Watch_Dogs Post-Mortem

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***So I have not been posting here as often as I would have like to. All my time and effort has been going into my articles over at indiejuice.tv. The past 2 weeks have been crazy busy for me. I received a few review codes and have been making videos and really starting to ramp up my content production. I wanted to at least post something here so I decided to post my Watch_Dogs review. Its been out for a week and it was also my first major game in which I got a review copy. I want to thank Ubisoft for sending me over a copy and I hope you all enjoy the review***

So now that everyone has had some time with Watch_Dogs I figured it is the perfect time for me to get my thoughts out there. In the past I have been harsh on the Ubisoft title that, at the time, was not even released because of the way Ubisoft handled things. From the 6 month delay to the graphical downgrade I have been highly critical and the hype surrounding the title had subsided leading up to the release date due to their handling of the project. After having the game for a while now and sinking many hours into the game and analyzing many aspects of the game, I can safely say that Watch_Dogs did NOT live up to my expectations. BUT do not take that sentence as "I hate the game, don't buy it, its crap". The game reached a level of hype that was IMPOSSIBLE to live up to and I don't blame the game for that. I can say that I did have fun playing Watch_Dogs and I hope that Ubisoft will take the best elements from this to make Watch_Dogs 2 a better game (Ubisoft has stated that they will not develop new IP's unless they were confident they could turn them into a franchise, hence Watch_Dogs 2 should be coming).

Lets get right down to the details and see how I think this game stacks up and what it did great and what needs to be worked on.


Graphics

Where to even start with this... Ubisoft had everyone under the impression that Watch_Dogs was going to be THE game to really show the power of the new generation of consoles and also push the PC to its limits (HA!). While I did play the game on PC I should make a note that Watch_Dogs came no where near where it should have been on PS4 and XboxOne. 900p and 792p both at 30FPS is not "Next Gen" and the issues I had running on PC were due to poor optimization. I was running at 1080p 60FPS on Ultra but I did drop frames here and there and when I recorded my video, I had to knock everything down to High since the game crashed on Ultra when I tried to record. I am not sure why it did that but I am using an AMD video card and there was talk that the game was developed around Nvidia and AMD was basically cast aside which may have something to do with the performance issues I was seeing. The graphical fidelity is decent for what the game was hyped up to be. It has absolutely beautiful moments and the lighting effects are pretty great in some areas but then in some places you can just see where the developers cut corners. The textures aren't smooth, the character models aren't very good in places, the car damage/physics were laughable and the draw distance was atrocious (popping. lots and lots of popping). Overall, when I am not dropping frames I was totally immersed in the world. The streets may not have been as crowded as they are in real life but Chicago did feel alive in some places.

Gameplay/Mechanics

Many people have mentioned that the Watch_Dogs gameplay falls into the same trap that plagued the first Assassin's Creed game. Repetitive nonsense. I somewhat agree to an extant that the game does get a bit tedious after a while. The game was built up around the mechanic of hacking devices and using them to manipulate the world and while the gimmick was fun in the beginning, it fell flat in the end. Hacking devolved into just simply pressing a button... and that's it... a button. "hold X to hack" is what you see all around the world and then in some instances you get involved in a puzzle which resembles pipe dream where you have to press X to manipulate the pipes to hack the device. I do believe though that the hacking mechanic has the potential to grow and become something really cool so we will have to wait and see what happens to that in the future. As for controls they were okay... as long as you were using a controller. I started the game playing on keyboard and mouse and found the controls to be terribly stiff especially when driving. Maybe its me but the kb/m controls did not cut it for me which is surprising because I usually prefer kb/m to a controller no mater what type of game I am playing. But once I switched to my Dualshock 4 controller I had a much easier time navigating and the movement felt a lot smoother to me.


World

I touched on this in the graphics portion, I feel the world was well done, had a lot to do, a lot to see but could have been executed a little better. One thing a lot of people bring up is the amount of people on the streets which makes sense. Chicago is a metropolis and its streets are buzzing and crowded at all times but to pull that off in game would be difficult. I felt that Watch_Dogs had more crowded areas than most other open world games do so that is a plus for them. Like I said before, Chicago felt alive in areas and especially around the landmarks you could get immersed in the game very easily. The Digital Trips added a lot of fun to the game (Spider-Tank being the best) and really opened up the world as to give you a sense of future tech in a modern world. It seems like the developers put a lot of time into building the world and it shows.


Online

The diamond in the rough of the game. The Online has SO MUCH POTENTIAL! While I think it is a very strong aspect of the game right now, I can only imagine that it is only the framework and "test" for a much larger implementation for the next game in the series. The ability for players to hack or 'invade' your world really can lend to the atmosphere the game was trying to convey that you are constantly under watch. It makes you paranoid to stay in one area too long or go into certain places (garages, large areas of NPCs). The ground level is set and if Ubisoft could come up with new unique ways to invade other players and actually have a risk/reward type system, I think the online portion of Watch_Dogs could really expand on itself and make the next installment great.


Story

This is the worst aspect of the game in my opinion. Very generic, very bland, and the voice acting was HORRIBLE! I mention in my video that the voice acting in a lot of scenes really feels empty, like you are literally listening to someone sitting in a booth reading their lines. The emotion is not captured right and it breaks immersion. The forgettable story had the potential to be great but falls flat on every note. Hopefully Ubisoft can step up their writing for the next game and spend some of their millions to hire some good voice actors (whats Troy Baker up to these days?) but for this game, they missed the mark completely which is a shame because of all the great story driven games we have had recently (Metro: Last Light, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of US, etc...). I wanted the story to capture me but it didn't.

All in all, Watch_Dogs is a safe game from Ubisoft. Not great but not garbage either. Forgettable story with some fun quirks and a good framework for future games in the franchise. I do recommend giving it a try as it does have enjoyable moments and is building to something bigger. After the press releases by Ubisoft generated the hype before release, Watch_Dogs was doomed to fall under the mediocre group because nothing could have delivered on the hype that was attached to this game before release. I enjoyed the game but did not love it but I am excited to see where the franchise goes in the future because it does leave a lot on the table that has the potential to make a great game if expanded upon.


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Dreamhost reviews

Week in Review 5/16/2014

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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!



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Dreamhost rebate

Week in Review - 10/19/2013

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Back on track this week after last weekends Comic Con in New York! Some big news came out during the week and it is inching closer and closer to the holiday season (we are just about a month away from the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One!) So without dragging this on lets get right to it:


Watch Dogs delayed until Spring 2014

In what came as a shock to most, Ubisoft announced that they will be delaying the release of Watch Dogs until Spring of 2014. Ubisoft stated they want to make sure they release the best possible game and at this time they still need to work more on the development. I actually applaud Ubisoft for this move, I mean sure, I hate that its delayed and I was really really looking forward to playing it in November but I can wait a little longer if it means a more polished and stable product.


Valve shows off Steam Controller

Valve released a 5 min video this week showing off their Steam Controller being used. They showed how the controller worked with games like Portal 2, Civilization V, Counterstrike GO and Papers Please. While the video was short, it did answer some questions and gave a brief look at the controller in action. While I felt like it worked well with Portal, I didn’t like the trackpad feel for Civilization V though everything is configurable so it might just be due to the configuration they choose to use for that game. Counterstrike didn’t look fluid at all compared to a keyboard and mouse combo but that could be due to having to get used to the controller over time. For FPS games you need to be fast and the precision showed off was there just not the speed but like I said, that could be due to the user not being 100% comfortable yet with the controller. The setup they used for Papers Please did look fluid for that game. All in all, I left the video feeling that the controller has great potential but its just not quite there yet. Maybe in time and with some small tweaks here and there it will become better.

