11:07 AM 0

Daylight is a horror survival game that will try to take you one a psychological thrill ride but does it deliver? I was doing all I could to try not to compare this game to Outlast, but it is so hard to forget the gold standard of a horror game that was set by Red Barrels studio.

The game starts you off right in the building you will be spending most of the game in. There is no real story build up or explanation of why you are even there. Upon exploring the first room is where I found my first problem with the game. While you are in the room there is a book bag that has glow sticks in it that you can use to see... A never ending supply of glow sticks. There is nothing scary about always being able to see, in fact it made it so I could just run around with glow sticks, not worrying about whether or not they would wear out because I knew where the bag was that had my unlimited supply. On top of searching and wondering around the rooms and hallways, using only the light of your phone and glow stick, you have someone that continues to buzz your phone giving you information about where to go or what to do. He is so hard to understand and he doesn't really tell you enough to help, so he becomes just white noise.
During my play through I had begun to get so frustrated about playing because there was no clear objective and the level design was so poor that I couldn't tell one room from another. I would try to use the map on my phone to navigate but it was as confusing as the guy talking on the phone. All of this just added to my frustrations. Once I was able to find a new avenue through the generic hallways, I stumbled upon another wealth of light, flares. The flares are used to scare the ghosts away but as with the glow sticks, there is an unlimited supply of flares. To add to that, in my play through, there was not one ghost that appeared. Not one! I understand that is procedurally generated but there should be at least one ghost. I found that I had begun to hope and ask for ghosts to appear to make the game scarier and more challenging.
To summarize, I found myself frustrated and upset that I spent most of my time wondering around trying to get scared. The game left me feeling like something was missing and lacking from the game. Zombie Studios seems to have rushed on bringing this game out because there is money to be made in horror survival genre again thanks to Outlast.


Read more »

at 8:36 AM 0

Recently I picked up an iPhone 5s case hoping that it lived up to what it claims to do. Now I read plenty of reviews before I got it and honestly I'm disappointed with what I read. A lot of the reviews said it was flimsy, breaks easy, bulky, lop sided, and not worth the $80. We'll let me tell you this case is amazing. I beat this case up to the point were I thought my phone was done for sure. 
       Since I'm going through the fire academy, I thought It would be the perfect place to test my case. As nervous as I was to try it on my new iPhone 5s, I went through it anyway and couldn't be any happier with how well it worked. Leaving my phone with the Lifeproof Fire case in my outer pocket of my protective clothing it went through high heat from a car fire, extreme water pressure from commercial sprinkler heads, banging off the ground doing hose line advancements and crawling through a pitch black maze, and there isn't a single nick scratch or dent on my iPhone or the Lifeproof case. Yes, it is flimsy but it is thin for getting it in and out of your pocket and it's built to be punished. The $80 spent on this case blew the old Otter Box I had out of the water. It's super durable, thin, and the colors are great. I got the blue one. This is a great purchase 10 out of 10.

Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)