I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I'm trying to put the finishing touches on the Sony E3 event. Since Nintendo's wasn't too big, I may just skip over there conference this year.

I would've been done a while back but now my whole schedule has been turned upside down and inside out. I'm hoping to try and get back into a pattern of normalcy, or something close to it. Tonight has been the first night I've had to really dedicate to writing in a while.

On the plus side, once I'm able to get back into doing this again, I've got some big things that I want to discuss, including the new expansion for WoW, and a new mobile game that is close to it. Hopefully everything will get settled soon, and I can focus on this and making videos as well.

I should have the Sony E3 post done by this weekend. I'll look over the Nintendo conference again, and then decide on that, and possibly post an update soon about Gamescom. I'm gonna try to not promise too much, before I know how things are gonna go, but that's what I'm shooting for. Hopefully I can get all that done.

Microsoft E3 2015: Halo 5, Forza 6, Gears 4, and more

There's going to be quite a bit here, so I'm going to try and keep everything short and sweet, to try and save time.

Halo 5: Guardians

The conference started off with a game play trailer. First thing I should mention is that this game looks great. The effects are just beautiful. I also noticed, for me at least, new enemy types. The trailer also seems to imply that either the Spartans or Master Chief are working with the Covenant.

In the game, you'll play with 2 groups of Spartans, either as Lock and his group, or the Chief and his group. I personally cannot wait to play this game. I also should note, that the multiplayer supports 24 people now, and they showed a map off as well. This is one game definitely on my radar.

Recore

This one is from Keiji Inafune. The concept seems to revolve around cores, which you use for your ai companions, and which you take from your enemies. Not sure if the ones you take are used to make new companion cores, or if there's just the one. We know there is a dog companion, and what appeared to be an ape companion as well. Hopefully we'll hear more on this game later.

Fallout 4

Pretty much the same from Bethesda's conference, but there was new news as well. Mods can be shared from PC to XBOX One. I would imagine it can go both ways, but it wasn't said, so it might not. Game still looks amazing.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

I liked the original one of this one, so it's good to see it get a sequel. The plants looked completely upgraded, almost futuristic in a sense. This game should be great, and I imagine there will be more on this game during EA's conference.

Forza 6

The first thing I noticed is just how good this game looks. The developer  on stage said that it is the biggest, most technically advanced, and best looking game they've ever built.

Personally, Forza just isn't my kind of game. I'm sure there's going to be more than enough for the players who do enjoy games like these. The reveal trailer also added that the game will have 24 car multiplayer, which I think will be great for people who enjoy these games.

Dark Souls 3

Nothing was said about this game, just a trailer. Most notable thing about it was what I'm almost positive is a boss that has the size of one of the colossi from Shadow of the Colossus. The graphics are great, which almost all of the games revealed so far have great graphics

.

Tom Clancy's The Division

This game is an action rpg set in the Tom Clancy universe. It looks like a shooter to me more than anything, but there wasn't much to go on, other than the XBOX One has an exclusive beta trial. Hopefully, Ubisoft will reveal more in their conference.

Rainbow Six Siege

I actually read about this one a little while back, and this one should be pretty interesting. Choosing whether to attack or defend your objective and the various ways to do so, seems like an interesting twist, rather than the modes you see in most shooters that are essentially Team Deathmatch with an alternate way to win.

Something else to note, they're giving away Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 with Siege for free. So essentially, you're getting 3 games for the price of one.

Gigantic

This game is 5v5 team action game, where heroes battle alongside a guardian in a fight for supremacy. The graphics are cartoony, but still look pretty good, kind of in a Windwaker way. I hadn't heard anything on this game, but it looks like it's worth a shot. I'll give it a try.

They only showed some quick videos of some indie games next, leading into some bigger indie games shown afterwards. I'll list all the ones shown in the video, the most part I've not seen or heard of any of them except for a few.

Cuphead

Rise & Shine

The Mean Green

The Flame in the Flood

Phantasmal: City of Darkness

The Solus Project

Westardo: Double Barreled

Sword Coast Legends

Outworld: The Adventurer Life Sim

Goat Simulator: Mmore Goatz Edition

Game 4

Below

ARK Survival Evolved

Recruits

Super Hot

Tacoma

There wasn't anything other than a video showing a part of this game, and really, there wasn't much to go on. The video doesn't show a whole lot, and there isn't anything at the site, other than the original video that was shown at E3. I haven't seen anything else on this game anywhere else either yet. If I find out anything else about this game, I'll make a post about it. Until then, there's really nothing I can say about it.

Ashen

This game looks like a co-op fantasy type game. It seems that there will be places where you will definitely need someone else to help you advance. Teamwork seems to be a key foundation of this game, and if done right, could be good. I don't like the faceless characters, and quite frankly think they're creepy, so maybe they'll do something about that. Otherwise, this looks like it could be an ok game.

Beyond Eyes

This game is about a girl named Rae, a 10 year old girl who lost her sight when she was a toddler to a fireworks accident that left her traumatized, fearing loud noises and public places. She prefers to spend time in her special garden, where she enjoys the smells and everything is nice. She has also befriended a stray cat she's named Nani. Rae gets the courage to leave the garden when Nani disappears. Even though everything's frightening and unfamiliar, Rae learns to overcome her fears and finds beauty and possible new friends outside her golden cage.

