Titan Fall 2, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Rock Band Rivals, Dishonored

Titan Fall 2

• Good
• Single Player Campaign is really fun although a bit short.  There are some cool ideas in the campaign but they only show up for one level then onto something else.
• The movement and shooting feels great in and out of the Titan.  The game sometimes feels like a platformer when you play as a pilot.
• More weapons and upgrades in the multiplayer so it "should" keep players playing longer.
• Bad
• Released along side Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare so sales are not that great.  
• Since it didn't sell well the game made fade quickly which is a shame.  

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

• Good
• A campaign where I can actually follow the story.
• The space vehicle combat is actually pretty good, it's basic but feels good.
• Releases with Call of Duty 4 Remastered.
• Bad
• After playing Titanfall 2 the movement speed just feels slow.
• Multiplayer feels like Black ops 3.
• Call of Duty 4 Remastered
• All Ghillied Up in true HD.
• Multiplayer is simplified which feels nice after so many iterations added so much clutter. 

Rock Band 3: Rivals

• They finally released the legacy adapter so that I could connect my drums to the Xbox one. 
• Added a cool rockumentary campaign mode that is pretty funny. 
• Now you can setup bands so that you can compete against others asynchronously, the online real time modes are coming later this year.  
• Found a way to batch download all my older DLC which saved me hours of work, over 1000 songs.  

Dishonored 2

• There were some performance issues at release that have since been fixed but I've been replaying the first Dishonored.
• The first go around was all stealth now I'm a killing machine and the game does change based on how you play so I am interested to see how things play out.
• I added a mod that makes dismemberment even more gruesome so when I chop or shoot a guy body pieces are everywhere.

Notable Releases - Final Fantasy makes it's return with number 15, tempted but may wait for a price drop, same for Watchdogs 2. 

PC
Cities: Skylines Natural Disaster DLC expansion
The Crew Calling All Units
The Crew Ultimate Edition
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
Pinball FX VR (Vive, Rift)
Steep
Watch Dogs 2

Xbox One

Final Fantasy XV
Steep

PS4
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink
Final Fantasy XV
Pinball FX2 VR (PSVR)
Steep
Steins;Gate 0

3DS

Super Mario Maker

Mafia 3, Shadow Warrior 2, Battlefield One

Mafia 3

• Good
• The excellent story is presented like a TV documentary which is a fresh take on an open world game.   
• Great facial animations really bring out the virtual actors performances.  
• The atmosphere of the world really puts you in the late 1960's.  Everything feels authentic.  
• Fantastic soundtrack.
• Combat feels good and the brutal take downs are awesome.  
• As with all open world games there are some physics bugs which can be pretty hilarious. 
• Tons of collectibles including Playboys so be careful whose watching when you open them.  
• Bad
• Game play can feel repetitive.  The side quests are not varied enough. Go kill a guy or steal a car and drive to location. 
• Graphics are a mixed bag.  Most of the graphics are OK just don't look up at the sky.
• The AI can be pretty bad.  I've had instances where the guys are just standing against a wall. Other times though they will flank so it's hit or miss.  
• Final Thoughts
• The story is what is really keeping me playing the game as I want to see how it progresses.
• If you like open world games then you should give this a try.  

Shadow Warrior 2

• Good
• Lo Wang is back and has some great but crude dialog.  
• Awesome melee combat and gun play that has the pace and movement of Doom.  
• Ton and tons of loot.  The game feels a bit like Diablo/Borderlands as enemies will drop gems that you can equip on over 70 weapons.  You can also combine unused gems into greater gems. 
• Each weapon looks unique with their own animations.  You carry 8 at a time and it's fun to try different combinations.
• Each area is huge with a ton of secrets to find.  There is also some randomization in the levels so you will see different things if you revisit an area. 
• 4 player co-op through the whole 12 hour campaign. 
• No DRM so no issues playing at launch.  
• Bad
• The first game was a linear shooter with a great and funny story.  This game is more open world with a quest system so you have a main hub which has shops and NPCs that give you missions and you teleport to different areas to complete them.  It doesn't have the same feeling as the first game. 
• Could use a bit more enemy variety and a couple of more areas to explore.
• Final Thoughts
• The game is good for what it is I just wanted a true sequel to the first game. 

Battlefield One

• Good
• Haven't had any issues playing even at the midnight pre-launch.
• I really like the WWI setting as it does give a break from all the modern warfare games from the past couple of years.
• The weapons and systems are pretty simple but are still tons of fun.  
• The war tapes audio is back with some great sound effects.  
• They removed the browser interface.  You now launch the game like normal.  
• Yelled "Jump out!" while flying an airplane with Chad as the gunner 2 seconds before crashing into a mountain. We both died.
• Bad
• It's still Battlefield so you will die, respawn, run to your target, then get killed by a sniper. Repeat.
• When you die you have to hit space to respawn, not sure why it just doesn't take you to the menu automatically.
• No hardcore servers yet so it seems my enemies are bullet sponges while I die in 1 shot. 
• Final Thoughts
• If you like Battlefield then no reason to not get the game at release as there are no real issues at this time, but that could change when the game fully releases Thursday. 

Forza Horizon 3, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Bioshock Remaster

Forza Horizon 3

• An Xbox Anywhere title, buy digitally from the Xbox/Windows store and you can play on Xbox one and PC and you saves carry over.  The Xbox one version runs perfectly but the PC version has some issues.  
• The game has some really bad stuttering so I can't run the game at more than 30 fps, if I try 60 it will randomly dip to 48 or lower which is bothersome.   Luckily at 30fps the game does feel fine so it's not that big of an issue.
• My wheel wasn't fully supported until a few days ago, which was fixed in a Windows update, but the FFB is pretty weak.  I do have the Xbox One hub for my wheel so I can play connecting that way and it feels great I just can't rebind the buttons which I really need to do.  I downloaded Forza Apex and the FFB on that feels great so there is an issue with the implementation on FH.
• Even with those issues the game is amazing, the world they have created is really fun to drive in and the amount of cars is astounding.
• The game looks incredible, from the details in the cars to the rain effects everything about the graphics is amazing, the sky is the best sky I've ever seen in a game.
• Another A+ is the sound design. The game has some great radio stations but I've turned them off for now just so I can hear the car engines.  Shifting through gears is an audible sensation.  I enjoy each new car that I unlock.  
• There is a ton of content in the game, I've put in 8 hours and have only uncovered about a 1/4th of the map.   
• I think the game does have some rubber banding AI but in this type of game it's expected as they want to make each race exciting. I haven't found it aggravating, you don't have to come in 1st in order to progress which is nice.
• I like the rivals racing as you compete against your friends in basically time trials. Their times can be pretty difficult to beat especially since I am playing at an increased difficulty.  All the assists are off, simulation steering, and manual with clutch so there is a lot going on during a race.   
• You can play through the whole campaign in co-op which would be a ton of fun but so far none of my friends are playing.
• If you like car games then you should definitely pick this up.   

Deus Ex Mankind Divided
​​

• Finished the main campaign at around 28 hours.
• Apparently I missed one of the best side missions in the game so I may go back to an earlier save and try to play that.
• One of the great things about this game is the amount of ways to approach each situation.
• If you need to get into a room you could hack the door when no one is looking, find a guard that has a key card and take him out silently and grab the card, or move a heavy object that is blocking a vent that enters into the room.
• The game lets you spec your character so that you could use any number of these methods and I actually wish I had limited myself to only one.  
• The environment they provide for you to explore may not have the largest map size, but it's very detailed and has a ton of intricacies.  If I made myself only use vents to enter rooms then I would have to explore the world in different ways in order to find where they are hidden, which would make the role playing more immersive. 
• I did play through using non-lethal attacks so I didn't get to mess around with many of the cool perks and weapons the game provides so I may play through again to see how that holds up.
• I do recommend the game, it is the 2nd game in a trilogy so there are a ton of questions left unanswered.  I would suggest you play the first game before going in although they do have a video that sums up the previous game but both games are worth playing.  

Bioshock Remastered

• Really excited to play through the series again but a ton of issues with the PC version have kept me away.
• I owned all 3 games so I did get the update free but I'm still shocked at how poor the remaster was done.
• To enable 5.1 surround sound you have to edit an .ini file which is crazy as the original game had a menu option for that.
• The game has objects that disappear when I get close to them and some of the textures are flashing.  
• They are supposed to be releasing some fixes for the PC version soon. 
• I hear the console versions are better but they are missing some graphical elements that the older game had, but if you've never played you most likely won't care.  
• They did include some cool commentary about the making of the game which I want to see so hopelfully they can get the issues fixed.  
• I really like the Bioshock series and wish they did a better job at restoring the first 2 games. 