GFWL removed from Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City

First Bioshock now Batman! The death of Games for Windows Live is getting closer and many are rejoicing. As I have said many times before, I HATE GFWL!!! I love both the Arkham games but the problem for me was once I beat the games I had no desire to go back and play all the side missions and a main reason for that was because of GFWL. Now with it removed you can be damn sure I will be diving back into both games and getting all the rest of the stuff that I missed done.


Blizzard presents: Heroes of the Storm

That’s right, another HotS! Formerly known as Blizzard All-Stars, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzards entry back into the MOBA scene. Do they have what it takes to take on the likes of League of Legends and DOTA 2? Only time will tell but I would keep my eye close on this considering who it is. I mean when Blizzard release the first Starcraft they re-defined the RTS genre and then later when World of Warcraft came out, they re-invented the MMO so it is very exciting to see them try a MOBA and possible re-shape the industry once again.

That’s all for this week guys. Like I said, sorry for the delays in getting this out, and for missing last week because of New York Comic Con but I am back on track now and I have plenty in the works especially with the holiday season almost here and the end of the year awards.

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New York Comic Con

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Hey all! Now that I have had a few days to recover I figured it was way past due for me to share my experiences with you about New York Comic Con last weekend. What an amazing event! My girlfriend and I had a blast for 3 days and got to experience tons of amazing things there. I'll go day by day through this so bare with me, there is A LOT!

Friday

Our first day we arrived relatively early (doors opened at 10 we got there around 11) and once there immediately jumped in line for the Game of Thrones panel with Jerome Flynn (Bronn). Now before I go any further into the story I will say that this is my first MAJOR con. I have been to smaller ones in CT (ComicConn) and other small ones here and there. NYCC is HUGE! If you have ever been to the Javits Center you know how big it really is. Tons of people everywhere and I must say I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a bit overwhelmed and intimidated. This was the first ever con for my girlfriend and she had no idea what she was walking into. Anyway, while waiting in line we got to take in the site of all the cosplayers (we stood right behind a kid dressed as Jon Snow and his father who was Clark Kent) and we tried to settle into the crowd. Finally we got into the panel room and waited a bit for Jerome to get there. Once there he was awesome! Such a nice guy and very entertaining to listen to. He discussed some of the happenings that we are to expect on the next season of Game of Thrones (Which is currently mine and my girlfriends favorite show on TV).
After that panel we grabbed a quick lunch and then rushed all the way across the convention center to the Empire stage (second biggest stage) and planted ourselves in the front of the line for The Walking Dead 10 Year Anniversary panel. I love The Walking Dead, it is my favorite running book right now and to get to see Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard talk about it was the highlight of the con for me hands down! It was a pleasure to sit down and hear Rob and Charlie talk about their craft and really appreciate their fans the way they did, they were Awesome!
At this point it was about 4 and we still had yet to see the show floor!!!!! (Yeah this con is HUGE!) We finally made our way up the escalators to the show floor and at that moment I thought "so this is what it felt like when Niel Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon!" No but really it was amazing to see everything (Sensory overload!). But there was no time to waltz around, I had to get to a signing! We made our way over to the middle section of the show floor where Claudio Sanchez (writer of The Amory Wars, singer/guitarist of Coheed and Cambria) was signing and meeting with fans. So while we were rushing over there we were passing the Image! comics booth and right in front of me was ROBERT FUCKING KIRKMAN! He was finishing up an interview and I watched him as he completed it then started to an impromptu signing. I quickly grabbed what I could from my backpack and got him to sign my Thief of Thieves #1!!!!!! I was ecstatic (My girlfriend said I had the look of a kid in a candy store when he signed my book). Rob didn't stay very long so that was the only book I got signed from him which is more than fine with me!
Anyway, we finally got in line for Claudio and waited and waited and waited some more while talking with people in line and just taking in the atmosphere of the con. It was a good time although some people got a bit annoying (no offense but I don't care about you seeing Daft Punk or the Green Power Ranger, whatever his name is, earlier). I got to Claudio and had him sign my Amory Wars book and talked to him briefly. He was there with his wife Chondra and they both couldn't have been any nicer. He was amazing and so friendly, it just made me love Coheed even more.
After that we walked around the show floor for a bit more and I got to see a game over at the Intel Extreme Masters area where they had Starcraft II (I saw FLASH!!!!@#!@#@!#@) which was awesome. I love e-sports events (I had gone to MLG a couple of years ago in Providence, RI and it was amazing). We then when back downstairs to the conference rooms to grab dinner and then wait for the final panel of the day for us, Bob's Burgers.
We got back the Empire stage a bit early and were able to get right in while the panel for Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was going on. That was pretty cool and unexpected, they showed the whole season premier to the audience and did some Q and A with the fans. Finally we moved up to the front section and had a blast with the cast from Bob's Burgers (currently our favorite animated show, it really is wonderful and we love it so much we went a couple of weeks ago to the premier in Brooklyn with the cast, if you have not seen it GO WATCH IT! It's on Netflix).
And with that, we went back to Grand Central and took the train home and passed out so we would be ready to go for day 2...

