Thursday, March 27, 2014

One Finger Death Punch, inFamous Second Son, Basement

One Finger Death Punch (Steam)

Got this game as part of an indie bundle and it's awesome.  You are a stick fighter that has enemies attacking you on a horizontal plane and you use the left or right mouse buttons or 2 buttons on a controller to attack.  You have a set area around you and only when an enemy enters that area can you attack them so it's not a button masher, you have time your hits otherwise it counts as a miss and you are ranked by how many misses you have.  The longer you go without misses the faster the enemies appear so it can get pretty frantic but it's never overwhelming.   The game is simple but it looks fantastic and has some cool animations, the game will sometimes go into slow motion so you will see an eyeball flying out towards the screen or it will turn the enemy into an x-ray and let you see the damage of your hits.  It's hard to explain so here's a video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVEiezuiKvU

I thought that I'd probably spend about 30 minutes with the game but I'm really enjoying it and have about 2 hours.  Highly recommended. 

inFamous: Second Son (PS4)

Finally another game on my PS4, it's been sitting idle for quite a while.  I finished the first inFamous and got about half way through the second but I did enjoy my time while playing.  The first thing that you will notice is the graphics, they use a varied color pallette so the neon signs against the rainy Seattle backdrop really looks good.  The game play feels similar to the other games so you are basically an unnamed superhero with some cool powers.   There is supposed to be moral choices but they are so black and white that it ultimately boils down to help or kill.  So if you liked the previous games and have a PS4 then you should get this game.  PS4 sales in the UK where up over 100% after the release of the game.

Basement - The end is near?

They are putting the final touches on it today so hopefully they will be able to get the final inspection done tomorrow so I can start working on getting my stuff set up this weekend.   The carpet looks really nice and I think all the colors work well together.  I ordered a window plug that was pretty expensive, but if it works will be worth it because the air unit is right outside the window and I want to minimize the sound coming in and out of the room. 

New Releases - Another week of big releases. 

PC

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls  - Waiting on the PS4/Xbox One version, I like the direct control. 
Mercenary Kings
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD  -  Purchased for $5 from Gamefly.
Cabela's Big Game Hunter Pro Hunts
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny - Gold Edition
Ether One
Bioshock Infinite Burial at Sea Part 2

PlayStation 4

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Complete Edition
Fez (download - $13)

Xbox 360

Cabela's Big Game Hunter Pro Hunts
Anna - Extended Edition (download)

PlayStation 3

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma
Deception IV: Blood Ties
The Witch and the Hundred Knight
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends
Cabela's Big Game Hunter Pro Hunts
Fez (download - $13)

Wii U

Cabela's Big Game Hunter Pro Hunts
Deception IV: Blood Ties and Destiny of Spirits

Vita

Deception IV: Blood Ties
Fez (download - $13)
Destiny of Spirits (download - free-to-play)
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Complete Edition

Nintendo 3DS

Cut the Rope: Triple Treat

Monday, March 17, 2014

Demon Souls, Titanfall, South Park, New Releases

Demon Souls (PS3)   - Free version from PS+, if you are not a member you really should be.

If you've never played Demon Souls or Dark Souls you really should give the games a try as they are absolutely fantastic action games.  The games are described as difficult but they really aren't, they do expect you to have patience though which most games lack.  These are action games boiled down to the basics, tight controls and deadly enemies where each step needs to be considered carefully.  If you rush into an area, you will die, if you just mash buttons during combat, you will die, if you get cocky, you will die.  I sure wrote die a lot  in the previous sentence and death is a big thing in the game, but death is usually never the games fault, it's something that you did wrong and the game makes you pay for it.

To describe the game this way some people may think the game is a grind but it's probably the most rewarding set of games that I've played.  When I enter a new area and make it to the next checkpoint without dying I literally do a fist pump, or even when I finally beat a boss on the 20th time I feel like I've accomplished something and not many games have I felt this way about.  When I die I know almost immediately what I did wrong and usually can tell before it happens, "I knew I shouldn't have done that.", gets said quite a bit.  After playing for 10 hours and you revisit the first level do not make the mistake of thinking you can breeze through, you can kill them with one hit but if you try and over-extend they can at least inflict major damage so that keeps the games interesting.  Once I get started playing the game it's almost impossible for me to stop there is just something about the games that makes me want to try again after dying or explore a new area, the game is just rewarding.