Benq XR3501, Doom, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

Benq XR3501

• As if I didn't have enough monitors I went and bought a new one, this time it's curved.  Does it really make a difference? 
• So first the specs
• Massive 35 inch ultra widescreen.  
• 2000R curve radius the most curved monitor made.
• 144hz Refresh Rate
• AMVA screen  
• 2560x1080 Resolution

• The two main reasons for purchasing the new monitor were the curvature ratio and the 144hz. 
• I wasn't sure what to expect from a curved monitor as it seemed to be a gimmick but after playing for awhile I really think it adds a great deal to the experience.  
• I don't think I'd say the same thing about a curved TV since you are sitting pretty far away from those but on a monitor where you are sitting really close where the whole screen is in your peripheral vision I feel more immersed in the games.
• The amount of curve the monitor has makes it feel like I have a triple monitor setup.  I have seen a video with these in triple screen an it's amazing.  
• The other reason is the 144hz which means that I can run games up to 144 fps which is really a game changer.  
• Sure my eyes really can't see the difference between 144fps and 60fps but somehow I can feel the difference.  Just moving the mouse cursor around the windows desktop feels so smooth and responsive it really is impressive.  
• Playing FPS and racing games at 144fps or even 100fps feels amazing and like whole new experiences. 
• The only "downside" to the monitor is that it is a 1080P screen and not 2 or 4K.  This comment is the most prevalent I've seen on forums but I don't think any of those have actually seen the monitor in person. 
• I don't find the resolution bad at all, I do have a 2k monitor and it does present a very sharp picture but I find I like the fps smoothness more than the resolution.
• If the monitor were 2K then I would have trouble getting it to run at the higher frame rates so I think they made the right decision for the current graphic cards.  
• The monitor also doesn't have G-sync but so far I haven't seen any screen tearing when running over 100fps so to me it's not necessary. 
• Overall I am really impressed with this monitor and have no reservations about recommending this monitor to friends. Now I just need a 144hz projector.  

Doom

• I finally finished the game late last week and played the last 3 levels on the new monitor and I am going to have to go back and replay it again.  Not only because of the new monitor but because the game is just so good.  
• This game is already fast but at 144hz it's silky smooth and just amazing.  One of the best experiences I've had gaming this year.
• The game held up all the way through and I can't wait for the sequel.  

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

• Since I got the new monitor I've been going back and playing some FPS games that I've never finished.  
• For some reason this game never felt right using a controller, I always had a hard time aiming at enemies.
• The game is limited to 60fps however so I didn't get the smoothness I wanted but it worked so much better with a keyboard and mouse.  
• This game was broken into two different acts with the first focused on stealth and the latter focused on destruction and zombies.
• The stealth was implemented pretty well. but it did wear on me after awhile so I'm glad the second section had more fighting.  
• The game was pretty good but I thought the New Order was much better.

\

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Madden 17, No Man's Sky

​Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

• If you enjoyed the last Deus Ex game then you should be satisfied with this game as it feels quite a bit like the last game but with some refinements. 
• I played a bit of the last game a week before the release and the biggest improvement I noticed right away was the movement in and out of cover.  In the past game it felt a bit clunky but now it's smooth and I'm not making any accidental moves that take me out of cover.
• The graphics are more colorful as they moved away from all the gold and black theme which I kind of miss. 
• There are a few new augments to use that seem like the developers played some Dishonored.  Blink.  
• Everything else feels about the same.  You can either go in stealthy or guns blazing and they give you the tools to do both rather well. The hacking mini-game hasn't changed which is a shame I wish they could have made that a bit more technical.  
• I've put about 9 hours in and only played about 6 main missions.  The town is fully explore-able and the side missions are interesting so there is a lot of game there. 

Madden 17

• Another year another Madden and another year thinking this might be the time the game is good.  ​
• My biggest gripe of the past games has been atrocious blocking and they appear to have it fixed.  Sometimes there are blown assignments which is expected but overall the blocking seems great and the blockers will actually block the defenders.
• The better blocking also increases the effectiveness of the running game making it a valid play style for some teams.  The AI can also mount a decent run game with some impressive numbers which usually never happened before. 
• Playing defense also feels better as I can see the hole opening and then rush in to stop the runner or play safety and stop a long pass play.  They also fixed the sack issue from last year where you could get 7 or 8 sacks a game. 
• The presentation is also vastly improved.  The overlays look great and the new announcers actually sound enthused as they are reading their lines.  They are also updating the commentary weekly so you will hear new things each week of the season which is a nice touch.  Although I really don't want to hear them say Romo is out for 10 weeks when I fire up the game.   
• They still need to work on the halftime and end game shows as they are very plain and only show your game.  I really liked how NFL2k5 would give updates on all the games that week in the halftime show as it really helped immerse you in a season.  
• There are still things they can improve on but finally Madden feels like it finally made the upgrade to the new generation too bad it took them 3 years.  

No Man's Sky

• I actually did play a bit more last week that brought my total play time to about 18 hours which was a little unexpected.  
• The game can have a nice chill factor to it as you explore, which can be a bit calming after a hurried day.
• I hope they can add more substance to the game in the future that will bring me back in as the game does have potential.  

No Man's SKy, Madden 17 Deal

No Man's Sky (PC)

The much hyped and long awaited game finally released last week.  Is it worth your $60?

• This is a tough question for me to answer.
• Initially I thought the game was amazing but after 8 hours my interest is starting to fade, but there is still a part of me that wants to keep playing.  
• The game boasts a huge procedural generated world with a quadrillion or more unique planets to explore which is an impressive technological feat.
• Even though each planet is "unique" so far they have all felt the same. The atmosphere, plants, and animals are all different looking, but since they are generated they all pull from a repository and that repository isn't as varied as it needs to be.  
• As an example the creatures look like they came out of the game Spore.  In Spore you could create some cool characters but after awhile the novelty wore off as you would see the base parts just moved around in different positions.  

• So what do you actually do in the game?  That is the most asked questions and the answer is relatively simple.  
• You mine for resources to build parts so that you can go to the next planet and repeat.  It's basically a resource management sim. 
• For many hours I was fine with this loop, but after awhile it hit me that I'm not sure I enjoy it anymore.
• The tasks that I'm performing on each planet are not varied, I've done the same thing on the 20th planet that I did on the first one maybe just a bit faster since I have better items.  
• There are NPC's on each planet but they are basically vendors that will sell or give you items.  They do speak in a language that you don't understand at first, but you can learn their language one word at a time by finding pillars.  
• There are no quests to undertake other than upgrading your items, you won't be asked to go kill 10 animals or anything like that. 
• You have a limited amount of inventory slots in the beginning so I spent a major chunk of time mining gold so that I could buy a new spaceship with 5 more slots. 
• You can name any planet, animal, or plant which is uploaded to a database so anytime another player explores your planet they will see the name which is awesome.  The problem is there are so many to name that you will quit naming them after an hour.  

• I did mention that there was a part of me that want's to keep playing and since I've only played 8 hours there is always a nagging feeling that the next solar system will be amazing and could totally change my viewpoint. 
• So I'm not sure if I'm going to keep playing or not.  I may wait and see if they are planning to add any extra content to the game, but with Deus Ex and Madden releasing next week my playtime will be limited to the rest of this week if any.  
• So is the game worth $60?  I've read many user posts and they are all varied, some have the same views as mine and others can't get enough of the game.  If you like to create your own fun and want to explore and don't mind repetitive tasks then this game could keep you busy forever. 

Madden 17 Deal

• You can trade in your 2016 copy of Madden at Best Buy and get $15 for the game and a $10 coupon towards the purchase of Madden 17.
• If you are a Game Club member that means you can get the game for around $25.

Headphone Extravaganza, Witcher 3, Diablo 3

Witcher 3 (Steam)

• I finally beat the main campaign after 145 hours so now off to play the DLC which is another 30-40. 

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls(Xbone)

• Been playing this on the Xbox one with Angel and Mitch and having a great time.
• The game is still a blast to play and they are still adding more and more to this game with a new patch hitting very soon.
• Yes I bought a copy for each platform, it's just that good.  