Cuphead

This game looks like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon, which is actually pretty freaking cool. From what I've read about the game, the concept is that the main characters, Cuphead and Mugman, gambled with the devil and lost, and now have to do his bidding. Everything about this game just looks amazing. I really want to play this game, and can't wait for it to come out.

Ion

The reveal trailer for this game didn't really show much of anything, and so far, I've not been able to find anything else out about this game. If I come across anything on this game, I'll post about it later, but for now, there's just not much to go on.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

There was a video shown of this game. So far it looks pretty good. I'm not sure what part of the game was shown but for what was shown, it looks really good so far. As for the gameplay, it looks a lot like the first one, which I started playing a little while ago, and have to say is pretty good too. If it's anything like the first, then it should be worth getting.

Rare Replay

This is essentially just a collection of Rare games, all together in one package. It should be pretty good, seeing that Rare has some of the best games ever made. The unfortunate part is that there won't be any Donkey King games in this.

Sea of Thieves

This looks to be an open world pirate multiplayer game, almost like an MMO. There was some interesting things at play here, such as making a player walk the plank, and the exploration. This game looks really good, and is up there on my list of games to play.

Fable Legends

The video of this game looks exactly like what you'd expect a Fable game to look like, which isn't exactly a bad thing. The game itself is supposed to be a 4 player co-op game, almost like the 4 on 1 type of game like Evolve, the last time I read about it. I'm a pretty big fan of the Fable series, so it should be interesting to see if this game can continue this series success.

Microsoft Hololens

This thing looks really freaking nice. If this does what was shown at E3, this thing will be amazing. There's not really anything else to say about it. You should watch it in action.

Gears of War 4

The video of this game looks pretty good. Everything about it has a Gears of War look to it, maybe a little darker. I know that was one thing being said is that it looked really dark. Personally, it looked pretty good to me. I didn't get to play the last one, but the rest of the series, I've played, and it's all been good, so here's to hoping that this one will be good as well.

And that does it for this years E3 for Microsoft. I'm gonna try to have Sony and Nintendo's E3 conferences posted up later this week, while also posting what my favorites of this years E3. Thanks for reading.

Bethesda E3:Doom, Fallout 4, Dishonored 2, and more

So, with the first conference of E3 happening tonight, with Bethesda, I checked it out and was impressed to say the least. So, I'm going to go over the stuff that was shown.

Doom- PS4, XBOX ONE, PC

So, to  this game looks amazing. The graphics, the effects, everything was just seamless, and done well. The death animations show off just how great this game looks. There's also a nice selection of weapons, my personal favorite in this reveal being the chainsaw, that were showcased as well.

Multiplayer was shown, as well as a modding tool called Doom Snapmap, which is to allow all players the ability to mod the game. According to the footage shown, new maps and modes are created with building block-like features, which should make multiplayer an even better experience.

I must say, I've never really been much of a Doom fan before. I liked the original, but never played 2, and just recently tried 3 and didn't care much for it. As for this one, so far, I'm interested in it.

Dishonored 2- PS4, XBOX ONE, PC

The reveal trailer starts off with a female assassin. This game will allow you to play as either male or female. The male character, Corvo Attono, is returning from the first game. The female assassin is Emily Kaldwin, who was a secondary character in the first game.

The character you choose to play will determine what powers and abilities you'll have available to you when you start you mission. We didn't get to see Corvo in the reveal, but it's assumed he's returning with the Blink power,

Instead, we got to see Emily's abilities, which include an ability to use a magical grappling hook to pull her to anywhere, and the ability to turn into a shadow and move along walls, an ability called "Shadow Walking" that was cut from the first game.

The game takes place in Karnaca, which is where Corvo is originally from. It is a city on the continent Serkonos, south of Dunwall, where the original takes place.

It's also the birthplace of Corvo, and the source of the "corrupted" Bone Charms- passive upgrade items that give both positive and negative effects, introduced in The Knife of Dunwall DLC.

This game looks to be interesting, and makes me want to pick up the first one and give it a try. If I do, I'll post a review of it.

Fallout 4- PS4, XBOX ONE, PC

First thing I want to say, is that I definitely want the collectors edition. I would love to get one of those Pip-Boy's. Anyways, to the game.

The game starts out just before the apocalypse. It's a nice, sunny day outside, kind if like late spring, early summer. This is where you build your character, while looking into the bathroom mirror while your significant other looks on. You have the option to play as male or female, and for the first time in the series, your character has a voice all their own.

The majority of the game takes place 200 years later. You can get a dog companion early on in the game. The game takes place in Boston, and is one of the developers biggest yet.

Players can explore, complete quests, and visit towns, standard in most RPG's, but Fallout 4 also gives you the ability to build your own homestead. You can scavenge wood, metal, and other materials to build houses, starting out with just some small shacks, but eventually kitting out your new settlements with color changing lights, guard towers, stalls for merchants, and sentry guns.

The more you build, the people will move in, and the more likely you will be a target of a raider attack. You can also build your own weapons and armor as well. And all of this is optional, if say, you want to focus on just the story.

The Pip-Boy also has some new features, for instance, you can play "game tapes". Essentially it lets you play games like Donkey Kong, but with a Fallout skin, which should be interesting.