TitanFall (Xbox One)

I'm up to level 28 and I've only played about 6 hours so the leveling is much faster than COD, or maybe I'm just awesome. (Nope).  I'm playing on the random game option so it rotates between all 5 game modes, I like all the modes even CTF is fun.  I'm getting better at using the Titans so I'm lasting a bit longer in fights.  Last night I was guarding the flag while in a Titan and someone pickup up the flag and they jumped on top of a hanger trying to get away from me and I followed beneath and when he went to jump off I was there blasting him with rockets and machine gun fire, he only thought he got away.  I think I've had about 10 Xbox Record that moments that I want to upload to Youtube so hopefully I'll get that done this week.  It's a good game to spend about an hour with then go on to other things.  I find it less irritating than COD and I seem to stay alive longer and not die 20 times a match I think the most I've died is 14 times in a match and it's usually under 10.  The max level is 50 then you can regen upto 10 times, which has already been done by one gamer playing for over 3 days, some people are crazy.

South Park Stick of Truth (Steam) (17hours)

I finished the game this weekend after 17 awesome hours, it was the perfect length for the game.  The ending hours kept ratcheting up the ante for shock value and the final fight is not indescribable.   The combat was fun all the way through and I never got bored, they kept sending out different enemies throughout the game so it always felt fresh.  The Canada level was really cool and surprising so I won't spoil anything if anyone eventually wants to play the game.   Overall I recommend the game and wish that other licensed properties like the Simpsons can get a game of this caliber

New Releases - Been a pretty good month of releases.  I may pick up inFamous.

PC

Cloudbuilt (download)
Deus Ex: The Fall (download - $10) - iPad game now on the PC.
Luftrausers (download - $10)
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 (download - $35)
Revolution Ace (download)
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (download)  - May pick this up

PlayStation 4

inFamous: Second Son - Graphics look real impressive and I like the previous 2 games.  Releases on Friday.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
SteamWorld Dig (download - $10) - A good DS game.

Xbox One

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Campaign is around 3 hours so beware.

Xbox 360

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

PlayStation 3

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster  - Played the origianl FFX and is was pretty funn.
Luftrausers (download - $10) - Lambeer game, they made ridiculous fishing.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Wii U
Pure Chess (download - $8)

Vita

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Luftrausers (download - $10)
Pure Chess (download - $8)
SteamWorld Dig (download - $10)

Nintendo 3DS

Ballpoint Universe: Infinite (download)
Pokémon Battle Trozei (download)
Yumi's Odd Odyssey (download - $30)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Titanfall, Dark Souls 2, Basement

Titanfall (Xbone)

A non-stop thrill ride!   The action never stops!  Finally I don't have to press a button to run!  Wish I could Parkour in real life!   Please quit talking I'm trying to shoot things!

I either thought or said these phrases out loud last night after playing a couple hours of Titanfall.  I played the beta a couple of weeks ago and the game really didn't grab me, but after spending a couple of hours with the full game I can say that it's awesome and does reinvigorate the multiplayer shooter.  The first thing you notice while playing a pilot is how smooth the movement is just running around the environment is fun.  You can double jump, latch onto ledges, and wall run all in about 5 seconds and it feels great and it easy to pull off.  The best part is that you don't have to press a button to run, I setup my controls to have a delay run so after pressing the analog stick up for about 2 seconds I start running which is a thumb saver and really needs to be incorporated in every other shooter.  You will need all this quick movement once an enemy Titan comes into view as a well placed rocket will kill you so moving to a higher vantage point is necessary and the anti-titan weapon will allow you to kill one eventually. 

Once you have your own Titan the movement slows down a bit, you are in a big mech, but you are still agile enough that it doesn't kill the pace.  Getting into your Titan is cool as there are different animations depending on how you approach it, jumping into the air the Titan will catch and slam you into the cockpit, it looks really cool and makes you feel awesome.  Titan on Titan fighting is really fun as you have a number of different skills that you can employ, but as soon as another enemy Titan shows up you probably need to retreat or you will usually have to eject and that animation is awesome as well as it throws you up into the air where you can pull out your weapon and start shooting while falling or try to land on top of the Titan that killed you and take it down. 

