Category: Hobbies & Fun

Video Game Review – Ghost of Tsushima

By far one of my favorite games of 2020 for sure and winner of several “best of” awards throughout the gaming industry. The style and authentic feeling story was a joy to behold and the tight sword play stay entertaining throughout. The story follows Jin Sakai through what amounts to a classic tale of revenge and family drama. It is an open world master piece that is made by a lesser known studio called Sucker Punch. What they did with the subject material and the visual aesthetic is simply brilliant.

Long story short, I devoured this game. I have always connected deeply with the ancient far east culture. I took a traditional form of martial arts as a kid and I got a lot out of it. I have taken the teachings of my karate training and fascination with the Japanese culture with me throughout my life. Not that this has any to do with the game but I connected deeply with the feel and vision of the game. This game let me live out my fantasies of being a samurai warrior. I don’t know why this time and setting is usually skipped in modern gaming unless it’s strategy games or the Dynasty Warriors series. There was Tenchu Stealth Assassins back in the day.. and Bushido Blade.. we’re talking old school PlayStation 1 here. like 1995. There may be some other great samurai subject games out there but those are some of the ones that come to mind and they aren’t even necessarily “Samurai” games like Ghost of Tsushima stake out to be. This game is literally a Japanese Samurai / Samurai movie simulator.

The main character is Jin Sakai. He is an honorable samurai from a noble clan who is forced to do less than honorable things to keep his homeland and his people safe. The games art style is where it really shines. This game is absolutely beautiful and it really shines in the aesthetic department. Sucker Punch used super rich contrast and color pallets so all of the scenes look like they could be a painting or out of a graphics demo. I am playing on the OG PS4 which at this point is like a 7 year old system but i was surprised how the massive world and depth of colors played well together. The game ran smoothly and loading screens were fairly short from what you would expect from a game of this sheer size.

Everything about the game was superbly Samurai. While I don’t know how historically accurate or true some of the conflict is, I did enjoy the various romps through the world and the side characters you meet tell interesting mini stories within the main narrative. I spent easily over a hundred hours in the game and I completed pretty much everything I am fairly close to a Platinum trophy.

The game has some repetitive elements toward the end stretch. If you are seeking trophies or achievements you will be doing the same things over and over. Luckily this game is absolutely beautiful so going to random locations and the far ends of the map are fairly entertaining in their own right. This is pretty standard in many large and long open world type games. There is always the first part where you feel overwhelmed and then you get side tracked from the main story and over level yourself then once you are bored of all of that you are like, “oh yeah there is still a whole main story arch to finish” That’s more or less what happened with me and this game. Some of the larger games of recent memory (coughs AC Odyssey coughs) have definitely dragged on. Like they could have been 20 less hours and still been phenomenal games.

Ghost of Tsushima drags a little bit for sure but it’s not as bad as some of the other games out there. It’s definitely worth seeing to it’s conclusion though. there are some memorable parts at least for me there were.

Once you beat the game, sucker punch released a free update that let’s you team up with other human players and fight gauntlets of demons. The art style is a bit different and the expansion kinda delves into the myths and demons of Japanese culture. At least it seemed like it to me. The art definitely looked darker. I haven’t played the expansion except for a couple of matches but I plan to once I get back into the game to get that Platinum trophy.

Overall this game is excellent and worthy of your money and time if yo like the open world style of game. It doesn’t do anything super new in terms of innovation on the formula but what they do with the world and the colors and the stories is absolutely superb. Not to mention a full multiplayer mode added on after the fact, Ghost of Tsushima is a no brainer and a must play if you enjoy anything Samurai or ancient Japan.

Video Game Review – Animal Crossing: New Horizons

I bought Animal Crossing ultimately because I needed a new game for my Nintendo Switch. Also I figured it would be something that my girlfriend could play and enjoy. She like to design stuff and organize things. Doom Eternal came out on the same day and I thought it would be a good counter to the ultra violence and demon shredding game play.

I was instantly hooked to the pastel colors and offset fixed camera view. It was, as I like to say, “as wide as a puddle but as deep as an ocean”. At around 200 hours of game play it is one, if not the most, played game on my Switch. Ultimately I didn’t know i liked to decorate and accumulate random accessories and clothing. I quickly found myself logging into the game at various times throughout the day as different times spawned different animals and events. It was the perfect addicting distraction during strange pandemic times as things really ramped up in seriousness.

The game is a colorful and cheeky life simulator which tracks time in real time. You log in in the day time and it’s daytime, when you log in at night it’s night time. There are benefits to logging in at various times throughout the day and night. Different events happen and characters roam at different times through out the day.

I really liked the slow pacing and super laid back vibe of the game it was a great counter to Doom after all. The two games even spawned a good crossover video.

The music made me feel like I was living the island life under crippling debt that I paid off slowly by hustling fruit, bugs, and fish to the local store owned by the islands overlord, a cheery racoon named Mr. Nook. Overall the game could be enjoyed in small chunks throughout the day or it could be dug into for several hours customizing your island with non interactive accessories and furniture. It’s a great game for people who like resource management and collecting things, as well as designers and simulators. My character looked like me even, I found a hair style that could be seen as dreadlocks!

The world instantly fell in love with Animal Crossing. I had never played the game so it was a fresh experience for me. My experience was genuine as I had no expectations and didnt know what to expect. I guess there were lots of little things long time fans didn’t like but I didn’t take much notice and I don’t really care to indulge critics. I like honesty but I don’t like negativity. I guess that’s an oxymoron but whatevs.

there are some truly delightful and eccentric character personalities. anything from nerdy introverts, to wannabe pop stars, to super bro macho type. I had this little bird character from the very beginning who was super into his workouts and fitness! He always yells CRUNCH at me when he is pumped up. He tries to get me to work out with him but I am lazy and have yet to join him.