There will also be a mobile app, that turns your mobile phone into a Pip-Boy. If you order the collectors edition, you get an actual Pip-Boy, which you can put your phone in to make it a real Pip-Boy(and just saying that makes me think if Pinocchio).

This game looks great, and I can't wait to get it. Definitely gonna have to save up for the collectors edition though. Speaking of mobile apps though........

Fallout Shelter- iOS

So, this is apparently a brand new game, from the same group making Fallout 4. In the game, you make your own vault, in which you're the overseer of.

As the overseer, it is your job to maintain the vault, and keep your residents happy. Residents are able to perform various activities, and reproduce to make new residents. Parts of the shelter serve various purposes meant to help you grow your underground community.

The characters in the game are based off the Pip-Boy characters in the Fallout series. The game looks like a mix of SimTower and the base management section in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to try this game out, at least not at present time. I don't have an iOS device, and don't know if there are plans to bring the game to android or not yet. If they do, I'll give it a try and post a review on it then.

 
Battlecry-PC

This is a competitive third person multiplayer game that is free2play as well. You get to choose your warrior, each with a distinctive suite of attacks and abilities from one of the several factions of diverse parts of the world.

The reveal video didn't really impress me too much. In fact, it was probably the low point of Bethesda's conference. The game just seemed like it was way too slow, which I guess in a melee type game, it needs to be, but it just didn't seem good to me.

The Elder Scrolls: Legends-iOS, PC

This looks to be Bethesda's attempt to get into the strategy card game market that Blizzard got into with Hearthstone. Honestly, I like the Elder Scrolls series, it's one of my favorite RPG series out there. But I don't think they have enough for this game to be popular.

I'm all for having more games like Hearthstone, so I'll most definitely give it a chance, if it comes to Android. I just wished they'd shown some gameplay footage of it as well.

That's it for Bethesda's E3 conference. I'm looking at the schedule and I noticed I'm going to be busy while one of the conferences are going, so I'll have to catch up to it later, and then post tomorrow night. Let's see what all gets revealed tomorrow.

Plans on E3

I know that coming up soon will be E3, so I wanted to go on ahead and give some insight into what I'll be doing this year, as it'll be my first year covering it.

Hopefully, the plan is to have something posted every night, on what all was shown that day. Things can change, though, so there is no guarantee I can cover every day, nor post every night. I will try to, but this is really the first time I've ever tried doing this, so please do bear with me on it.

Hopefully, we'll see some good stuff coming out of E3 this year, enough to make the rest of the year interesting and exciting. For me, Black Ops 3, Magic Duels:Origins, Dragon Quest Heroes(which I should have a post up on soon), and Adr1ft are already on my radar, so it should be fun to see what else is coming this year and in the future.

Magic Duels: Origins preview

As I stated in my Hearthstone review, I'm a big fan of the Magic the Gathering tcg. I play FNM's almost every Friday night, and try to at least make the game day's and pre-releases, and have played in my fair share of IQ's, PTQ's, and grand prix's.

Admittedly, though, most of the digital versions of the game just never really interested me. Magic itself is a costly hobby, which I can barely afford now. So, trying to play both the physical card game, and Magic Online, was never feasible.

Magic Workstation is ok, in that it's better used for play testing new ideas, since you don't have to put money into it. Then there's this line of games. They're good games, but still require an investment, but unlike Magic Online, do nothing to help out your ratings.

Now, the first thing I should mention is the title. The series used to be Duels of the Planeswalkers. Wizards is retiring that series, and replacing it with this game, which is going to be a free-to-play, continually updated game.

This means now, we won't be having a shifting card pool and feature set every year. Your collection will be more permanent now, and you can obtain new up to date content as new sets come out. Also, Planeswalkers cards will be playable for the first time in the series.

Being f2p will allow players to potentially earn every card in the game without spending any real money, earning currency rewards for completing the story campaign, multiplayer matches, and daily/community events, in the same way that Hearthstone allows you to earn currency as well. One has to wonder though, if the currency will be easier, harder, or about the same to get as in Hearthstone.

One thing of note, is if you already have 4 if a card in your collection, additional copies of that card won't show up in additional boosters. This should make getting all the cards easier, and won't leave you with extras, so that's a plus.

With the new content model, you can expect updates to roll out around the same time a new set comes out. They will also line up with whatever the newest set that releases, so when Battle for Zendikar releases in the fall, you'll have a corresponding Battle for Zendikar content expansion for the game as well.

Along with the campaign, you'll have the opportunity to play against thousands of different decks in Solo Battle mode, and participate in up to four player multiplayer, including the return of 2v2 2 headed dragon, with new features expected to be added down the line. Could there be a possibility of doing drafts or sealed with this as well? That would be nice, but probably not something we'll know about until E3, or possibly later. The Solo Battle and Story modes can be played offline as well, so that is nice as well.

With the past releases, this game was always fun, but just fleeting, as each title would be inevitably forgotten and tossed to the wayside with each new release. With this new approach embracing longevity and the collection aspects, could it be possible that we'll start to see tournaments in the future?

This newest edition in this series is looking like a real winner, and is showing that it has the potential to grow into something bigger down the line. I'm excited and looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Chrono Trigger review

So, I said one of the things I'd wanted to do for a while, is do some retro reviews, so I really couldn't think of a better game to be the first one than the game I love the most, Chrono Trigger. I will discuss the 2 versions that I've played, the SNES and PS1 versions.