I'm playing through the campaign which is still multiplayer matches but with some context and voice overs.  You need to play through the campaign twice to open up the other two Titan bodies. They have dialog going during the match but since the action is so fast paced I rarely pay attention and really the story is not that interesting.  Each match as AI bots on both sides that are usually easy to kill and they make the battlefield fill complete.  For those of you that have a hard time playing multiplayer shooters because you may not have fast enough reflexes will still have fun shooting the AI bots and you can rank high on the leaderboards just running around shooting those so Titanfall is really for everyone.  The game is great and highly recommended.  The PC version is 50G and most of that is because the sound is not compressed so about 38G of just audio files. 


Dark Souls 2 (360)

Rented the game from Redbox because I wanted to try the game before it releases on PC in April.  It feels like a refined Dark Souls which is a good thing.  The combat feels quicker but it's just as deadly as I died within 20 minutes of playing.  I'm playing a 2 handed swordsman so no shield which is different for me and requires you to use the roll move so you have to be aware of your armor's weight.  The opening section of the game is a bit easier and they do guide you along better than the first so new players should have an easier time getting used to combat and enemy behavior, in the original you could take a wrong path from the start and be killed with one hit and could get really frustrating if you didn't see the other path which lead to easier enemies.  They have made some changes to the core gameplay, when you die you lose a bit of your overall health which could be bad if you die a lot like I did in the original.  I used a tool that looked at the save game and I died 426 times, which is crazy.  The enemies will stop respawning though if you kill them enough times so that alleviates the issue with the health loss.  You can get items that will restore your health and even respawn the enemies at a higher level if you need to grind a bit which is a good feature.  It's really going to be a long month waiting for the PC release but the enhanced resolution and Directx11 features will hopefully make the game better.  

SouthPark Stick of Truth

About 15 hours in and I think I'm getting close to the end and it keeps getting better and raunchier, the underpants gnomes need to watch their language.  I've seen both parts that have been censored in Australia and Germany and they probably should have been.   The combat is still fun and using the different abilities never gets tiring, Butters is still my favorite buddy. 

Basement Update

They put down the subfloor and finished out my staircase so the floors are ready to be covered.   The door frames are almost up and the trim needs to be painted so hopefully in 2 weeks it will be done and I can start putting in my equipment. 


Stuff

Hearthstone -  Officially released.  If you haven't tried the Blizzard card trading game you really should it's awesome.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Qvadriga, iOS Games, Stuff

Qvadriga (PC)  $20

Qvadriga is a Roman Chariot racing simulation game that is awesome.  The game is played from a top-down perspective and you can play it turn based or real time.  A "turn" is a ten second chunk of racing and then it presents you with some choices.  Do you whip your horses which makes you go faster but could injure the horses, do you try and whip your opponent or his horses when he is beside you or try to crash into him. There are other choices as well and it makes for an interesting game.  If you push your horses too fast around a corner you could damage your chariot or it could fall off so you are dragging behind it and you can try to finish the race or run off the track which you must time correctly or you will get trampled by a passing chariot, which happened to me on my first race, so long Ash.  

The goal of the game is to become a globally renowned racer which takes you around the known world of that time and compete against other AI racers.  There are about 45 different circuses to race around and some have you racing against 3 or up to 7 other racers.  The game does have an economy so you can purchase riders with varying skills, better horses and chariots, and also gambling, so it has some depth outside of the races.  The game is built in the Unity engine and the game isn't a graphical powerhouse but it looks clean the the UI is easy to understand.  If you are looking for a neat strategy quasi action game then you should give this a shot.  There is a demo that you can try or watch a couple of the youtube videos to give you an idea of the game play.  This would be ideal for the iPad so hopefully that version is in the works.  


iOS Games

Word Mage - Plays a bit like Bookworm adventures where you fight enemies by creating words from a set of letters. 
Block Legend - A block matching game that has some interesting RPG elements.
Faif - A mix of block matching and gambling.  

Stuff

TitanFall -  If you trade in a select Xbox One game you get a $45 credit towards Titan Fall plus if you pre-order you get an extra $10 in reward certs so it makes the game $5.  I wasn't going to get it until I saw this deal.
Amazon is having a big sale on Logitech PC gaming gear with some good deals on mice and keyboards.
Dark Souls 2 - Comes out on PC April 25 so I'm waiting for that version which is really tough it's one of my favorite games but I want the higher resolution.  It will be at Redbox so I'll probably pick it up so see how much has changed from the original.
Diablo 3 loot 2.0 is out.  I booted the game up, updated, then closed it back down.  I really liked the console version but will try this eventually as the expansion comes out later this month.

