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****I want to preface this post by taking some time to announce that I have officially joined the team over at IndieJuice! My first post was published last night which you can read here about my thoughts on Ubisoft's handling of the upcoming game Watch_Dogs, and I was also a guest last night on the Indiejuice Podcast which was recorded live on twitch and will be available to listen to on the website sometime this weekend (I think Saturday) but I will post that here once it is up. I am extremely excited to be part of the great team over there and I hope to contribute quality posts and generate some good discussions.****
Another week gone as we get closer and closer to E3! Some exciting things coming out of the industry in the build up to the biggest gaming convention in the world. I personally am looking forward to seeing the press conference from Sony as they were (In My Opinion) the top dogs at last years convention while Microsoft has some making up to do which they sort have started to in the lead up to the event.
And with that, let's take a look at the week that was:
Microsoft to sell XboxOne without Kinect
AKA Microsoft admitting Kinect sucks. Hey, they had to do something to boost sales right? PS4 has been dominating the market since launch and Microsoft only "won" one month since which was March and that was because of Titanfall. Well the hype around Titanfall has died down and PS4 got right back on top in April so it seems that Microsoft needed to do something drastic and this seems to be it. By removing Kinect, you are basically telling developers that you don't believe in your own hardware to a certain extent. Sure the price point of an XboxOne has now dropped to a competitive $399 but is that what was really holding back sales? I don't think so. If you look at the XboxOne and PS4 releases you will see that Sony clearly has the edge when it comes to games and quality. I think removing Kinect was a step in the right direction, but ultimately Microsoft needs competitive titles to move the system and right now it does not have very many. This years E3 is HUGE for Microsoft. You did the damage control, now tell me why you won't screw up again and what's in it for me.
FarCry 4 Announced
Actually excited for this release. Ubisoft had hinted at the title and I believe had confirmed its existence a few months ago but that's as far as that went. Just yesterday though, they officially announced the game in which "players find themselves in Kyrat, a breathtaking, perilous and wild region of the Himalayas struggling under the regime of a despotic self-appointed king." So I expect another super insane villain (and snazzy dresser according to the box art) with a great story and an interesting new environment. The game launches on November 18 of this year for PS4, PS3, XboxOne, Xbox360, and PC (though the PS3 and Xbox360 version have me worried about the graphics on their successor systems, but we will see). Hopefully (Likely) we get a cool video at E3 this year and I can't wait to see where they take the franchise next. (Also I eagerly await Blood Dragon 2!)
Watch_Dogs to run at 900p on PS4 and 792p on XboxOne both 30FPS
This was the topic of my post over at indiejuice so go check out the full article here. I will keep this brief but basically Watch_Dogs has been handled very poorly by Ubisoft. A game that they were boasting about being a true next gen experience is just not going to hit that mark at 900 and 792p and 30FPS. Frankly, the whole ordeal has been embarrassing and even though I am going to play it (on PC of course) the hype is lost with me. I hope I enjoy it but I wouldn't be surprised if its a let down. We will all see in a couple of weeks.
Halo 5 coming Fall 2015
Ah Ha! So this is what Microsoft needs to get back in the game! Right.... but just one thing, its being released a year and a half from now! Sorry Microsoft but you'll have to do better than that. I am sure the game will sell well and will push a few more consoles out the door but its SO FAR AWAY! The one good thing to take from the announcement its that 343 is promising 60FPS (no word on resolution though) so at least it should look stunning on XboxOne. Overall, I am just over the hype for Halo. Ever since Bungie left, Halo has been just another shooter. Come on Microsoft! I may not have an XboxOne but that doesn't mean I don't want healthy competition! And right now, you are like a high school soccer team compared to Sony being F.C. Barcelona!