The game itself is hands down, one of the best rpg's ever. You'd be hard pressed to find an rpg player who doesn't like or love this game. This game, along with Final Fantasy 3, usually are at the top of a lot of rpg favorites lists, usually 1-2, with either one ahead of the other.

This games story is one of the best ever, and still holds up well today. I absolutely love the time traveling, the twists and turns, the backstory of the characters, and how they develop. The characters are memorable, and each one has it's own story arc that lets you get to know them. This is what made both this game, and Final Fantasy 3 so memorable. Getting to know these characters, and to care for them, is one of the better parts of theses games.

The graphics are great. Some of the best on the system, and they still hold up today, and even look better than some games today. The sprites are crisp, and clean, and everything just looks beautiful.

And the music? Listen to the soundtrack and tell me it's not some of the best music ever. I could listen to this games soundtrack for days. It really is that good. Final Fantasy always has good music, but in my opinion, the music in Chrono Trigger is better than Final Fantasy, but again, that's just my opinion.

I also love some of the things introduced in this game. Dual techs, and triple techs, magic abilities using either 2 or 3 characters, are some of the best abilities I've seen. I also love the New Game+ option as well. It allowed you to check out the alternate endings in the game, in which the original had 12, that I remember. The endings themselves were also brilliant and finding them was another part of the game that was great.

To be honest, there's absolutely nothing about the game that I can say that I dislike. The PS1 version though, brought some new things to the game, like cut scenes, but is generally considered the worst version of the game, simply because of the loading. Every battle causes the game to pause and load, which for me was pretty unbearable. The original had minimal loading, but the PS1 version literally made it unbearable. So really, there's nothing really wrong with the game, just the system it was on.

This is hands down one of the greatest rpg's ever made. Really, the only problem this game has ever really had, was more to do with the system it was on, rather than the game itself. Outside that, this is by far one of the best rpg's ever, and one of the best games ever made.

Small update

It's been a little while since I've posted anything, so I thought I'd post an update.

I'm getting some things set up to try and make some videos again. Not sure if it'll work or not, so keep an eye out on the YouTube channel.

Also, I've been playing around with some older games, as well as Hearthstone. Needing to replace the hard drive for the 360, which hopefully will be here next week.

Until then, I'm gonna try to do some reviews and previews a little more frequently. I'm not gonna lie, I do get caught up in the day to day and forget things, but I will try to make at least 2 posts a week, maybe 3 if I have the time.

Anyway, hope I can bring some news on some games that'll interest everyone, and thanks for reading.

Dangers of mobile gaming.

I know, I said that I wanted to do reviews and previews here, but decided that I would do an entry on this, after seeing some of the dangers of mobile gaming. I also want to stress, that I'm not talking if physical dangers. This is strictly a monetary thing, and something I wanted to share with everyone who has kids that have phones and tablets.

A went over to a friends house today, to pick up my sister and nephew after they stayed over with him, his daughter, and her mother. There was also another little boy staying, all in the 5-8 year old range, as the little girl was having a sleepover and wanted to invite them.

So, as I'm sitting there, he gets on his iPad, and notices that there's a lot of charges to his account. I'm not sure the exact amount, but one of them was well over $400 on a UFC game that his daughter had downloaded. When asked if there was a password, he said yes, but she knew it.

Now, I know that that's probably asking for trouble, seeing as to how she can download just about any app at any cost, and with telling the password to my nephew and their friend, they could download anything from the app store. After looking and realizing that the apps they had downloaded were free, the only thing we could think of is buying things in game.

Now, I personally don't know how the apple store works, but I do know that the Play Store has options to where you can set up to have your password entered for every purchase. I'm assuming that, of course, Apple does have some sort of system in place that does the same.

Now, the thing that bothers me, is that there's a way to actually spend $400 on an app. I mean, surely there would be some sort of limit on your purchases, but apparently not.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't spend money on a game or app you enjoy, and there's nothing wrong with supporting the developers who make these. But when you're spending literally hundreds on an app, then there's a problem.

Now, I know that part of the problem, was the fact that my friends daughter knew the password, which meant that she, or my nephew, or the other little boy, could've been responsible for what happened. To me though, that's only one part of the equation.

The other part is some of the purchase prices for items and stuff in these apps. Admittedly, I spent some money on on Game of War, and I don't care to admit that, even though now I regret doing so, which is for another article another time.

These prices though, really do bug me. For instance, in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, there is an option to spend $85 on coins in the game. Now, I love the game, and have thought of spending some money on it, just to support the developers. But $85? That's a brand new game, possibly 2 or even 3. Hell, for that price, I can go buy most of the series and be able to play them all the way through, and they'll last longer, and retain their value, or even continue to go up.

Another instance is Hearthstone. For the most part, theirs is not bad. Unlike in FFRK, Hearthstone actually does give you a way to get packs, to get new cards, without ever having to spend a dime. For me, that makes it not so bad, because then you can do quests to gain coins, to buy packs, and play the game completely free. I still think that $50 is a steep price to pay in an app, but I also know from personal experience the feeling of opening pack after pack of cards. I know the rush from doing that as well, which in part bothers me, because someone looking for cards, with little or no self control, can blow through $200-$300 in no time.

Game of War also had the option to spend large sums of money in it as well, and admittedly I wish I had covered that aspect of these games when I did reviews for them.

I guess the one thing that should be said, is just be careful. Not only with kids, but also when playing mobile games. These types of games can be fun, and if you enjoy them, there's no reason not to support the developers of these games. I just want to stress caution. When these apps have options to spend money in them that are anywhere between 1-2x what a new game costs, you should exercise caution. I know many people can control their spending habits, but still, it's better to be safe and let people know of these things.

Hearthstone tablet and phone review.

First things first, this game is great. I absolutely love this game and find it very addicting. If you're someone who loves playing Magic the Gathering, this is a game for you.

The list of characters is a who's who from WoW. I love most of these characters from the game, so being able to play as them, even if only in a card game, is pretty cool. I also like the graphics. Some of the minor things, like the fireworks and effects from the cards are impressive.

I also love the gameplay. The game itself, I've noticed, seems to be built around the original card game, but only with the quests removed to streamline everything, which is kind of sad, because that's one of the things I enjoyed about the original card game. But it seems to work really well, so I can't say too many bad things about it.

One thing that I wanted to address is the difference between the phone and tablet versions. Outside if the obvious smaller screen, the only real minimal difference is that you have to go through things more on the phone.

For instance, to see your hand, you have to tap where your hand is, then drag from there, as opposed to on tablet it's all laid out for you, and is easier to see. Phones seem to have a graphical advantage, why I'm not sure, but from seeing it on mine and 2 others phones, and playing on the tablet, it's clear that phones have an edge graphics wise.

The one thing I don't like, is that the classes aren't all equal. Mage seems like a really good class, Hunter, Paladin, Warrior, and Warlock are decent as well. Rogue and Priest just don't seem to be very good though. Shaman is just slightly better than them, but not by much. Maybe they should introduce some more cards to help make those classes better. Right now though, I just don't see myself using them, and haven't seen anyone else using them either, outside seeing a Shaman every once in a while.

Other than that, the game itself is pretty good, especially for those who like playing Magic the Gathering, or any other TCG's. It is definitely worth a download to try and see if you like it.

Destiny review

I've been playing this off and on, right up until my hard drive decided to give out on me. There's a lot about this game that I liked, and wanted to like. So, let's get to it.

The first thing I like is the gameplay. It feels almost distinctly like Halo, which I've always enjoyed playing. The gun play is one of the things I've always enjoyed in Halo, and for me, it's great that this game has the same type of gun play.

I like some of the loot, but one of the problems I have is that it generally doesn't drop enough, and by the time you level up to what the vendor sells, he's already selling higher level gear and no longer has what you were going for. This creates a problem, because you have to spend the in game currency to buy stuff before you level, which wouldn't be bad, but then when you actually do find loot, it defeats the purpose of buying it.

If there were a way to either pick up a little more loot or be able to buy what you were wanting when you level up, then that would better. The current system now just isn't very good, from what I've played.

The graphics are pretty good, and I've not had any reason to complain about them. The character models look great, especially the enemies. More than once I've just sit and admired the graphics in the game, especially whenever I come across a new area.

There's a lot of gripes that I have for this game. For starters, for this to be an MMO, there's not that many people. I mean, the hub world has had at most, 20-30 people whenever I'm there. As someone who's played WoW, and used to seeing anywhere around 100-200 people online at a time, seeing that few people seems to give the game more of a sense of isolation.

Occasionally when questing or exploring, you come across a couple of people, but overall, the world just seems really isolated, which for this game, doesn't feel right.

The other problem I have is the PvP. How in the world, does a level 9-10 guy, get grouped with players that are 29-35? How does that happen? Also, when it does happen, how do you not scale the players to the others level for that period? That happened multiple times when trying out the PvP.

Something like this just leaves a big hole in the competitiveness, and makes it practically no fun to try and play PvP, which is one of the major draws of this game.

Other than those complaints, the game is fairly good. I like what Bungie tried to do here, but it seems like they didn't implement everything correctly or just didn't think everything through. The game is good, but don't go in with high hopes, and you should be good.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

First of all, I have to say, I really like this game. As someone who didn't jump on the CoD train until Black Ops, I have to say that this is by and far my most favorite CoD game ever.

I have to say, I love the Exo abilities. They add so much more to the game then what has been seen in quite some time. Double jumps, jet-boosted dodges, the ability to cloak yourself, there's so much to love about it.

I also love how they've upgraded the grenades and the weapons as well. I like(and hate) the laser based weapons, but the grenades are really good. I like the ones that can tag nearby enemies myself, but they're all good in their own way.

The campaign is also pretty good as well, which is saying something because I literally had given up on the campaign up to this point. It has a strong sense of pacing, and I absolutely loved Kevin Spacey's role in this game.

I really liked the gameplay in this one as well. Where past titles introduced cool ideas through one-off, barely interactive sequences, this game delivers combat tools that let you be an active part of the spectacle, then brings them back through multiple levels.

The multiplayer also is aided greatly by this as well. The added mobility adds makes each fight less predictable and makes things more interesting, with all three dimensions of movement coming into play.

The new Pick 13 system for create a class, which draws in scorestreak rewards and a new class if exo abilities, makes creating a loadout that fits your personal play style a much deeper affair than in past installments.

The new zombies mode is one thing I don't like, though that is more just me than it is the mode is bad. I didn't care for zombies in BO or BO2. The one thing I have to say is that this time it seems easier than the modes in either Black Ops games. That's just my opinion though.

This series has never struggled to tack on more features, but it's often been unable to improve upon the existing ones in any meaningful way. Advanced Warfare manages to be both bigger and better, and that's something to be excited about for the future of this series.

Update

It's been a little while since I've posted anything, so just wanted to post to let you know what's going on.

I've been playing a lot if Advanced Warfare multiplayer here lately, and have been playing the campaign some as well. This will probably be one of my next written reviews, so keep an eye out for it.

I've also been playing Destiny and Hearthstone as well, and should have something up on them soon as well too. When I do Hearthstone, I'll go over both the tablet and phone versions(just started using the version today, love it), and talk about some of the differences between the 2.

Anyways, that's what's coming up here soon. I'm also going to be looking up some info on a couple if more games as well, and I can't wait to get some more info in Black Ops 3 when becomes available. Odds are though, we probably won't see anything on it until E3, which I'm going to try and do some entries on what all is shown this year.

Hopefully, I'll have the reviews up by weeks end, either Saturday or Sunday. If I can get them done sooner, I'll post them when I'm done.
Now, to get back to Hearthstone.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Review.

So, I've been playing the new Final Fantasy mobile game, Final Fantasy Record Keeper and want to share my thoughts on it.

First things first, I want to just put out there, that I'm one of the biggest Final Fantasy fans out there. Outside the MMO's, the 13 series, and the newest one, I've played all the others. In fact, the original is what started my love for the rpg genre. So, I have a lot of history with the series.

With that, that is who this game is really made for. From what I've played of the game so far, it's based on going through all the highlights of all the past games, which with this series, there's plenty of.

The game plays exactly like the battles in the old school entries. In fact, they also harken back to those games graphically as well, which is another reason I like this game.

The music is essentially everything in the series. This series is known just as much for it's music as it is it's stories. All if it is great to hear, and getting to hear the best of each game is really pleasant.

I also like the equipment system as well. I like how pairing equipment from a game to the character from that game gives them a bonus, and also how they get an additional bonus when doing scenarios with characters from those games as well.

I also like combining orbs to create the spells and abilities. The same also applies to the equipment as well. You can combine equipment to make it better and level it up. You can also gather items that can also be used specifically to upgrade equipment as well.

As much as I like this game, the one thing that I don't like is the gating. Every free2play game has something like this. Time limit, stamina bar, or something implemented to get you to spend money. I know that the game's creators have to make money, and I get that. I just don't think limiting someone's time with the game is the answer.

I'm not a big fan of the f2p format, but that's an argument for another time.

This game is a great game. If you enjoy Final Fantasy games or rpg's in general, then this is a definite download. The stories, characters, and music make this one of the better games in my opinion. The chance to go back and relive these stories are great. Every rpg fan should give this a try.

Halo 5 and Star Wars Battlefront

So, a couple of games that have caught my attention lately are Halo 5 and Star Wars Battlefront. Both are franchises that I've thoroughly enjoyed in the past, and really looking toward them.

Halo 5: Xbox One

So, from what I've seen of the initial trailer, and from what I've gathered, the story so far seems to imply that Master Chief has done something that has pissed everyone off.

In the trailer, there is someone who is essentially calling Master Chief a traitor and that he is there to take him out. There's not really any explanation as to what is happening, so who knows what exactly is happening.

The one thing I must say, is that the last time I played this series, was Halo Reach. I haven't played 4 yet, nor have I played Halo Wars, so there are some things I don't know, but I'm familiar with most if the history and universe.

I've always liked the multi-player aspect of Halo, but the same is true of Call of Duty, as well as other shooters. Halo though is usually pretty good, with a better balance of maps and weapons, in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to the game to see what is happening in the story. I also really need to play 4 as well, so that is something on my to do list as well. Here's to hoping that it's as good as the others have been.

Star Wars Battlefront- Xbox One, PS4, PC

This game is another on my list of games I'm looking forward to. I actually just did a video review for the second one on the ps2 here a couple of weeks ago. Aside from the lack of knowing where things are, the game is great.

I like that game, and from what I've seen if the game is anything like those, then this game should be pretty good. I like how the game looks so far, and would love to see it in a first person mode. Doing space fights in first person seems like a pretty cool idea, and one I'd like to see.

With this being Star Wars, the music is always expected to be good, and I'd expect the graphics to be good as well, being on current gen systems.

One thing I'd like to see is how they incorporate the new movie and locations from that movie into the game. Of course, you're going to need the iconic locations as well, but I'm curious to see what exactly they put in from the new movies.

Here's to hoping that DICE can avoid the usual problems that usually plague the Battlefield games at launch. This games is one that is tailor made for online play, and I fear that given the problems DICE has had launching their games in the past, this one may have the same.

If they can avoid all those issues, and deliver a quality game, then this game should be nothing less than a hit. Let's hope they can do it.

Little update

So, just wanted to post an update. I'm not gonna be able to make anymore video reviews until I can get my PC fixed, get a new one, or find a way to do them with my phone. So for now, any reviews that I do will be written reviews. I will try to get a new computer within the next week, or  get mine fixed.

Anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know what's happening. I can still do the pick up videos with my phone, so I'll still have something to post on the YouTube channel(look for a new video to go up tomorrow). I'm also in the process of gathering some information on some games that I'm gonna do some previews on as well, so keep an eye out for that as well.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy everything here.

First Game review: Game of War

First, I'd like to apologize. I really wanted to do a review on some 360 games, but really haven't had much time with the 360 this week, so I won't be doing anything on it until next week So, instead, I'm gonna do some reviews on a Mobile game that I've been playing a lot this week, Game of War.

Game Of War- Mobile

First off, the tutorial helps to get you started off on how to do most of the basic things, like building and things like that, which to be honest, isn't too hard. I like how it explains how to go through everything and gives you the information of what you're building/upgrading will affect and such. The graphics for the most part aren't anything special, and certainly nothing that couldn't be done on older versions of android.

I do like the depth of the game though. There's endless ways to make your character better, and to build them the way you want to. You can be a gatherer or a fighter. I'll be honest and say, I went with fighter, but there are many ways to be a gatherer, and I'm going to guess there are needs for gatherers as well, but truth be told, I haven't really seen any reason why you should choose one over the other.

I also like the daily quests you can do, along with some of the rewards as well. The quests generally only take a couple of minutes for common, up to 10-20 basic, 30 for the uncommon, and the one rare I've seen was over an hour. The good thing is, you don't have to stay in game for the completion of these quests, so you can exit the game and do other thing on your mobile device. I also like how you can get rewards, like supplies, supply boosts, time boosts, gold, and even tokens to be an VIP for a set amount of time.

Now, for the bad. The main in game currency is gold. The game starts you off with a decent amount, but after about 20-30 minutes, you end up hitting a wall, where your only option is to wait or pay money to continue. The waiting isn't as big a deal, because like I said earlier, you can just exit the game and it'll continue your quests/building while you're not on. Eventually though, the waiting time gets up to 2-3 hours, and I'm assuming that later even up to days at a time, as evidenced by the speed boosts.

To offset this, there are speed boosts in the game, ranging from 1 minute, up to a day, that I've seen. These are nice, and do come in handy, as well, as they work not only when you're doing construction, but also while doing quests as well. They're very helpful, and can be great when you just want to get things done quickly.

I also can't say that I like how the VIP is done. You get the VIP status when logging in for a short period of time, and then after that time, you have to use tokens to activate your VIP status for a period of time. Personally, I feel that if someone is going to spend money on this game, then they should have the VIP status activated for their account. That's just me though. I also don't like how continuously the game bombards you to spend money on it. In a matter of minutes, I've been hit with 3-4 different things to spend money on. I know the game is free, and they have to make money some way, I just feel there should be a better way of doing it.

However, for anyone willing to spend money on this game, beware. I sent with the $5 option, which on its own wasn't a bad deal. However, from what I've seen so far, once you get hat option, it's no longer available. For instance, now every time I get on, when the opening screen shows me what offer is available, instead of still having the $5 option, it's now $20, as if the game has taken the cheaper alternative away, and is trying to push the $20 option. I could be missing something, but I haven't seen an alternative yet.

Also, the game leaves you in the dark on some things completely. The only option to find anyone from your alliance, is to get their coordinates. There's no simple way of finding your teammates or friends. Also, whenever anyone decides to attack someone in your alliance, the game takes you to who is attacking, not who is going to be attacked, which makes it kind of hard to help coordinate a defensive strategy when you can't find who is being attacked.

All in all, the game is pretty good, but it has its faults. For free to play, there's some things that could be improved upon, while other things are already pretty good. If you like games like this, then there's plenty to like, more so if you're willing to spend money. So far, I'm still playing around on the gold and items I got from spending $5 on the game, which was 2 weeks ago, so it's good that that can last for a while. The game is fun in both short bursts and long play sessions as well.

That's gonna do it for this review. I'm gonna crash for a couple of hours, and hopefully start up a couple of video reviews today for my YouTube channel.

Shroud of the Avatar, Adr1ft, and a couple other games that have caught my attention.

So, this here is the first real post. I've found a couple of games that I'd like to share. The first, Shroud of the Avatar:Forsaken Virtues, is completely funded on Kickstarter. The second, Adr1ft, comes from developer Three One Zero. There are a couple of more that I talk about as well.

Shroud of the Avatar:Forsaken Virtues-PC, Mac, and Linux

From what I've seen so far, this game seems to be a fantasy rpg game, that also delves into some mmo aspects, such as pvp and pve as well. The game has gathered a lot of popularity due to the fact that Richard Gariott, aka Lord British, is the creator of the game. Gariott is also famous for the Ultima series of video games as well. The storylines in this game should really be intriguing, due to both Gariott and popular Dragonlance writer Tracy Hickman handling the story.

One of the things I like about the game is the fact that it can be played either on or off line. I know for most people, that's probably not as big a deal, but it's nice to have that option. The combat looks so far to be mostly generic that's been seen in many fantasy rpg games before, but I haven't really seen that much of it, so there's a possibility that it will have some surprises in store. I also like the whole interactive world concept. Can't wait to see it in action.