Saturday

When we woke up on Saturday, to say we were exhausted is an understatement. Friday took soooooo much out of us that we ended up leaving later. It wasn't a big deal, we decided to take it easy that day and we ended up back at the con around noon. Although I missed the Stan Lee signing that day it didn't bother me. Saturday was to be a day of relaxing and taking in what the show floor had to offer. We stopped by everything! Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse just to name a few. It was nice to not have to be rushing to anything early on so we got to enjoy the floor. That was when my girlfriend and I decided that we will 100% be coming back next year!
Anyway at around 4:00 Charlie Adlard (artist for The Walking Dead) had a signing and I got right at the front for him. He ended up doing 5 sketches before signing which sucked but was awesome at the same time. It sucked because it took an hour and a half but it was awesome because I got to see him work and he is amazing! Anyway, once again when I got to him he was as nice as anyone could be and really a great great guy in general.
After that we headed downstairs to try to get into The Walking Dead show panel which ended up being overly full already (damn) so we went back up to the show floor and bought a few things and checked out some more IEM before heading back home. Overall the day was awesome again but I do wish we did a few more panels but oh well, there is next year. Saturday wasn't as action packed as Friday but that is also due to us being so drained and not being prepared. We made it home early and made sure to get right to bed so Sunday would be a blast.

Sunday

We woke up early and felt a lot better than we did on Saturday so we were 100% prepared to take on anything! We got there at around 10:30 and immediately went to Artist Alley which we had not been the past 2 days. There were tons of comic artists and writers. I got to see a few of my favorites like Jim Zub and Jonathan Hickman which was pretty cool then we went downstairs and got in line for R.L. Stine.
Mr Stine was an amazing presenter, for 70 years old, he is still as sharp as a tack and his talk was inspiring. Goosebumps was a favorite of mine growing up and to see the man who created it all was incredible. He was surprisingly very funny and so grateful for all his fans. He is a legend in my book and I was honored to be in his presence.
After R.L. Stine we headed over the Empire stage once again to see The Following panel. That was pretty cool to see Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy up on stage talking about the upcoming season, I have to admit, I was a bit starstruck once Kevin Bacon took the stage. Finally, we made one last round on the show floor and picked up a few things before leaving.

All in all, this was an AMAZING weekend and my girlfriend and I had tons of fun. There were a few things that I thought the organizers could have done better (BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHUTTLES!!!!!!) but in the end it was negligible. You can be damn sure that we will be coming back next year and now that this one is over we have the knowledge to better prepare. As for some games on display, there were playable demos for Assassin's Creed IV, Dark Souls II and an Alpha version of Dungeon Defenders II just to name a few. Now its back to business for me, tomorrow I will have the week in review and I have been working on some more posts for the next coming weeks. That holiday season is only a few weeks away now and I have been gathering my thoughts on how I should go about making a Game of the Year post so be sure to check back around early/mid December for that (maybe by that time I will set up a contest to go along with it for some game codes).


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HyperSmash.com

Week In Review 8/30/2013

Another week gone. Its time for the wrap up of the week that was. Not too much went on considering all the real big news was revealed at Gamescom last weekend which I covered already, but there were some pretty cool things this week.

Buying a PS4 game through your Smartphone causes your PS4 to wake up, download the game and go back to sleep

Pretty cool feature to have if you ask me. Nice to know that I can be browsing on my lunch break at work, find a new game that looks interesting, buy it and have it ready for me to play the second I get back home. Nice going Sony for implementing this feature and I am sure something similar will be announced for the Xbox One as well.

Nintendo Announces 2DS

Trying to get ahead in the handheld market, Nintendo unveiled the 2DS this week. Basically its a 3DS without the 3D features at a lower price and no hinges. There has been some backlash over the design of the device but honestly, its not as bad as everyone is making it out to seem. Sure it looks a but bulky because it cannot fold like the 3DS but Nintendo is marketing the device towards children (even though I feel a majority of adults will buy the thing) and what was the most broken part of the 3DS? The damn hinges! I'm sure if people are used to holding a tablet device, the 2DS will fit right in and at a lower price point than the 3DS I can totally see Nintendo once again gaining a huge influx of users in their handheld market. I know I will be picking one up for sure because I was never into the 3D aspect of the DS and with tons of great games already out for the DS with tons more to come in the next year, this is the perfect opportunity to dive back into handheld gaming.

Bethesda "pushing" to let you play The Elder Scrolls Online on Xbox One without Xbox Live Gold

The first major push back to the system that I have heard of. Good for Bethesda trying to break down the paywall that Microsoft has in place but also looking from another perspective you can tell that maybe Bethesda is worried about how TESO will sell considering they announced the game will be subscription based. That means you pay for Xbox Live AND TESO every month instead of just one source. Though I feel nothing will happen on Microsoft's side and they will stay strong on the Xbox Live stance, it is refreshing to think that maybe developers are trying make their games more accessible, even though in this case, it doesn't really make that much of a difference because you will still have to pay for TESO...

Watch Dogs to receive exclusive effects and features on PC

Finally! A good console port to PC! More often than not these days, PC gamers have been getting pushed to the side by developers in favor of the consoles. Yes PC has the most games but lately there have been a ton of very poor console ports that do not let the PC users adjust graphical and sound settings to their fullest potential on their rigs. I just recently built a new gaming rig and even with the overkill hardware I have in there, some games just won't look good no matter what because the developers decided that adding in graphical features for the PC release was not worth it. Thank you to the team behind Watch Dogs at Ubisoft for considering the PC gamers and their ability to really push graphics to the next level.

That's all I have that really caught my attention this week. Like I said, it was a fairly slow week due to all the major things that came out of Gamescom last week. A few new trailers were released, so if you have a few minutes I highly recommend checking out War Thunder Heroes, the new GTAV trailer, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture trailer. I will post them below for you all to enjoy. Also, if you haven't yet, go check out my last post where I covered violence in video games. I have gotten a ton of responses from it and I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to read through it. And I know I say this every week but I will be making a few videos for my youtube channel to check out and as I have said previously I have a few ideas for CONTESTS I want to put together but I need you all to follow me on Twitter and like my page on Facebook (sorry but social media is a must these days. I promise once I get more followers and likes I will do some major things) for a chance to win some awesome games!

Trailers:

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Gamescom

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So my last post covered the pre-Gamescom press conferences from Sony, EA and Microsoft. Now that the show is officially open to the public, I figured I would detail all the other announcements and new gameplay/trailer videos coming out of the European expo from the developer studios. First I will cover games and include their trailers, and then I will touch on some news topics that have generated some buzz within the community.

TITANFALL
Just because of how awesome this game looks, I have to start with Titanfall. This game looks MASSIVE! Xbox fans rejoice at what is looking to be the first big blockbuster game of the next-generation. I am extremely thankful to Respawn (the developers) for making a PC version of the game so I will be able to enjoy it as well. Hopefully this giant lives up to the hype surrounding it and if its as good as its looking, this will really help Microsoft sell some Xbox One units in the coming months.

DIABLO III: Reaper of Souls expansion
No matter how you feel about the direction Blizzard took the Diablo franchise with the latest installment, one thing is certain... They really know how to make kick ass cinematics! Now, while there have been many negative reactions to Diablo III, and it was a mixed bag of reception when the game was released, I think Blizzard has still managed to create an enjoyable experience TO AN EXTENT. I will come right out and say that I ENJOYED Diablo III. Did I love it? No. But I did enjoy playing it and while it never lived up to the MASSIVE hype I had for it because of Diablo II and how timeless that game was, going back to the series that I have grown with was a nice experience. There are many things I hate about it: I.E. making the end game pretty much force you to use the real money auction house to gear up with microtransactions, the story was a bit lackluster (but so was Diablo II and the original story), gameplay mechanics and the option to redo skill trees at any time really took away from the replayability that was there in Diablo II. All this said, I am looking forward to what Blizzard has added to the world and I will once again jump in and I expect another ENJOYABLE experience but nothing more.

MURDERED: Soul Suspect
After a bit was shown at E3 earlier this year, Square-Enix revealed a new trailer for the upcoming action-adventure murder mystery game developed by Airtight games who brought us the wonderfully fun game Quantum Conundrum last year. This game, however, if far and away removed from the fun/light-hearted setting of Quatum Conundrum. The dark and gritty setting sees you play as detective Ronan O'Connor who is gunned down by a mysterious assailant. You then have to use you wits in the ethereal as a ghost to solve the mystery all while tangling with the demonic diziens of the other world. Cool concept, and the dark setting have me intrigued. I am looking forward to more information about this one.

RYSE: Son of Rome

Everything I see from Ryse just isn't sitting right with me. Sure it looks beautiful, but all new games are looking visually stunning. Looking deeper and trying to figure out mechanics and gameplay style, Ryse just seems like it brings nothing new to the table. The multiplayer arena was shown in a trailer along with some cool Co-Op options involved but I am just not excited for this. I will keep my eyes open for early reviews once this Xbox One launch title hits and maybe that will sway me but right now, this is another generic hack/slash in the same vein as the God of War series.

KNACK
This PS4 launch title looks like its geared up to be the next in line for a fun loving game with great story and character development a-la Jack and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. KNACK is like if Pixar took a great story and instead of making a movie, just made a video game. Very small snippets of gameplay were shown so there is not much to go by on that aspect, but the story does look fun and the characters seem enjoyable.

CHIVALRY: Deadliest Warrior
One of the most fun online experiences I have had in a long time has been playing Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. The announcement of the Deadliest Warrior expansion has me worried. Torn Banner created such a great game (while it still has a lot of bugs that need to be worked on) that was insanely fun for me and my friends that I have a bad feeling it will all come tumbling down with this expansion. First of all, they have teamed up with Spike TV (more than likely for monetary reasons) to incorporate a new set of weapons and factions (Spartans and Samurai!) based on the TV show Deadliest Warrior (not the most historically accurate show). Second, what made Medieval Warfare great was being able to feel immersed in an epic battle to defend a castle as an archer or pillage a town as a knight or battle gladiator style in an arena, but now that immersion has been taken away. I can't help but feel silly in a weird way of a knight battling a Samurai or a vanguard taking on a Spartan warrior. I'm sure I will still grab this on release but I only pray that they have some ways to keep the historical timelines separate (Samurai vs. Samurai etc.) and also i hope Torn Banner isn't looking at this as just a cash grab because that would be disappointing.

BATMAN: Arkham Origins
More more more more! I love me some Batman and Origins looks to pick up and carry the caped crusaders torch further. More villains (Black Mask, Deathstroke, FIREFLY!) and a great story to back it up have me excited. October 25th needs to get here now. The only apprehension I have is that the series may start to become stagnant but I don't see that happening as long as the story is great and hell, with all the source material to pick and choose from, I don't see anything stopping the Bat train.

KILLZONE: Shadow Fall
The PS4 launch title and what has now become a staple series for the platform looks great but as I said about Ryse for Xbox, everything in next-gen looks great. Will Shadow Fall add something new and innovative to shake up the series? It really doesn't look like it. Either way, I will keep an eye on Shadow Fall and the multiplayer does intrigue me so maybe after it is out for a bit I can better assess this title

WATCH DOGS
With the hype at fever pitch now, this new franchise from Ubisoft has got to be at the top of everyones list as a must have. Gameplay videos and everything being released looks very impressive and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Here's to a bright future for a new IP that is looking to change the industry with its unique story, environment and gameplay.

Other games shown at the expo that are big hitters have been:
Dead Rising 3, Destiny, Dying Light, Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, The Division, and Thief. Each game has its merits and the next-gen is looking incredibly strong so be on the lookout for an onslaught of content and new games in the coming months. Everything looks fantastic so far but only few will become benchmarks for the next generations and live on as legendary games in the eyes of the community. No one know for sure who will come out on top and lead the way once the console wars officially kick off but one thing is very certain and that is it is an AMAZING time to be a gamer and it's only going to get better!


Onto the news part of Gamescom!

The Division Confirmed for PC
First up there was the short video released by Ubisoft that CONFIRMS the release of THE DIVISION on PC! I never really had any doubt that this game wasn't going to see a PC release but I am pleasntly surprised that is will be soon. While they did not go into detail about when it will be released in comparison to the console versions of the game, I can't see it being THAT far behind the others. For a time after this game was first announced at E3, it was a factor motivating me to purchase a next-gen console but now I don't have to fear that and I will be picking it up on PC.

GFWL is DEAD!
Coming off the announcement that Batman: Arkham Origins will be dropping the Games for Windows Live service, Microsoft has revealed that they plan to discontinue the service as a whole on July 1, 2014. I HATE GFWL so I only see this as a great thing. With the recent addition of the former Steam Director, Jason Holtman, to the Microsoft team, GFWL will die and another service will probably come about from them. Hopefully the shake up over there will lead to a better platform.

Elder Scrolls Online
Bethesda announced the new MMO based in the Elder Scrolls world will use a subscription based model and use cash shops in game. Mixed feelings about this one because while I LOVE the Elder Scrolls games, this seems more and more like a cash grab to Bethesda than an actual attempt to bring the world to the players in an enjoyable setting. The subscription model seems to be going away for a lot of new games (Guild Wars 2 is one time pay to buy the game, even World of Warcraft has mentioned moving away from the monthly subscription model!) but on the other hand, if it is handled the was WoW was handled and if that is still a viable option, it could keep the content up to a considerably high standard which is what made WoW so great when it started. Although the early beta footage looks pretty generic and it doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table in terms of MMO's, I will always be interested in Elder Scroll games so I will continue to follow the development closely.

Minecraft coming to PS3/4 and Vita
What many thought to be a console exclusive for Microsoft, the insanely popular Minecraft was announced for the Sony lineup as well. Very big for the little indie game that really broke open the market and a slight blow to Microsoft.

TwitchTV now also included as a streaming service for PS4
When this as announced during the Sony press conference I had to pause for a second because it was said so casually when it really is a big deal. Going into the conference it was well known that Twitch was going to be used by Microsoft and the less popular Ustream was going to be used by Sony for streaming services on the new consoles. Well what the hell happened to that!? Yet another blow to Microsoft and a boost for Sony (it was never said that Ustream was dropped so will there be an option to use either on the PS4?) in the market and GREAT news all around for Twitch (I hope their servers don't start Armageddon though)

There was a ton more content covered at Gamescom and its proving too much for my hands to handle (RSI/carpal tunnel damn you!). Maybe if I have time next weekend I will make a long video covering everything that went on at the event (including e-sports. Starcraft WCS Season 2 finals going on right now!) but for now I think I covered the most buzz-worthy announcements and hottest games.