That's all I have for this week. Be sure to check out indiejuice tomorrow when my podcast episode is posted and go check out my gameplay videos for Blizzards Heroes of the Storm and Carbines Wildstar! I will leave you all with the launch trailer for Transistor, a game launching on Tuesday from the creators of Bastion. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading and until next time:
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Friday, May 16, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Week In Review 5/9/2014
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Back on track with the Week In Review! This has been a good week for me, I got a couple of posts up and a gameplay video of the Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha which you can check out here, plus I've been playing a few new games which I will have reviews written up soon (Child of Light, Infamous: Second Son) so be on the lookout for those next week. I really want to stick to the schedule this time and get at the absolute very least, the week in review done every Friday so be ready for some more content. Now, lets get right into the week that was:
Epic reveal FREE Unreal Tournament
One of, if not the GREATEST arena shooter franchises of all time is getting another, TOTALLY FREE, installment! The people over at Epic games have announced a new Unreal Tournament that is completely free, not free2play, just free meaning no microtransactions. Epic plans on generating revenue through community mods in which they will take a cut from those sales, but other than that they are giving us a free game and I am really looking forward to this. I am a big fan of arena shooters and it has been a very long time since we have had a good one. Hopefully the new Unreal will breathe new life into the arena shooters and bring them roaring back, but only time will tell. On top of just an Unreal Tournament, it is also a chance for epic to show off the new Unreal 4 Engine as they have used past Unreal Tournament games as basically tech demos of their new engines. The community aspect is very interesting and could lead to some great innovations in the genera. This is a 100% pick up for me and should be for everyone else as well just for the fact that it is free and the Unreal franchise has long been a celebrated brand.
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire announced
If you have read my previous posts lately, I have been playing through Pokémon X. Pokémon X is the first Pokémon game I have played since Red/Blue and I am having an absolute blast! With this announcement of remakes for the generation 3 Pokémon games, I am a bit excited to go back and experience all that I have missed in the franchise. Looking forward to see what comes out of these and really excited to bury myself with Pokémon again.
Elder Scrolls Online delayed 6 months for consoles
Can Zenimax get any worse? The PC version of ESO has BOMBED big time between the tons of microtransactions and the GAME BREAKING BUGS to the destroying of the WHOLE in-game economy on day 12! The console version of ESO seems like it will be Dead On Arrival. With the poor reviews for the PC version, how anyone still wants to pick up the game on a console is beyond me. The ONLY thing that MAY save the game, is the 6 months being a development push to fix the bugs and re-balance the game but I really don't see that happening. It's probably more just optimization for the consoles with a few bug fixes to make it stable at launch which I still wouldn't pay for. Save your money people.
Wildstar enters Open Beta
Another World of Warcraft challenger appears! Enter Wildstar, a game with a very similar art style and from what I hear, gameplay to WoW. I will pick it up later this weekend and give a quick look, and from the screenshots and the trailer, I do like what I see on the surface. We will see how the game plays out though and I'll see if I can do a review (I don't know if there is an NDA for this Beta, I assume no considering it is Open Beta).
That's all I have for this week, keep checking back for some more videos and content next week (I will try my hardest I promise!).
Thanks for reading and until next time:
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Back on track with the Week In Review! This has been a good week for me, I got a couple of posts up and a gameplay video of the Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha which you can check out here, plus I've been playing a few new games which I will have reviews written up soon (Child of Light, Infamous: Second Son) so be on the lookout for those next week. I really want to stick to the schedule this time and get at the absolute very least, the week in review done every Friday so be ready for some more content. Now, lets get right into the week that was:
Epic reveal FREE Unreal Tournament
One of, if not the GREATEST arena shooter franchises of all time is getting another, TOTALLY FREE, installment! The people over at Epic games have announced a new Unreal Tournament that is completely free, not free2play, just free meaning no microtransactions. Epic plans on generating revenue through community mods in which they will take a cut from those sales, but other than that they are giving us a free game and I am really looking forward to this. I am a big fan of arena shooters and it has been a very long time since we have had a good one. Hopefully the new Unreal will breathe new life into the arena shooters and bring them roaring back, but only time will tell. On top of just an Unreal Tournament, it is also a chance for epic to show off the new Unreal 4 Engine as they have used past Unreal Tournament games as basically tech demos of their new engines. The community aspect is very interesting and could lead to some great innovations in the genera. This is a 100% pick up for me and should be for everyone else as well just for the fact that it is free and the Unreal franchise has long been a celebrated brand.