There are tons of little quality of life things that I wish were implemented. The game is slow pace and it takes it’s sweet time. There is no way to skip lengthy dialogue that you have heard for the billionth time. There are certain aspects of the inventory management that I wish could be improved but it was never enought for me to stop playing. Just noticeable little things that bug oh so much.

Overall this game is a great game and worthy of hundreds of hours of your time. I enjoyed my first ever Animal Crossing game. I haven’t played in a while. Around the time fall rolled around I stopped playing as much. I recently turned it on to check the turnip prices but other than that I got to the point that I had pretty much seen everything and done everything. I was relatively disappointed in the various seasonal updates. They were pretty cool but nothing super engaging. The best updates were the ones that added mechanics such as the swimming and diving.

It’s good to know I have some friendly faces on my island should I ever feel the need to jump back on.


Video Game Review – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I played the Witcher 3 several years ago on my Xbox One. I never finished the main story but I absolutely fell in love with the story and lore of the game itself. Without a doubt one of the best modern RPGs I’ve ever played. I found the Witcher after I played through several hundred hours of Skyrim. I was craving more of that open world, exploration, discovery, and lore. I quickly realized that the Witcher is much more traditional role playing game in the sense that the main character has history and lore. It wasn’t till later on, that I discovered that “The Witcher” is a series of books that began back in the 1980’s by Andrzej Sapkowski. Obviously there were other games if this was The Witcher 3, but I had never even heard of them.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes high fantasy or Gothic / medieval fantasy lore. Geralt is a gruff and stoic character but definitely has a charm about him. Coming off of Skyrim it took me a fat minute to begin to appreciate the raw role-playing element that this game offers. You are Geralt of Rivia. People know who he is and he has a storied past. Much of which you can uncover and learn tid bits of throughout your journey.

This is a massive game. The first time I played I petered out around the 70 to 80 hour mark when I realized there was an entire different continent to explore and do missions in. This time I easily spend over 100 hours. I took my time and played lots of side missions except for the gwent card game side quests. I found the mini game to be incredibly random and kinda unfair. Either that or I just suck at the game and never put enough time into it to learn the intricacies. The Gwent card game was so popular that it spawned it’s own spin off card game.

Completing the game felt great. The ending was one of the better build ups and subsequent climaxes of any video game I have ever played. The game is 5 years old mind you and the amount of dialogue and original non repeated speech is worthy of accolades. It’s like playing through a movie in it’s writing, voicing, and depth of choice during interactions.

Admittedly the game can become a bit of a slog, during the middle part of the game when you are on the main quest line. Simply, this world is sooooo big and there are sooooo many locations to seek and side missions to do, it is very easy to get distracted. You could probably mash through most of the story in about 40- 60 hours. If you take your time and explore and do a bunch of the side missions and extra contracts you will easily tack on another 20-40 hours. Which was not a bad thing at all. I just had two distinct play modes when I turned on the game I would either be aiming to explore and do side quests, or I would just play story missions which were generally more involved and took a bit longer to complete. Using this method I was able to complete the game in bite sized chunks, while keeping up with the sprawling story.

Bottom line, I spent so much time with these characters that I actually grew to admire them and gave a shit about thier conflict. I wanted to see it to the conclusion that I never got when I had first played through it.

There were plenty of twists and turns in the story mostly basic fare but some pretty unexpected turnouts based on your choices in dialogue and physical actions against other characters. This was one of the things that impressed me most about this game, choices mattered. There were decisions made early on in the game that had an impact on the conclusion and subsequent build up to the ending. I have never played a game that took such care to include the consequences of whatever choices were made. This was special to me and definitely made the game stand out. Even during my second play through I made some different choices during a main mission that lead to a tragically different outcome than my first play though. It just made me feel all the more that my choices actually carried weight in this world and were permanent.

Another interesting thing about this game is that it keeps the character logs in real time. As you complete and finish or fail to finish missions the game updates the character bios which are told through the words of a Bard named Dandelion who is a friend of the main character. The bestiary acts in much the same way updating and adding information about the various enemies as you defeat them and encounter new weaknesses. Little things like this just add to the atmosphere which is the Witcher world.

There honestly wasn’t much I didn’t like about this game. The RPG style of game is my favorite and it’s easy for me to get absorbed by or into a character. The characters were storied and well written. Not many parts felt cheesy beyond what you may expect from a video game. The music was adequate there were some over world themes that were pretty good, not Skyrim good, but good enough that I didn’t get annoyed after playing for over a hundred hours. This is a long game and I am genuinely curious how many people see it to it’s completion. There are parts of the game that drag on a bit and if you aren’t thorough during the main chunk of the game then the ending gets held up by a bunch of missions that tie up all of the loose ends. I didn’t have to deal with much of that and I enjoyed the ending missions without much difficulty having leveled up and acquired good gear. If you like the high fantasy genre this is definitely a great RPG, probably one of the best I have ever played. Top 5 for sure.

What really inspired my 2nd play though was the Netflix show by the same name. I ultimately wanted to read the books before I watched the show but I figured the game would give me a good time in between. I randomly found the first book in hardback at the mall. I picked it up but have yet to read it. I will definitely write a review as soon as I do.

Definitely recommend this game for anyone craving a great immersive RPG experience with great lore and characters.