Headphones

I've been trying to find the perfect headphone for work and I've tried quite a few of them and I think I've finally found the one for me.  At first I was looking at headphones that included a mic so that I could also take work calls along with listening to music.  The only issue was that most of those headsets weren't that great at playing music.  I tried headphones with the inline mic in the cord but could never get them to work with my laptop.  I finally tried the ModMic which is a separate mic that you can attach to any headset using magnets, and it's the perfect solution. A mic that is easily removable and has great sound.  Highly Recommended. 

Below is a list of headphones that I tried and a mini review of each.  All but the gaming headphones were tested using a usb DAC/AMP, the Mayflower 02 which is a great neutral amp that works without drivers on any windows PC.  

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H6 Second Generation

• After a couple of years looking I finally found the best headphone for work along with the ModMic.
• The design looks really nice and the ear pads are comfortable out of the box.
• The sound is amazing and the bass is tuned perfectly.  
• These are the best closed back headphones that I've ever tried.  
• Each little detail of the music is brought out making listening through my music collection a new experience.  
• I'm not a hardcore Audiophile but once you hear music with these on you will do a double take as you hear parts of songs that you've never heard before and it's an amazing experience.  
• The included cord which has an inline mic with phone controls is not that great of quaility so I did upgrade the cord for about $4. 

​​

AKG 712 Pro

• These are open-backed headphones so they leak out sound if you crank them up so not useful in an office setting.  
• They are extremely comfortable with huge memory foam ear pads.  
• They do require an amp to get the full sound experience, the bass is not as pronounced just using an iPhone.  
• These are my preferred headphones while at home when I can really crank them. 

Bose QuietComfort 25

• The best noise cancelling headphones, I can mow with these things on and not have to blast the music to extreme levels.
• Requires a AAA battery to power the noise cancellation and the battery life is around 30 hours.  It won't auto turn off if you stop playing music so if you forget to turn off the noise cancellation the battery will run out.  
• They are very very comfortable and fit well around my ears so that I can barely tell that they are on.
• The sound is great when you have the noise cancellation engaged but as soon as you turn it off the sound is very diminished and loses it's punch so you constantly need to have it on.  Which was an issue for me.  
• The noise cancellation causes pressure on my ears so after awhile it becomes bothersome.  
• If you travel a lot or work in a noisy office then you should invest in these but do be aware you will have people walk up on you without noticing and may give you a bit of a startle.  

Turtle Beach 240X

• Wireless Xbox and PC headphones with a mic.
• I use these at home when playing mutil-player games.
• The sound is pretty good and the mic works very well.
• The default ear pads are uncomfortable so I did buy some larger pads and it helped quite a bit so I can wear them for about 4-5 hours without discomfort.  

Audio Technica - M50X

• These are highly recommended as the starting Audiophile headphones and they don't disappoint.  
• The sound is amazing and packs quite a bit of bass punch  
• The only drawback for me was that they are not very comfortable.  The stock pads did not go fully over my ears even though they are supposed to.  I did buy some larger ear pads but they took away quite a bit of the bass and they didn't quite sound the same so I took them off.

Harman Kardon 

• Bluetooth headphones that can also  be used wired as well.   
• The ear pads are rectangle shaped and really don't fit my ears very well so it would get uncomfortable after 30 minutes.  
• The outer material of the cans are made out of metal so anytime my cord would brush against it I could hear it even while playing music.
• The sound was very good though and there wasn't much of a loss when wireless.  

VModa 100

• Really cool looking headphones and built extremely well. 
• These are "bass head" headphones and you really do feel your music while listening to them.  
• Most of the music I listen to is Rock Guitar Instrumentals and some classical pieces so the bass was a bit too much for my tastes.
• They were also not that comfortable,you can buy some larger pads made directly by the company for $20 but I thought at the price they should both be included or at least be able to pick which version you want. 

Sony Pulse Elite Headphones 

• Works with PS4 and PC wireless with a dongle. 
• The mic is inside the headphone, but it still works great.
• The default ear pads are again uncomfortable.  
• When using on PS4 some games have special settings that you download to the headphones which is a cool idea and they do make the sound much different.