Rocket League, Resident Evil 6, Kotor 2

This has been me the past week. Image thanks to Kotaku.

 

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Rocket League

• I've put in about 15 hours this week, I just can't stop playing. I'm level 19 on Steam and 13 on PS4.
• I've started working on my aerial play which looks cool but is also very useful. The goals are just tall enough that a double jump is not enough to block the ball shot at the top of the goal so you must go aerial to block them. Also you can turn your car completely vertical which maximizes the hit radius of the car which makes shots and blocking a bit easier.
• I played a great 1v1 match that had the other guy cussing me after my second goal. What is wrong with people.
• I think I'm starting to favor 2v2 matches which ups the tension just enough and gives more opportunities to make some great saves and shots without feeling too crowded.
• The only bad thing about the game is that there is no punishment for quitting a match which happens far to often. The game will sub an AI character automatically so there is no stop in play but there should be some punishment for quitting after a score. It should be something like you can't start another match for 5 minutes but the game is using dedicated servers which would probably be hard to code.
• Another small gripe, again with people not the game, is that after the match there is a 60 second countdown where you ca n ready up to play again if everyone clicks ready it will instantly start the game, but for some reason there are a ton of jerks out there that will let the counter run down to around 5 seconds before hitting the button. I know they are jerks because almost 95% of the time they are on the team that lost.

Resident Evil 6​​

• I am playing one other game and that is RE6 co-op with Angel. ​
• I tried playing solo when it came out but never got very far. The game is much better when playing co-op which make sense since it was developed with that in mind.
• ​The game is interesting as you play 4 different episodes each with there own 2 characters. ​Each episode has 4 chapters and you will meet the other characters along the way. We are only playing the first 2 chapters of each episode which makes the game feel a bit like a soap opera, it's nice to see how all the stories are interacting with one another.
• ​The game is more of a 3rd person shooter than the classic survival horror of the first 3 games. As always there are some cool monsters to fight and some of the boss monsters are huge. The game is pretty tough as well I think in one chapter one of us died 7 times, notice I didn't mention names.
• ​Knights of the old Republic 2​ or KOTOR 2
• It has been 10 years since the release and it just got updated on steam with widescreen, controller, and steam workshop support. Now you can easily add the mod that enabled all of the content left out of the original game.
• Disney is doing the Star Wars properties right so far and hopefully they will release a new or updated version of Tie Fighter or X-wing. We can only hope.

New Releases​ - Not many to choose from this week except for the PS4. Journey is out on the PS4 and if you never played it on the PS3 you should rectify that soon. Also if you love pigeons you should check out ​Hatoful Boyfriend​. ​

 

PC

 

Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers

The Talos Principle: Road To Gehenna

Tembo the Badass Elephant

Yasai Ninja

 

PS4

 

F1 2015

Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers

Hatoful Boyfriend

Journey

Nutjitsu

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos

Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds Overdrive

Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror

Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut

Tembo the Badass Elephant

Wolfenstein: the Old Blood - retail

Yasai Ninja

Zombie Army Trilogy - retail

 

XB1

 

F1 2015

Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers

Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut

Tembo the Badass Elephant

Wolfenstein: the Old Blood - retail

Zombie Army Trilogy - retail

 

WiiU

 

Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria

The Quiet Collection

 

PS3

 

Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers

Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut

 

360

 

Game of Thrones Episode 5: A Nest of Vipers

 

3DS

 

Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria

3D Streets of Rage 2

 

Vita

Hatoful Boyfriend

Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror

Squares

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Rocket League, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