The graphics look fairly decent, but nothing that hasn't been seen before. The leveling system is said to be a robust, classless system. I haven't seen anything that shows this off yet, but I do believe they can get that one right.There's also going to be crafting and housing mechanics as well, but from what I've seen and heard of Ultima Online, I hope they at least implement it better here than it was in that game.

Lastly, the game is going to be part one of a 5 game series, and will not require a subscription to play, or essentially "buy-to-play". I like the idea of buy-to-play more than the free2play or subscription models, but that's just my personal preference.

Adr1ft-Ps4, Xbox One, PC


I've only just now saw this game, and I have to say one of the things that I really like about this game is the setting. The premise of the game is that you're a female astronaut who wakes up drifting aimlessly in space, with no memory of how she got there, or why the space station she was posted on has been destroyed. Her suit has been damaged and she's running low on oxygen, she struggles to repair it while trying to piece together what has happened.

I like the fact that the game is placing you in this setting. It gives the game a horror vibe, without it being a horror game. Also, to add to the tension, the oxygen that you use to stay alive, is also used for the propulsion system in your suit, which really puts an emphasis on movement and conservation. The ultimate goal of the game itself is to get the suit repaired and then repair the escape pod while also piecing together the back stories of your fellow astronauts.

Another thing I found interesting, is that there isn't much music in the game. I've always believed that the right music can create the perfect atmosphere, but with the way the game is shaping out to be, I have to admit, I kind of like the idea of there not being music. It seems like it really would drive home the tension of trying to survive by yourself all alone in space, and really seems like a decent idea. I'm hopefully going to upgrading my PC here soon, so I should be able to try this out on it, which from what I've seen of it so far, I think I'll enjoy it.


Code Name:S.T.E.A.M.-3DS


I'm not one for strategy games. Warcraft was really about the only strategy game I ever played, and I played it more just for the game lore. This game though looks pretty interesting. To start with, the team behind this game, Intelligent Systems, are also behind the Fire Emblem and Advanced Wars games, which knowing that tells me that this game should be pretty good.

I like the premise behind this game as well. Some of most beloved characters in history, both real and fictional, taking on missions like escorting queens, saving civilians, and fighting huge bosses, all the while, having everything they do being controlled by steam. Everything from what attacks you can use, to movement on the battlefield, is dictated by how much steam who have, which seems like it is something that you constantly have to monitor, which could create a lot of tension as well.

From what I've seen, the characters in the game all play differently, which should give people many chances to try out various teams to see which combinations they like and don't like. One thing that should be noted though, is the pacing of the game. When I say that, I don't mean the story, but the actual game itself. When your enemies go through their attack,you have to wait through watching them move, and their attack, and all that. Surely there had to be some way to be able to skip this?

Other than that, the game seems like it could be an interesting take on the strategy genre. If not for the game play and the steam system, then surely for the characters themselves. When else will you be able to team up Abe Lincoln, Tom Sawyer, and The Lion from The Wizard of Oz? That alone should make the game interesting.


Jack Stone Puzzle Galaxy-iOS


So far, all I really know is that this is a puzzle game for iOS devices. The story and characters come from the book Jack Stone-Stone Territory, and is in the vein of Bust-a-Move and Bubble Witch Saga 1 and 2. The art in the game and of the characters so far looks pretty good. I personally like puzzle games the ones mentioned above, so if this game is like those, then seems like a good deal.

This is another game from Kickstarter that is fully funded as well. The game has 10 characters, 5 that are good, and are playable, and then the 5 that are the bad guys. Each character has certain powers, which seems pretty cool and also ties into the book as well.

From what I've seen, if this game can pull the story together and be as fun as any of the other puzzle games listed, then this should be a really good game to play. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know more when I can.


Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to do my first written review. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it.

The Introduction

First of all, I just want to say, thank you for visiting and reading. I've never been one to really get into blogging, but I figured I would give it a try. Basically, I want to cover video games. I'm essentially wanting to cover newer games that come out, although right now the only thing I can cover up to is the Xbox 360(for new games), but I won't to also cover older games as well, some maybe lesser known titles, and even possibly some mobile games as well.

First things first, no I'm not a Microsoft fanboy. In all honesty, I actually like the Ps3 better, but my PS3 just died and I've no way to fix it or get a new one at the moment. I still do play my Ps2 quite a bit, and have an extensive library of games for that system, as well as the PS1. I also have games for the NES, original Xbox, 2600, Gamecube, and Psp.

That's part of the reason why I wanted to do this. To give written reviews a try. I've gotten better at doing video reviews, although I'm no where even close to what other reviewers get. I also just don't have the equipment to really be able to do video reviews. Seriously, just go watch one of them and you'll see what I mean.

The main thing I want to do right now is some reviews, but what I also want to do share news and information on newer games coming out, as well as video game news in general. I'm always looking toward the future for newer games to see what is coming out and what I see that would excite me. In starting this, I want to share what games I'm most excited about, but I also intend to post news on more than just games that I'm interested in personally. I'm also going to keep a lookout on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, to post news about any interesting projects that I see on there as well.

After this I'm going to get started on looking into some games that I've been seeing that I think will be interesting, and hopefully I'll have my first review done here soon as well. If all goes well, I should have a couple of entries done by week's end, and hopefully be able to keep updated regularly.

Thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully you'll enjoy everything here.