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire announced
If you have read my previous posts lately, I have been playing through Pokémon X. Pokémon X is the first Pokémon game I have played since Red/Blue and I am having an absolute blast! With this announcement of remakes for the generation 3 Pokémon games, I am a bit excited to go back and experience all that I have missed in the franchise. Looking forward to see what comes out of these and really excited to bury myself with Pokémon again.
Elder Scrolls Online delayed 6 months for consoles
Can Zenimax get any worse? The PC version of ESO has BOMBED big time between the tons of microtransactions and the GAME BREAKING BUGS to the destroying of the WHOLE in-game economy on day 12! The console version of ESO seems like it will be Dead On Arrival. With the poor reviews for the PC version, how anyone still wants to pick up the game on a console is beyond me. The ONLY thing that MAY save the game, is the 6 months being a development push to fix the bugs and re-balance the game but I really don't see that happening. It's probably more just optimization for the consoles with a few bug fixes to make it stable at launch which I still wouldn't pay for. Save your money people.
Wildstar enters Open Beta
Another World of Warcraft challenger appears! Enter Wildstar, a game with a very similar art style and from what I hear, gameplay to WoW. I will pick it up later this weekend and give a quick look, and from the screenshots and the trailer, I do like what I see on the surface. We will see how the game plays out though and I'll see if I can do a review (I don't know if there is an NDA for this Beta, I assume no considering it is Open Beta).
That's all I have for this week, keep checking back for some more videos and content next week (I will try my hardest I promise!).
Thanks for reading and until next time:
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Heroes of the Storm Gameplay Video
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This past weekend I had some time to make a video of the technical alpha for Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm. Check it out below and read my thoughts on the game here.
In other news, I am currently trudging through a ton of different games so be on the lookout for some reviews shortly (Infamous: Second Son, Child of Light, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, and Pokemon X to name a few). Hopefully I will also find the time to get some episodes of The Arena Run edited and posted as well as starting to do a weekly Starcraft II cast. So keep checking back for more content and also go check out indiejuice.tv for some great content from the folks over at Black Shell Games.
Thanks for reading and until next time:
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Friday, May 2, 2014
Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha
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This past weekend I was privileged with Alpha access to Heroes of the Storm. I was able to sink some time into the game to get a general understanding of what the game is about and how the mechanics work. Before I go fully into this review I must state that I have very little experience with MOBAs. I never played League of Legends and I have MAYBE played 5 matches of DOTA2 so I went into HOTS with little experience in the genera. I will break down the review into sections of the game content so I can focus on different aspects.
Gameplay
First and foremost, the game is very streamlined compared to other MOBAs. I may not have experience playing LoL or DOTA2 but I have witnessed the game being played as an e-sport for some time (particularly DOTA2). Blizzard has optimized the game so that a standard match takes between 20-30 mins as far as I can tell (based on all the games I have played so far, the longest was almost 40 mins but the majority were about 25-30 mins). Each map has objective based themes that both side fight for to gain a slight advantage which adds depth and variety to the game that is not really found in other MOBAs. I hope there will be more maps upon full release (right now there are 3) because that would really set it apart from the pack. Blizzard has gotten rid of 'item shops' where you use gold earned by your team to buy upgrades and such and instead uses a 'skill tree' based model paired with shared team experience. This works out perfect I feel. You can never have one character that can stay behind and gain experience until they are 4/5 levels ahead of everyone else and you have to work with your team to level up together and make your pushes on towers/gates more powerful as you go. Sure, there are times where a team will totally snowball and demolish the opposing side but I believe that will be addressed through matchmaking once the game is released and there are more players.
Learning Curve
Compared to DOTA2 and LoL, HOTS feels a lot more casual. The elimination of item shops and the group leveling system means everyone is on the same level playing field and offers a more balanced approach to matches in that each game is based on the skill of players and not because of certain items that are boosting abilities. We wont know what the highest level of play will entail (read: e-sports) until the game is released and tournaments start to pop up so there is no way to really tell right now what the skill ceiling is of the game but I can see that there is a lot of emphasis on individual skill, so over time we should be seeing a gap in player competitiveness. The game is really easy to get into and the practice mode helps a lot in getting new players up to speed and familiar with the mechanics of the game. Even though Blizzard is late to the party with this MOBA, I feel their tactics at making the game more lax and easy to understand will propel the game to be competitive with DOTA2 and LoL. HOTS has already established heroes that have back stories and abilities that the fans are familiar with which I believe is a huge plus and a secret boost to the games popularity. But, as I said overall, the game is easy to learn and play while at the same time feels that the skill required to reach the professional level can be very high.
Heroes
Not a huge variety as of yet in the Alpha test but that is to be expected. Blizzard has said there will be more heroes as the game progresses so I am not worries about that. Heroes are divided into 4 types, Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist and each has at least one hero from either Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo. You can use gold or real money to buy more heroes to use but there are always 6 heroes available to you that are on rotation. The balancing seems pretty good overall, but there are a few heroes that do feel very overpowered (Tassadar and Stitches) but keeping in mind this is an Alpha test and knowing Blizzard, these will more than likely be patched for balance later down the road. I have only played with a few of the heroes so I am still learning a ton about the mechanics of each hero but everything seems very easy to pick up on. I understand the abilities right away and and able to figure out the best use of them in certain scenarios.
Shop
Money Money Money. This part is something I feel Blizzard has very wrong right now. The real money prices for skins, mounts and heroes seems ridiculously high. Of course you can grind gold for free to unlock everything but the gold income you get for playing games and completing daily quests is very low right now. I hope Blizzard is just testing their options and upon the release of the game, the real money prices become more reasonable. I would gladly drop a few bucks here and there for certain heroes or skins but with it being at the time of this writing ~$9 per hero, I will pass for now and grind my gold to get them.
Community
Not really much to say yet about this since there aren't a ton of people in the Alpha. Right now I haven't really encountered much BM but that could all change. One of the main reasons I never got into LoL of DOTA2 is the toxic community so I will keep my eyes on this aspect as the game gains more and more players. Any game will always have its fair share of BM players and MOBAs are particularly notorious for that but as of right now, I feel because of the small player base and the more laid back and streamlined feel of the game, the community is fairly tame and friendly.
Overall
I have fallen in love with HOTS. The inviting nature of the game really got me into it. So far, I have never felt that I am not good enough for the game and I have never been berated by any players. The game was easy to understand and gives me a ton of resources to practice which will only improve by release. There are enough heroes right now to satisfy me and the rotation means I can try out new heroes regularly. I cannot wait for more players to join and to have more maps and gameplay variety.
I will try and make a video this weekend to show you all so be on the lookout for that!
*****EDIT****** GAMEPLAY VIDEO BELOW
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
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This past weekend I was privileged with Alpha access to Heroes of the Storm. I was able to sink some time into the game to get a general understanding of what the game is about and how the mechanics work. Before I go fully into this review I must state that I have very little experience with MOBAs. I never played League of Legends and I have MAYBE played 5 matches of DOTA2 so I went into HOTS with little experience in the genera. I will break down the review into sections of the game content so I can focus on different aspects.
Gameplay
First and foremost, the game is very streamlined compared to other MOBAs. I may not have experience playing LoL or DOTA2 but I have witnessed the game being played as an e-sport for some time (particularly DOTA2). Blizzard has optimized the game so that a standard match takes between 20-30 mins as far as I can tell (based on all the games I have played so far, the longest was almost 40 mins but the majority were about 25-30 mins). Each map has objective based themes that both side fight for to gain a slight advantage which adds depth and variety to the game that is not really found in other MOBAs. I hope there will be more maps upon full release (right now there are 3) because that would really set it apart from the pack. Blizzard has gotten rid of 'item shops' where you use gold earned by your team to buy upgrades and such and instead uses a 'skill tree' based model paired with shared team experience. This works out perfect I feel. You can never have one character that can stay behind and gain experience until they are 4/5 levels ahead of everyone else and you have to work with your team to level up together and make your pushes on towers/gates more powerful as you go. Sure, there are times where a team will totally snowball and demolish the opposing side but I believe that will be addressed through matchmaking once the game is released and there are more players.
Learning Curve
Compared to DOTA2 and LoL, HOTS feels a lot more casual. The elimination of item shops and the group leveling system means everyone is on the same level playing field and offers a more balanced approach to matches in that each game is based on the skill of players and not because of certain items that are boosting abilities. We wont know what the highest level of play will entail (read: e-sports) until the game is released and tournaments start to pop up so there is no way to really tell right now what the skill ceiling is of the game but I can see that there is a lot of emphasis on individual skill, so over time we should be seeing a gap in player competitiveness. The game is really easy to get into and the practice mode helps a lot in getting new players up to speed and familiar with the mechanics of the game. Even though Blizzard is late to the party with this MOBA, I feel their tactics at making the game more lax and easy to understand will propel the game to be competitive with DOTA2 and LoL. HOTS has already established heroes that have back stories and abilities that the fans are familiar with which I believe is a huge plus and a secret boost to the games popularity. But, as I said overall, the game is easy to learn and play while at the same time feels that the skill required to reach the professional level can be very high.
Heroes
Not a huge variety as of yet in the Alpha test but that is to be expected. Blizzard has said there will be more heroes as the game progresses so I am not worries about that. Heroes are divided into 4 types, Assassin, Warrior, Support, Specialist and each has at least one hero from either Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo. You can use gold or real money to buy more heroes to use but there are always 6 heroes available to you that are on rotation. The balancing seems pretty good overall, but there are a few heroes that do feel very overpowered (Tassadar and Stitches) but keeping in mind this is an Alpha test and knowing Blizzard, these will more than likely be patched for balance later down the road. I have only played with a few of the heroes so I am still learning a ton about the mechanics of each hero but everything seems very easy to pick up on. I understand the abilities right away and and able to figure out the best use of them in certain scenarios.
Shop
Money Money Money. This part is something I feel Blizzard has very wrong right now. The real money prices for skins, mounts and heroes seems ridiculously high. Of course you can grind gold for free to unlock everything but the gold income you get for playing games and completing daily quests is very low right now. I hope Blizzard is just testing their options and upon the release of the game, the real money prices become more reasonable. I would gladly drop a few bucks here and there for certain heroes or skins but with it being at the time of this writing ~$9 per hero, I will pass for now and grind my gold to get them.
Community
Not really much to say yet about this since there aren't a ton of people in the Alpha. Right now I haven't really encountered much BM but that could all change. One of the main reasons I never got into LoL of DOTA2 is the toxic community so I will keep my eyes on this aspect as the game gains more and more players. Any game will always have its fair share of BM players and MOBAs are particularly notorious for that but as of right now, I feel because of the small player base and the more laid back and streamlined feel of the game, the community is fairly tame and friendly.
Overall
I have fallen in love with HOTS. The inviting nature of the game really got me into it. So far, I have never felt that I am not good enough for the game and I have never been berated by any players. The game was easy to understand and gives me a ton of resources to practice which will only improve by release. There are enough heroes right now to satisfy me and the rotation means I can try out new heroes regularly. I cannot wait for more players to join and to have more maps and gameplay variety.
I will try and make a video this weekend to show you all so be on the lookout for that!
*****EDIT****** GAMEPLAY VIDEO BELOW
Thanks for reading and until next time:
Like it: https://www.facebook.com/TheOnlySurvivor
Watch it: http://www.youtube.com/user/theonlysurvivordan
Follow it: Follow @IMxGONNAxDIE
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