Rocket League

• If you have PS Plus then download this game now for free.  If you don't or have an Xbone/PC then buy and download this game now.
• The game is soccer with RC cars and it's a blast.  I've spent about 5 hours with the game the past 2 nights and it's only getting better.
• The controls are pretty basic: gas, reverse, slide, jump, double jump, and boost which you acquire and store by running over boost spots around the course. 
• The game reminds me a bit of NFL Blitz which was just fast paced visceral action arcade game. 
• Each game is only 5 minutes long so it's easy to jump in for a couple of rounds when you have some time to kill. 
• The game has a full single player mode but the multiplayer is where it's at.
• The matches are 1v1 up to 4v4 which gets pretty chaotic.  I've mostly played 3v3 which has the best balance. 
• At the start and after every goal the cars are placed randomly on the field and a countdown begins with the ball in the middle.  You start revving your engines and map out the best route to the ball with the most boost pads along the way and then launch yourself as the timer reaches 0. You and a couple of teammates will usually meet one or 2 of your opponents at the ball and then you all hit it at the same time and then who knows what will happen.  It's kind of like playing pool with about 4 people trying to break. 
• When a goal is scored it creates a blast explosion so that any cars around the goal will be blown back which is awesome and then the instant replay starts which hardly anyone skips.  The presentation is really nice. 
• There are a variety of cars which you can customize, I think there were 500 million different variants, but you do have to level up and earn them. 
•  I liked the game so much that I bought it on Steam even though I got the PS4 version free because I wanted to support the developers.

​Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (PS4)​

• ​I have mixed emotions about this game. At first I thought the game was pretty good but after playing again last night...
• ​They had 2 years to work on the game so I'm not sure why it lacks so much content from the previous versions. ​
• There are only 8 real courses with 4 fantasy courses, they say the game is a platform and they will be releasing courses throughout the year and next which is fine depending on how much they cost.
• Gameface is gone and the player builder is really weak.  I think there is only one face you can modify.
• ​The full course is rendered in the game which means you are now able to hit into another holes fairway like in real life. The best benefit is that there ​are no load times between holes​ which is awesome. ​
• I'm playing on the Tour difficulty mode so you can't zoom into the location of where your ball will land so instead you hit a button which shows an overhead map of the hole.  There are various distance markers around the course like the pin placement or bunker positions so you do have to think about where you want to aim and I really like that feature as it feels more realistic. 
• ​There are 3 swing types that you can choose from.  Standard and Tour analog stick swings, and the 3​-Click method. 
• ​I've never felt that the EA golf games had a great analog stick feel to them.  Links 2004 was perfect.
• ​The driving feels okay but chipping and putting feels off.  ​I think the issue is that you can set the distance of your club using the cursor and then just do a full swing and it will go that set distance so you don't have to gauge how far back you need to swing to get the correct amount of power.  I think there is a button that will reset this but you have to hit that before every swing and there is no option to change that so its cumbersome and doesn't make sense.  If you don't reset then chipping is very easy. 
• Putting is a bit different this year.  You still set your putting distance by moving a cursor but there isn't a traditional power meter.  I think they are trying to make putting more tempo based so it does take some time to get used to. 
• I really don't like setting distances by moving a cursor I want it to be tied to the analog stick movement. 
• ​I did try the 3-Click method for a couple of holes and I did like it, I just wish the analog method felt better.  ​
• ​There is a career mode which is a bit strange.  You play tournaments but don't play every hole.  You may play 3-4 holes on the first round then based on how you do it will simulate the rest.  The second round is about the same and the 3rd and 4th you play more.  I guess this it to prevent burnout but you never feel vested in any tournament.  ​
• ​Also the worst you can score on any hole is double the par even in multiplayer which ​is a bit strange that's not a changeable option.
• ​After writing all of this up I really can't find much to say good about the game.  I kind of want to get my Xbox out and play some Links 2004, that's an 11 year old game that I feel is still better. ​What is wrong with EA?

Batman Arkham Knight, Home Theater, Move Reviews

Batman Arkham Knight

• I caved and bought the PS4 version. After GCU and reward points it was $14 so not too bad.
• The game runs smoothly and looks better than the PC version, wow really stinks to say that.  
• The biggest complaint about the game is the inclusion of the batmobile, so far I've enjoyed using it although it is hard to control until you get used to it.  I was crashing all over town and doing more damage than the bad guys. 
• The story has been real interesting and they did an awesome thing with a character that you thought was dead that brought a smile to my face when it happened. 
• In the past games you were overwhelmed with Riddler trophies scattered throughout the city, but so far I"ve only come across 3 of them in the world, I think I'm still in the tutorial levels. 
• The combat seems a bit slower and more deliberate than in Origins, it feels like you have more time to counter attacks and I'm on the hardest difficulty.  
• As for the PC version they stopped selling it digitally which is a good thing.  They released a patch that supposedly fixed the missing textures and AO effects but it still doesn't look as good as the PS4 and the big patch that fixes stuttering doesn't have a release date.