Thanks for reading and until next time:

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Week in Review 7/20/2013

A little late this week but its time for the week that was:

Lead SimCity developers leave EA and form indie studio

Former SimCity Creative Director Ocean Quigley, Gameplay Lead Dan Moskowitz and Lead Architect Andrew Willmott have formed a new indie studio called Jellygrade. They refer to themselves as “recovering ex-AAA game developers.” They have begun work on a new game aimed at the iPad with a new engine about “a simulation about the dawn of life on earth; about lave, water, rock and the emergence of the first primordial creatures.” Not sure how I feel about this move. iOS games are great for new studios but with the experience these guys have I feel their talents might go to waste. On the other hand, the new SimCity was TERRIBLE and plagued by many bugs and EA’s mighty fist ruled over the playerbase to milk as much money as possible out of consumers. I will keep an eye on what the guys at Jellygrade do in the future and hopefully Maxis and EA can get their shit together with a new team to develop a new SimCity sometime in the near future to make up for the latest disaster of an installment in the series.

Ubisoft: “No new games unless they can be made into franchises”

Ubisoft’s VP of sales and marketing, Tony Key, came out this past week to say that the studio won’t give the go-ahead to any new game unless they believe it can be built into a franchise. “There’s no more fire and forget – it’s too expensive.” This is a double edged sword to me. On one hand, new IPs that do get the go-ahead will be given plenty of resources to create the game and with that comes higher quality, on the other hand this could end up in what I call the Assassin’s Creed syndrome. That series has become stale to me, and I really have lost interest. So while franchises are good and if you have the right idea, you can create an amazing world, that world could grow boring by the time game 3 and 4 hit consumers. Plus another note against franchises is the lack of innovation and imagination. While Ubisoft’s upcoming lineup looks great (Watch Dogs, The Division) I don’t know if I would like multiple games from those universes.

Mad Max gameplay trailer debuts

The game set in the world based on the movie that inspired the post-apocalyptic genre, the new Mad Max trailer showed some awesome footage of what to expect. I got a Fallout feeling from the trailer which is great as Fallout really was Mad Max DC. Hopefully this game fills the void that is missing right now in the genre. Other games tried (RAGE) and failed but I am looking forward to see what Mad Max brings to the table to push innovation. Watch the trailer below:

Officially licensed Firefly game announced for 2014

FIREFLY ONLINE! Yes, fans rejoice, maybe if the interest is there they can bring back the show…. Wait…. Oh no…. no no no….. “the social online role-playing game based on the cult TV series Firefly, is currently in development and slated to launch on iOS and Android-based smartphones and tablets during the summer of 2014” NOOOOOO. The hopes and dreams where astronomically high and then came crashing down in one sentence. Bad move in my eyes, make a full fledged PC/Console game and you will have hordes of people throwing money at you! In my eyes this a huge mistake and a missed opportunity.

Steam Summer Sale winding down

The Steam Summer Sale is almost over and it has been a blast as always. I’m sure the encore deals will be the big ones tomorrow so look out for those.  I picked up quite a few games and I cannot wait to get through them and do some more reviews. I currently have started the new Tomb Raider which is fantastic so far and then I will probably dive into some indie games like Don’t Starve, Monaco and Faster Than Light, so be on the lookout for more content from me. Leave some comments and tell me what you picked up!

That’s all for this week. In other news from me, I finally got my recording software to work so I will be uploading some gameplay videos very soon (SC2 will be my test video). Once I get settled down I will start streaming and if I start to gain more views and an interactive community, I will start reaching out to some industry people to get some interviews going.

Until Next Time

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