As always thanks for reading and I hope this was helpful. Feel free to comment. I’ll catch you on the flip sizzle.

Video game review – Doom Eternal

The newest entry in the classic Doom franchise. The god father of the first person shooter.

To be put simply, the game is about one thing, slaughtering demons. But This newest game takes the art of slaying demons and elevates it to an art form. A ballet of death, It is fast and brutal. The graphics are sharp and clean and every stage has a very different aesthetic so nothing really looks the same from level to level. There is no reload buttons or aiming down the sights. This game encourages and even rewards aggression. If you try to hide or take pot shots at enemies you will get over run by charging monsters.

I fondly remember playing Doom 2 on original PlayStation and Doom 64 on the N64. These were the more classic doom format with the pixelated demons and 2D sprites. Those games were dark, and filled with puzzles that tasked the player with finding colored keys and using switches and platforms to get through the levels. That basic structure is still here but This new game is much more detailed and has more modern movement options like a quick dodge and jumping. The basic mechanics of just laying on the trigger are still present and battles usually don’t stop till everything in the room has been defeated. Some enemies pop up through out the level but certain areas are literal death zones where enemies just spawn till you wipe them all out. The games music ramps up with heavy metal guitars and industrial drums gaining intensity. Once this starts you will die quickly if you don’t keep moving.

The core loop of Doom: Eternal operates on a pattern of shooting enemies to kill them, using the chainsaw to make enemies spurt a shower of ammo, burning enemies to replenish armor, and performing “glory kills” which reward you with a bit of health. The frantic pace of the battles means alternating between these functions at your will, or in some type of pattern. Most enemies have weak points that you can exploit as well. This makes each battlle a literal puzzle of deciding which enemies to take out first and with what weaponry, whilst keeping track of your health and armor and ammo. You find pickups for all of the above but the best method for keeping stocked and staying alive is by using all of the various killing techniques at your disposal. All of this culminates into a delectable dance of death and mutilation. shooting, stomping, tearing, smashing, burning, slicing, and otherwise annihilating anything that moves other than yourself. The speed and grace with which Doomguy decapitates lesser demons fits his persona. He doesn’t take his time and it often times is just a show of brute strength. After you fell all of the enemies in an area you have a sense that everything was just trying to rip and claw it’s way to you and you moved through them like a hot knife through butter.

I liked the care that went into this new game, for it describes the setting and how thing got the way they were. You can find pages of lore that explain why demons attacked earth and they give a bit of backstory to the Doom guy and kinda personify him. It’s not the clearest plot line or narrative but definitely interesting to read and explore. The main character of Doom has always just been a marine in a green suit but this game gives the silent protagonist a bit of backstory. There are tons of easter-eggs from previous games and other action titles as well. There are lots of collectibles which include models of the enemies and music tracks from other popular games made by the developer, ID software. Any fan of action games or doom specifically will definitely catch them during a playthgouth.

Between slaying demons there are some light platforming puzzles and some hidden items that you actually have to explore to find. Nothing was super difficult to get through and kept the pace nicely. There were no parts of the game (other than one particular enemy) that really get you stuck. The auto map pretty much shows you everything you need to see as well as any secrets. you just have to uncover the paths to uncover them. I thought the puzzles were thoughtful and didn’t detract from the flow of the game. Also the game gives you a fast travel function at the end of any level so you can teleport around and collect stuff that you may have missed during a chaotic fight or difficult area. Definite re-playability .

There is a multiplayer online mode called “Battle mode” which pits human players against each other in a 2 v 1 style match up. one player takes the role of the Doomguy and the other two players assume the roles of Demons who can summon other lesser demons and must work together to defeat doomguy in an arena type setting. These matches are fast and chaotic. I haven’t quite gotten the gist of this mode yet, or I haven’t practiced enough to really tell if I’m doing well or not, or even helping my team mate if we are the demons. I’ve lost an equal number of rounds as I’ve won simply because one of the players probably didn’t know what was going on quite yet. Still fun regardless and I will be eager to play this mode more or see if it progresses at all. Either way the battle mode keeps the same feel and frantic pace as the campaign action. It’s a nice break from the single player level type campaign.

This game has a lot of satanic and demonic imagery. People who are sensitive to this stuff may not like the environments and enemies, or even subject matter. However Doom is an unflinching action game from beginning to end. I highly recommend it to anyone who fancies a trip to hell to slaughter the minions of evil. A great game to mash through during quarantine. A classic game design in a modern format. A definite must play if you consider yourself even a casual gamer or fan of first person shooters.

Book Review – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

If you like tales of survival and stories about real life events and acts of heroism, then Unbroken is a book for you.  The book is written about a man named Louis Zamperini who’s fighter plane was shot down over the south pacific during world war 2.  The author Laura Hillenbrand actually got to spend time with the family of Louis Zamperini and the man himself I believe.  This fact makes this story all the more impactful because most of the facts probably came from the Veterans mouth, or those close to him.

The book takes you quickly through the beginning of Zamperini’s life, through his basic childhood and adolescence, but the story actually begins once he is flying missions over the South Pacific Ocean during World War 2.  This is very much a story of survival against insurmountable odds and about perseverance.  I won’t give up any of the main story but not much goes well for Louis during those years as a captured POW. 
What I liked about the book.

The main character himself could be fictional but it makes the tale all the more exciting knowing he was an actual living person. I don’t know why I find that time period so fascinating. The World War 1 and 2 eras impress, and irk me at the same time. I have been fortunate enough to travel and tour some of the famous memorial sites throughout Europe and Japan both. The whole concept of a “World War” is a terrifying reality to our human culture. You can arguably say that those wars gave us the modern drive for industry and capitalism, and still to this day, play a big part in the world economy.

I enjoyed this book because it doesn’t stop once you start reading it. There aren’t really many slow parts so to speak. The book takes you on the full ark of his experiences during the war itself, and then continues on to detail the healing that takes place among the soldiers coming home from those conflicts. I can’t imagine having to go through some of the ordeals that him and his crew had to go through, or the sheer terror of being stranded on the open ocean. So many experiences happened to Louis Zamperini yet he stays sane and even grows from the experience. A true testament to the will of man and the unyielding drive that some can develop to stay alive.

I love stories like this but it may not be a good one for people who are sensitive to detailed depictions of torture and survival.

I enjoy anything to do with WW2 and that time frame. I believe everyone should know something about the era all of our grandfathers and grandmothers lived through.

Definitely read this book if you like tales of survival and details about lesser known facts about WW2. Unbroken is a thoroughly engrossing story of a man who wouldn’t give up. Some good lessons and humanity in these pages, I definitely recommend.

Video Game Review – Apex Legends

This is the first Battle Royal mode I have ultimately enjoyed.  I played about 20 hours or so in Fortnite and genuinely found that game play is boring and repetitive.  I watched a bunch of game play for the Player Unknown’s Battle Ground, and got the same feeling from that game.  Just campy and ultimately too little action for me.

Enter Apex Legends.  Made by Respawn entertainment, the company behind the Titanfall franchise.  Immediately when I tried it I felt somehow familiar.  The movement was fluid and the combat is mostly first person view.  At first I sucked and admittedly didn’t like the game because of the time it took to see any action.  Then I started to play enough to rack up some kills and really dive into the deeper mechanics of the game and the awesome characters with unique abilities.

I quickly found some favorite character abilities that allow me to feel useful without getting too many kills, but this let me learn how to survive well.  One aspect I really like about Apex Legends is that it is automatically played in groups of three.  This increases the survivability by great lengths.  When I, or a teammate, goes down there is a good chance of being healed and brought back into the fight.  Even if totally eliminated there is a secondary way to respawn a team mate so overall, right of the bat, I felt that I was getting more play time per match, thus more experience and practice playing the game.

The fact that everyone is placed in a team adds a factor or camaraderie, I want to do better for my team mates so I try to learn how to get better and when to be patient.  Generally people are pretty nice and play together well.  I have only had a few instances of shitty people but alas that is the internet age.. bound to meet a few here and there online.

The gun play is solid and the weapons behave consistently so you can really learn and get good using certain ones.  Learning the different characters and how to use their abilities is also a lot more fun than the stale base characters of any other BR game mode currently out there.

Overall it is a solid game and I can see why it is popular.  It is free to download, and you can buy micro transactions to unlock more cosmetic items.

There isn’t much I don’t like about the game for what it is.  Therein lies the fault.  I will not go as far as to say it is a full game.  It feels like a game mode, forever more.  The matches are too short and there is not enough depth to keep me playing for more than a handful of matches.  Playing with friends and chatting makes it more fun for a bit longer but in the end it is a game mode and not a full game.

There is only one map.  The maps in these BR modes are large and separated into different biomes or areas that contain different set pieces, architecture, and geography.  They are basically a bunch of mini arenas within a large map.  This gets boring after a while just like any single map, once you have seen all the locations and fought in different areas they all start to look the same in this game.  There isn’t much variety in the map department.  This is standard in most BR modes.

Now that this game is nearing several months old, the entry level skill gap is pretty high at this point.  I often get melted by more experienced players right off the bat just because I am not fast enough or don’t know what to pick up first.  The game is pretty unrelenting to newcomers.  The game is entirely PVP there is no “single player” experience or story.  So after a couple rounds and eventual wins … that’s pretty much all there is too it.  Nothing grand happens when you win, you don’t get any wicked bonuses or anything… you just play another match.

So far critics have said that the skins and cosmetic items are underwhelming but i don’t really notice or care for cosmetic items.  I will say that the season pass that they charged 10 bucks for is ultimately not worth it.  The pass nets you a few cool skins and cosmetics but only after a grueling grind through 100 levels of crap rewards.  I doubt I will be able to get anywhere near the end considering the levels for the season pass take more Exp than normal game levels.  haha.. but hey you can purchase any  levels you miss if you really want the rewards.

Overall a great Battle Royal mode.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I am sad that such a fad of a game mode has made it to become a major fixture of modern gaming.  Just feels cheap.  I like the bigger game modes and larger teams!  Battle Royal game mode has infected some of the best shooter franchises, turning them into husks of their former selves,

In the end it is free, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes intense player vs. player action, or anyone who enjoys BR modes in general.

Video Game Review – Battlefield 5

I waited awhile to review this game because it had a rocky start.  After three and a half months the game finally feels polished and patched up to where it should have been when first released (a sad trend in modern gaming). 

I don’t know what it is but Battlefield 5 seems like the shallowest BF release I have experienced.  I’ll say strait away that the game is great fun and I’ve already put over 120 hours into it and play fairly regularly.   I’ve played pretty much every Battlefield that has come out on Console since Bad Company.  I am definitely more of a Battlefielder than I am a Caller of Duty .. I like both games for their different mechanics and styles.  I’ll discuss some things I like and don’t like about Battlefield 5 as it stands .

Battlefield 5 is military shooter with an emphasis on large open maps complete with tanks, trucks, jeeps, and even planes.  The BF series has different class roles which each play differently and have different equipment to help out on the battlefield.  Assault class carries explosives and anti tank weaponry, the Medic class can quickly revive fallen team mates and restore health and bandages.  The support class is great for defense and can restore ammo and equipment to team mates as well as build fortifications twice as fast.  Lastly the Recon class is best used for spotting enemies with their spotting scope or as counter infantry at any distance.  A good BF player will learn each class and be able to switch if the situation calls for it. 

To begin the game plays really good now. I have had no severe instances of freezing or being booted from servers. Battlefield 5 definitely captures the intensity of warfare better than any other Military Based Shooter. I know it’s not a “simulator” by any means but there are some truly epic moments in BF games that I have never experienced in any other shooter. This is the main reason why I keep coming back to this series. You feel like you are part of a small army running across a field with other human players, while shells rip into tanks several yards from you. Having to dive in a fresh crater to avoid gun fire and popping smoke so your squad can advance on a target never gets old to me.

The sound in BF games has always been a sheer cut above the rest in terms of oomph and quality. I play on a small surround sound system and most of the guns have a distinct punch and boom when you fire them, not to mention the wonderful echo effects in open areas versus the muffled bangs when firing indoors. The sound design in general is pretty stellar to me. Hearing the roar of gunfire and artillery grow steadily louder as you run towards it is a reminder, to me, of how terrifying it must have been for soldiers throughout the world who had to live through it.

I really enjoy the WW2 setting. World War 2 has been an object of fascination for every generation that came after. I’ve read about extensively.. Today we are only reminded by video games and movies that show heroic characters doing epic things.. I appreciate how BF5, and BF1 before it, captured the more somber and hopeless sides of war. After all it was primarily young men who lost their lives in those savage wars. BF1 definitely took itself a bit more seriously in terms of feel and emotion but I don’t mind too much because after all it is just a video game.

I enjoy what they added to the gameplay mechanics. Every class being able to revive is a blessing. I have been on teams where it seemed like myself and a good squad turned the whole tide of battle, because we had someone playing each class well and supporting each other. It took DICE a minute to get the medic class balanced but now I feel all the classes are fairly useful each to their own and have their own play styles. The emphasis on team play is strong and goes a long way toward winning matches or having more fun in general.

The smoke in BF5 is actually pretty great. The medic class automatically comes equipped with two smoke grenades, which are used with great success in this game. I use the smoke both to safely revive fallen soldiers and also practically as a smoke screen to block the view of snipers, tanks, or when advancing on objectives. To me it adds a small sense of realism to the game that feels genuine. Smoke and cover fire are huge parts of war fare and I feel the small addition of a functional smoke grenade is awesome. I know the smoke nades are in the other BF games as well but I believe this is the first time they are issued as a base gadget. For some reason this helped me notice them and it’s the first time I have ever found them really useful in game.

Although the game plays well now there are still some things that I don’t like or that put a bad taste in my mouth.

Among various bugs and glitches the game felt very empty on launch. There was a huge lack of maps, gadgets, vehicles, and game modes. Many gamers expressed their displeasure with this aspect. Without the 50 dollar premium pass, Dice and EA are hoping that micro transactions will provide enough money to continue development. However the past couple years and other popular titles have shown that this ultimately leads to a weak trickle of content that doesn’t have much of an impact (think star wars Battlefront 2?). Battlefield fans are skeptical if BF5 will ever become the game that it deserves to be and I share in their skepticism.

Another big turn off came after the game launched. There was a problem with the in game currency that allows you to unlock cosmetic items and specializations. The glitch prevented anyone at the already low level cap of 50 from getting the company coins needed to progress.. This left me with a “why the hell even play then?”, attitude as this made it very difficult to advance and specialize my weapons. Worst of is the fact that this bug persisted for over 2 months..

I feel there is a problem with balancing the teams. Often times it’s either mashing or getting mashed. I’ve been in very few matches where it comes down to the wire and the points stay close the whole time. Those matches definitely happen, maybe I just wish there were more of them.

Lastly, customization for your weapons are purely cosmetic beyond what type of optic you use. To me this feels kinda cheap.. I get that it is probably going to be one of their only extra sources of income at this point.. One of my favorite BF games was BF3 because the customizations that you unlocked actually effected the way the gun behaved. You unlocked barrels, grips, stocks, extra attachments, and sights that niched out the weapon. I guess they have “specializations” that you can unlock for specific weapons to better customize a play style. I don’t know.. I just don’t care to have my WW2 guns painted in chrome and gold plating or with bright green and blue colors.

My overall opinions and thoughts vary pretty greatly on this game. I love the gameplay overall. Now as it is, the game sounds great, looks great, and has exhilirating combat. The maps are large open and for the most part pretty balanced (except Hamada, just make it normal conquest?)..

However there aren’t many maps yet and worse yet only 1 new map slated for release by the time four were releasing for BF1. This is an ominous sign of what is to come as far as map content.

I highly recommend this game if you like more in depth online shooters. There is more depth and strategy at play due to vehicles and and different classes. Like I said it is one of the only video games that regularly gives me those “holy sh!t” moments of epic gameplay. There were some issues in the beginning but most of them have been corrected or patched up. I am eager to see what becomes of this game, for it will be telling of the overall trend in gaming as a whole as more and more games move to a “games as as service” model. I’ve already written about my disdain for this in another article.

Hope this article was a little bit useful if you were on the fence about the game.. If you are interested in Battlefield 5 I would highly recommend it now. You can purchase the game for under 40 dollars. I play regularly so feel free to join a game or add me on PSN if you ever want a great squad mate! , my id is: SL_Blank

As always thanks for reading.


Video Game Review – Super Smash Bros: Ultimate

Being a long time Nintendo fan it is no doubt I have played the hell out of the Newest Super Smash Brothers.  Super Smash Brothers has a super long lineage going back to the N64.  It is a fighting game that pits long time and lesser known Nintendo characters into one roster.  An impressive roster at that.  Smash Brothers has always been one of my favorite games on Nintendo and probably my most played game on my N64 besides Goldeneye.  Spent a lot of time playing Melee for GameCube  as well and owned the one for the Wii U. 

The game is a stylized fighter / brawler where every character has the exact same move sets controller wise, but the corresponding moves are drastically different for each character.  Some characters have similarities usually if they are from the same game franchise or the same story line.  Instead of life bars in SB, hits you land increase Damage% and as this rises you or characters you hit are thrown farther from the impact.  Eventually after enough Dmg% is accumulated even the smallest move will send a character flying off stage which knocks a point off their score or finishes the match.  Basically weaken your opponent enough to Smash them off the stage.  These basic mechanics make Smash Bros easy to pick up and learn but a challenge to master.  There is a lot of depth to this game, coupled with a HUGE roster of characters, there is a lot to chew on. 

Diving right in to the new Super Smash Brothers Ultimate for Nintendo Switch.

The list of characters starts off small and you unloce new characters just by playing the game. I think it took me several weeks to get all of them. There are 76 characters in the game at present, each with different powers and abiliteis. This may seem daunting but the game rewards you well jsut for playing and experimenting with the different modes and functionis. There are many different playstyles among the characters including fighter types, sword types, shooter types, and various other types based off of the games where the character comes from. I’ve put around 40 hours into the game and I still have far from seen everything.

I like this game because there is a littele something for everyone. There is definite action. The graphics are more cartoony and very colorful, so kids can enjoy it. The game has tons of customization and handicap settings so, again, kids can have a good time as well as more seasoned players. I’m not even particularly good at SB but it is always a riot to play with multiple people who know what they are doing, even if they don’t, matches are crazy and mostly enjoyable. You can easily make it easier if you are having trouble in most spots, except for the new Adventure mode.

I enjoy the new Adventure mode, speaking of. It adds the slightest story and strategy element to the game instead of it being just a brawler. After a cutscene you must travel a world map and fight enemies in battles with set parameters and hazards. Doing this gains you spirits which come in two forms. Main and support. These spirits are from any Nintendo property you could ever imagine even some super obscure ones that I have never seen before. Spirits serve as a cool and functional collection item that allow your character to become immune to various stage hazards, move types, or start you off with various weapons. They add very basic form of strategy that is easy to get the hang of. This is a one player portion of the game, but the spirits can be used on any other part of the game, and it lets you choose whether you want them on or off.

The rest is all here including the Classic mode which slowly gets more difficult if you do well, and ends with a battle with master hand or a franchise boss fight depending on which characters you are using. There are also some other great modes including the Century Smash where you fight a hoard of 100 bots, or challenging last man standing type battles. Normal Smash mode has a fully customizable set up and you can save your favorite match types so you don’t have to deal with the menus unless you want to tweak something about the match. You can change pretty much anything about the match including game rules, certain items, handicaps, CPU difficulty, and anything else you could imagine. Ultimate playability (I don’t think that’s a word..)!

There are tons of unlockable items in this game. Literally a thousand plus spirits and thousand plus different pieces of music in the soundtrack. Countless pieces of armor and costumes for your Mii character.. It’s truly impressive the amount of stuff they can fit on those tiny little Switch cartridges. There are literally 100 different stages or battle arenas!!! This game is simply massive.

There isn’t much bad to say about it honestly.

The game is a lot faster than I remember.. Sometimes the hardest part of the match is literally trying to keep track of your character. The stages move and swoosh around and are a potential hazard in themselves. I often find myself losing track of my character after a large explosion or other dazzling event, thus I die needlessly fairly often. You do get used to this but it was something I noticed. I may be getting old or it may have been a long time since I played a SSB game. Honestly this adds to the chaos of the game and mostly ends up being funny in large multiplayer matches. When playing solo it is much easier to see what your character is doing and what your moves do. It took me a lot of time playing solo before I got the hang of the larger more intense multiplayer matches.

The online mode kinda sucks. Or maybe I just suck at SSB because I rarely win and when the lag isn’t messing up my experience people tend to be try-hards or just spam the same bullshit moves over and over. Needless to say the servers aren’t very stable and I’m sure they will be updated eventually but I generally don’t play much online. It picks a random match and random team mates for you unless you are playing co-op with a friend. I probably just need more practice.

With all the games I played this past holiday season I’d say this one was one of the only two that felt worth it, Red Dead Redemption 2 Being the other. I have discussed the ongoing trend of developers selling shoddy and incomplete games. I’m happy to say this game felt worth my money.

I’d highly recommend this game to anyone who likes fighting or beat em ups. The action is intensely smooth and fast paced but the simple controls let pretty much anyone figure it out pretty quick. Definitely a no-brainer for anyone who loves Nintendo and owns a Switch.


Video Game Review – Assassins Creed: Odyssey

I generally like the Assassins Creed series but I’ll admit I got series fatigue after Black flag and never finished Unity and I never even purchased or played Syndicate.  I absolutely love what they did with Origins though and as result I thoroughly enjoyed the newest installment, Odyssey.  I got a Platinum trophy on the Playstation4, thus I fully explored the game and most of what it had to offer.  This game is absolutely massive and Gorgeous to behold.  I must say it is an impressive game even at its worse!  Never once can I say the game is very bad at all there were some minor things I found silly or repetitive but that is literally any video game.

Most importantly I thought the game was fun!  It’s fun and rewarding to explore, the action is fun, and they give you so many options on how to fight and engage the enemy that, as long as I kept changing up my perks and switching up my play style and weapons, the gameplay loop never really got boring even after 100+ hours.  To me that is a pretty good experience.  There was some repetitive stuff but to me it never felt super drab or grindy. 

I truly enjoyed the characters and time setting. I liked the Greek accents even if they were a little cheesy sometimes I thought it felt pretty genuine for the most part. Most every review I have seen or read praises Kassandra as the better and more lively of the two playable characters. I chose her because quite simply a female character adds so much to the dynamic and way I play the character. I personally like the “Bad Ass” female persona, I grew up watching Ripley fighting aliens with machine guns duct taped to flamethrowers. I wasn’t disappointed by Kassandra in the slightest. I read a review that says, “playing as her turns the game from a good one with a solid male lead character into an epic game where you are basically a mini Wonder Woman.” I would definitely agree and second this statement.

The characters felt pretty real and alive. She displayed emotions in a great range, she was funny, and several times I felt the dialogue was specifically tailored to her sex, which to me was refreshing. A friend of mine played through the game as Alexios so I got to hear some of the dialogue and the way people talk to him. There is definitely a difference in the way the NPCs address the main character depending on their sex. It added a nice touch of realism that helped to immerse me in the world that much more.

Some of the Dialogue is kinda cheesy and after spending so much time in the game you start to see the limitations of your choices and effects but The game is Massive and their are so many interesting tid-bits of lore and story, I rarely felt bored and logged over a hundred hours in the game. Better yet I have yet to see any added content so I know I will spend even more time in this gorgeous world. I like how the tale dipped into the legend of Leonidas and the 300 soldiers who fought against the Persian Empire. Some of that kinda gets lost in the story because it is so long, but I was happy with their depiction none-the-less.

The games graphics look very similar to AC Origins. Which I am not complaining about. Origins was a breathtaking game, and Odyssey is no different. I think Origins was a little bit more solid and fluid but Odyssey is larger by a fair degree. Altogether the small glitches and rough spots were easily overlooked next to the beauty and detail everywhere else in the game. I also appreciated the music. As I explored the gorgeous scenery between objectives beautiful female voices echo and twangy sting instruments play serene little riffs that took me to the rolling hills of the Mediterranean.

There were a couple of glaring little things that kinda made me chuckle or were kinda annoying but these ended up being kinda charming, such as the glitchyness of Skyrim. None of these things are game breaking but hard not to notice.

The NPCs dive directly into my horse when I am riding through populated areas. I feel like people stayed more out of the way of my horse in Origins.. but maybe it was just as bad. It’s not a terrible glitch it’s just funny when people are yelling at you to “watch where you are going” as they dive into your horse as it passes them. It happens a lot too.. not just every now and again. I think there is some small timing or spacial issue but I don’t know anything about the technical side of bugs or glitches..

I thought the inventory Menus are kinda clunky as well. I think there should be some kind of fast dismantle option or a way to highlight and sell all of your junk weapons and armor with one button press instead of Ka-chunking through every single piece of worthless armor you collect throughout the game, and you collect a lot, so I found this kinda annoying.

I felt like sneaking and being stealthy was easier than it has ever been. Especially once you power up some of your assassination perks, you can quite literally skip through some of the bases without ever alerting anyone. This is cool and all but I feel like the Enemy AI could have been a little bit better in the hearing and noticing disturbances department. Otherwise I liked how the game kinda levels up with you so when I went back to do missions that I had long passed they were still somewhat difficult and not just a waste of time. I felt like the pacing of the game was pretty good overall.

Lastly, I thought the story was a little bit Convoluted. I ultimately got everything and understood everything but there were some twists that were kinda random and some times in the game where I was like WTF? I feel like they should have gated a couple of the Cultists of Kosmos so that when I got to a certain place, I hadn’t already killed the leader and thus make all of the missions in that area pointless.. This game is so massive that it would be impossible to make it flow without a couple snags. It’s worth noting that most AC games are a little weird when they try to explain themselves.. so it wasn’t too hard to overlook the strangeness of some of the events or pacing issues.

All in all I feel that this is a strong game in the Assassins Creed franchise. I really enjoyed it. It was refreshing to have some RPG elements combined with the glorious action and stealth in the Assassins Creed style. Overall this is a great game for anyone who enjoys big open worlds and lots of exploration. The game was engaging throughout and I still have more to return too and I will. I played a lot of video games this past Holiday season and am just barely now getting to the reviews.

You may not like this game if you dislike long games with Massive and complex stories. There is lots to read and do and can get distracting from the main missions. There is also a degree of grindyness to this game that may turn off some gamers. I don’t mind a bit or repetitive grinding, as I said earlier they give you so many options that the game can only be boring if you play the same way for the whole time.

Definitely recommend Assassins Creed Odyssey.




Video Game Review – Red Dead Redemption 2

*** This article may contain spoilers..  I’ll try not to but fair warning., IF YOU HAVEN’T BEATEN THIS GAME DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU DO.  You deserve to play and discover all of the goodness for yourself. ***

First of all wow… just wow…

Everyone knows this game is the epitome of open world simulations.  Everyone expected it to be top notch graphics, stellar voice acting, and tight mechanics.  Rockstar Games did not disappoint in the slightest.  This game is easily one of my all time top favorites now, up in my top 5 at least.  The pacing and setting really did it for me.  While I haven’t played the 1st game starring John Marston (I know… I know…), now it has become an acute need of mine to experience that game as well.  However this game is a great standalone.  You needn’t experience the first game, since this 2nd one is the Prequel.

The game starts you off in dire straits against the elements.  With your outlaw group in tow, Survival is a crucial element to the first small part of the game which serves as a tutorial that teaches basic mechanics, how to play, and keep your character healthy.  The game has more of an emphasis on simulation and survival than previous Rockstar entries.

This game is slow paced.. I can see people not really liking the pacing during the first chapter or two.  Movement in general is a bit slower than in past iterations of the open world format.  However, this style choice for me, really set the tone of the rest of the game.  Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Loooooooong game.  I found that if you desire to play just the story with no other side missions or exploration you will still spend upwards of 40 to 50 hours.  I spent at least 80 hours in this game and got 100% in the story mode before I started writing this review.

After the opening scenes, the game let’s you free in the absolutely gorgeous and massive world.  To start, I did like I do in any other Grand Theft Auto game and just started going ham with my six guns and murdering random passerby on the trail.  This quickly got the law in tow and the people who I was bothering even pulled out weapons and started chasing and shooting at me.  Needless to say, not knowing how to heal or cover myself, I didn’t survive long.  When I tried again the same thing happened..  Haha..  I realized this game has a definite pace and style they want you to play.  Don’t get me wrong you can still do anything you want, GTA style, but this time your actions carry a little bit more weight even if you manage to run away from the Sheriffs or Bounty hunters.

As you progress you meet the other characters in your band and get to know them bit by bit.  These NPCs (non playable characters) serve as both story and lore enhancers as well as teaching you skills for survival, fighting, or robbing things.  They are all very well written and eventually you begin to care about their various stresses.  If you mash through only the story missions, the game seems to flow relatively smoothly with everything making sense to the overall plot of the game and ongoing conflict.  No event is really out of place except for some events in chapter 5, but only in my opinion.  But I won’t spoil that.

I have a good imagination and one of the ways I guage a game is if “I give a shit” about the characters.  Halfway through a game if I don’t give a shit about the characters, I usually end up not finishing that game.  It’s like with any good book or movie.. some just aren’t for you and it’s completely  OK not to finish them..  This is definitely NOT one of those experiences.  I definitely gave a shit about Arthur Morgan and his conflicts.

I personally played my character with an honorable personality..  I only killed and robbed when i felt it necessary and over all the game rewards you with nicer interactions with NPCs and discounts at some stores.  If you help the various other strangers in the world many of them reward you with money, helpful hints, or even will buy you stuff from stores if they meet you again in a near by town.  I felt I got a much better experience playing as an honorable bad guy.  haha.  I definitely want to mash through the game again and see if it effects the contents in any way if you start and keep a very low honor level throughout the story.  This game feels like it would be a different experience if you murdered and stole needlessly, it’s pretty deep.

After the main story ended I started just going ham and killing everyone and after a while people definitely started treating you differently and were more cautious around me.

I really liked how this game kinda goes into the psychology of the main character..  He is a good guy caught in a bad guys world.   He struggles immensely with this throughout the game and even talks openly about it with the other band mates.  This is why I think the way you act throughout the story would effect the ending of the game… I won’t spoil that because it deserves to be experienced by the individual player.

You’re a good man Arthur Morgan..  carried a lot of weight..  is all I’ll say.

My absolute favorite thing about this masterfully developed video game is the music.  In no game I have ever played did the music capture such feeling and emotions.  Usually while riding your horse to or from a big event or  important mission.  The music amplified the feeling and the sense of tension, loneliness, and sadness that this game already portrays so well visually.  Sad and somber vocal arrangements when returning to a routed camp.. sometimes up beat and quizzical when you are looking for a person or item..  the music is absolutely gorgeous..  Everything from southern soul and slave hymns, to tight banjo and fiddle riffs play as you explore and travel to the various sections of the map.  Sometimes cued by the game and sometimes as if out of nowhere.  The vocal pieces are haunting and always had such perfect timing.  The music in this game is awe inspiring and got me in the feelers a couple times.

Video game music has always been a love and passion of mine.  I started playing music myself because I had a dream of one day making music for video games..  The soundtrack in RDR2 is next level and if you like great music that beckons of an older era, I would highly recommend this games Soundtrack when it comes out.  I do not recommend media soundtracks lightly.

There were things that bugged me about the game.  However not a single thing was enough to steal from the majesty that was the experience overall.  Small things like repetitive dialogue or NPCs.  (only after I played for 60+ hours)  This happens in every sandbox style game.  Because this game is so massive I encountered some small glitches and weird happenings, but again in a game world of this size that is to be expected and was monumentally better than some other massive open worlds, on release no less.  Not being able to skip certain animations, for example skinning animals kinda bugged me, especially after my hundredth deer skinned.  I personally felt like the gun play and some shootouts could have been a little tougher.  Once you master Dead Eye not many encounters were really challenging after that.  I only died in gun fights when I got caught off guard or physically stuck in the open.  But that is negligible because I still died A LOT!

Overall the Pros of this game massively negate the Cons.  There is a little something for everyone in this game from hunting to fishing, gambling and shooting, to nature filled with wonderful exploration and mysteries.

I very highly recommend this Video Game to anyone who owns a PlayStation 4.  I think if you have a good mind for stories and a good imagination.  You will love this piece of media and take from it, like any good story or movie.

Well done Rockstar… Well done.