 

Home Theater Update

• A month ago I sat on my couch to hear how different my setup sounded from where I usually sit and I was very disappointed. The sound was awful, I didn't feel enveloped in the sound and the bass was severely lacking.
• I always wanted a second sub and this confirmed that I needed one.  So I ordered the exact same model and now needed to find the best placement of both subs, which was not in the locations that I had ran wires.
• I had to get out my special microphone and run the REW software. The software measures the loudness of the different frequencies of your speakers so you can see where you have peaks and lulls.   I first tried placing the subs where I had ran my wires and when I measured each sub individually the charts looked good but as soon as I tried both of them together there was a huge 30db lull at the 50hz range so they were cancelling one another out.
• After 4 hours I finally found the best spot which was in the middle of the room along the wall on opposite sides. The bass sounds awesome now and the sound is bit smoother at the couch than where I usually sit.
• I can really tell a difference now with the two subs, listening to music is a joy as the sound stage and the bass are mixed perfectly together.
• I also went ahead and got a new receiver, Denon 4520CI, since my old one was hit by lightening.  This one is their last generation flagship model which I got a great deal on. 
• With this receiver I can run a full 9.2 setup so I went ahead and hooked up my 2 front height speakers. I'm using some older speakers until the ones that I want go on sale so I'm not sure that I'm getting the full benefit from these extra speakers. I hope to spend some more time testing them this weekend. 
• If any of you have a sound system that you want me to help tune just let me know and I'll bring over my mic and laptop. Speaker placement can make a huge difference in the sound of your room.

Movie Reviews

Unbroken - A great movie about an amazing human being. 

The Wedding Ringer - I was really surprised by this movie.  It was actually funny and not too vulgar.

The Judge - Maybe a bit slow but I enjoyed the movie and thought the acting was really good. 

Seventh Son - Had some decent special effects and Jeff Bridges was great.

WIld Card - Another Jason Statham movie that was just ok. 

The Kingsmen - Decent movie with some cool action sequences but not as good as the previews.

Birdman -  Strange, strange movie that I really didn't enjoy. 

Focus - Ehh. Predictable and skippable, at least there was a pretty girl to stare at the whole movie.

Last Knights - Not worth your time.

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New Releases - A couple of cool games coming out this week.  Card Hunter on Steam, God of War 3 Remaster on PS4 (I really liked that game so I'm debating picking that one up.  EA Golf is back with Rory on the cover and it only includes 8 real courses and 4 fantasy so not many to choose from compared to the last game. 

Guild of Dungeoneering is my pick of the week, it's a rogue like where you build your own dungeon and enemy placement using cards that you collect. 

PC

No Time To Explain Remastered (download)

Card Hunter (download - free-to-play)

Guild of Dungeoneering (download - $15)

Fighties (download)

Drift 84 (download)

AR-K: The Great Escape (download)

Anti-Opoly (download)

SEEP Universe (download)

Axis Football 2015 (download)

DGU (download)

A Mass of Dead (download)

AntharioN (download)

Odallus: The Dark Call (download)

Luckslinger (download)

Legions of Steel (download)

Biodrone Battle (download)

Niko: Through the Dream (download)

Interstellaria (download)

Cast of the Seven Godsends (download - $7)

Aberoth (download - free-to-play)

PlayStation 4

EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

Godzilla

God of War III Remastered

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (download)

The Fall (download)

Xbox One

EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

No Time to Explain (download)

The Fall (download)

PlayStation 3

Godzilla (download)

Monster Jam Battlegrounds (download)