New Releases - Some big releases this week with TitanFall and Dark Souls 2.

PC

1954: Alcatraz (download - $20)
Eets Munchies (download)
The Powerpuff Girls: Defenders of Townsville (download)
Titanfall
TowerFall Ascension (download - $15)
Windforge (download)
Qvadriga

PlayStation 4

Putty Squad
TowerFall Ascension (download - $15)


Xbox One
Titanfall

Xbox 360

Dark Souls II

PlayStation 3

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
Dark Souls II
Putty Squad
Vessel (download - $10)
Putty Squad and Yoshi's New Island

Wii U

Blok Drop U (download)

Vita
Putty Squad

Nintendo 3DS

Bubble Pop World (download - $5)
Cube Tactics (download - $5)
Lola's ABC Party (download)
Yoshi's New Island

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Resident Evil 4 HD, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Out There, Basement Update

Resident Evil 4 HD (Steam)

This is probably one of my top 3 games of all time, I've bought RE4 about 4 times on different platforms.  It was released on PC before but it was a horrible mess.  This time the game runs at 60, has full controller support, and is in HD.  The HD part is a bit misleading though, they didn't replace all the textures with new ones so some of them can look pretty bad close up but for the most part the game looks good at 1080P.  The didn't change any of the game play so movement is still tank-like but that gives the game a certain amount of tension. 
I've put in about 7 hours so far and am having a blast, the game is just as good as the first time I played it.  Highly recommended.

South Park: The Stick of Truth (Steam)

I'm a little ashamed to admit it but I've watched most of the episodes of South Park, I really should have heeded the warning on the front of the show where it mentions that no one should watch it.   Matt and Trey were heavily involved with the story and dialog and it shows because this is probably the best licensed video game.  The game it looks like an actual episode of the show which is amazing, everything from the walking "animations" to the strange lip movement is here, I am finally playing a cartoon. 

The game is really fun and has some great fan service, the junk items you collect in the game all reference something that has been in an episode and there are tons of them.  You walk around town with a buddy, my favorite character is Butters, so exploring the town with him by my side is hilarious.  The battles play out in turn based rounds and feels a lot like Super Mario RPG where you hit buttons during your attack and on defense and it keeps the combat interesting and interactive.  Your magic is based on Farts so that results in some pretty funny combat techniques also each buddy has there own special moves so Butters turns into Professor Chaos. 

If you are a fan of the show then this is a must have game as it hits all the right notes and isn't some generic cash in game.

Out There (IOS)

Pretty cool rouge-like space exploration game that's kind of like FTL without the combat.

Basement

The room has been painted and I'll have pictures next week, I'll finally have some light down there.  The flooring has been ordered and it will take 2 weeks to get the carpet which is a bit longer than I wanted to wait but I liked the carpet and it was a good price.  The contractor did underestimate the carpet sq footage which resulted in spending an extra thousand but I knew there would be some sort of issue and this wasn't too bad.   So hopefully in 2 weeks the room will be ready for me to start putting my stuff in which I'm taking a week off to do so hopefully by the first of April I'll have everything setup.


New Releases  - Quite a few releases

​PC

10 Second Ninja (download)
Infested Planet (download - $15)
Post Master (download)
South Park: The Stick of Truth  - Really fun.
The Walking Dead: Season Two - Episode 2 (download - $5)  -  Waiting on the whole season.
Tower of Guns (download - $10)
Vertiginous Golf (download - Early Access)
Year Walk (download - $6) - Pretty fun IOS game.

PlayStation 4

Awesomenauts (download - $10)
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (download - $15)  - Free for PS+ Members.

Xbox 360

South Park: The Stick of Truth

PlayStation 3

Growlanser: Heritage of War (download - PS2 Classic)
Master Reboot (download)
South Park: The Stick of Truth
The Walking Dead: Season Two - Episode 2 (download - $5)

Wii U
Blok Drop U (download)

Vita
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F (download)

Nintendo 3DS

Vacation Adventures: Park Ranger (download) - Does this seem fun?
The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths​