Summer Game Drought

Ah the great game drought every year we gamers experience this great tragedy. Where there are no new games released and as such no new games to review. Though I do apologize I probably could've written about something during this time. I do still plan on reviewing here and there I just need material to write about. Not much of interest out of any game conventions lately.

Oh Summer Game drought
Why do you fall upon us
We really need fall

The only thing new in the last few months I've played of note is the new CoD: Ghosts DLC which is actually filled with a few good maps just unfortunately placed into a really bad game. So while I can't say the DLC is bad the game its for is bad. I'm just waiting for Minecraft Xbox one Edition to hold me over until Smash bros 3DS. So hopefully I'll review the new version of Minecraft soon. Anyway that's just my small update to let anyone reading know this blog isn't dead.

Haiku Update

Sleep is for the weak

I will write Haiku instead

Or not, I don't know

Maybe not Haiku

but just really short poems

Naw that's really lame

I should make top ten

But i'm out of ideas

but what can I do?

Still thinking about

Writing a new short story

Scraping out ideas

Trying to avoid

copying other stories

surprisingly hard

Have less time to write

and less time for brainstorming

makes updating hard

Also less games out

Nothing to review right now

Maybe one or two

Might do Post E3

If the hype is real enough

Hope the leaks are true

Just had an idea

Might still make the top ten list

I thought of something

I'll combine ideas

And make a pre-E3 list

About my top hopes

I think that does it

I will write that some time soon

That is all for now

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Released: March 18,2014 /// Consoles: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4

Story: MGS:V's story picks up after the events of MGS: Peace Walker. After they received word that Paz, who betrayed Big Boss at the end of Peace Walker was still alive Chico went to go and attempt to retrieve her only to e captured and face torture himself. Using both Chico and Paz as bait Skullface summons Big Boss to camp omega.

Gameplay: MGS:V's gameplay is similar to previous games specifically Peace walker but vastly improved. Theres stilll a heavy emphasis on stealth and Non-lethal tactics.

Graphics: The game looks fantastic the attention to detail is one of the things that made the game really stand out. The main story mission where every thing is rain soaked is a shining example.

What they did well:

Story: Some people claim MGS' story is complicated or ridiculous but Ground Zeroes is despite its length good addition to the franchise.

Variety: The game offers a lot of variety through its assorted missions not just the games base challenges but small touches like enemies changing position mid game or Unlocking trials does add a lot of length to the game.

Soundtrack: MGS has always done a good job making its soundtrack impactful. GZ is no exception. Here's to you really stands out among the the horrible actions its set to throughout the game.

What could have been better:

Length: Even though additional missions and trial increase the games length its still a remarkably shot game. The main mission can be completed in just a few minutes.

Voice acting: I'm not saying Keifer Sutherland is bad, in fact he does a great job, but the point is, there was no reason to replace David Hayter as the voice of snake.

Overall : 7.8/10

Not every game needs to be competitive

I'm writing this to get my thoughts out on the massive loss of steam that hit this years first triple A title. I'm talking about Titanfall of course. Now as I said before about Titanfall I think its a fantastic game. That hasn't changed the core gameplay hasn't changed so its still the game I gave a 9/10. I still stand by that. Unfortunately I have to say that times have changed for the game, after a matchmaking update I could no longer bring myself to play the game and I'll explain why.

In a bid to make the game more 'competitive' a new matchmaking system was introduced bringing with it a change from the Call of duty style speed focused matchmaking to a new skill based one.

MLG ANAHEIM HERE WE COME!1!!

What does that mean?

To put simply before when you entered match making you'd be paired with other players randomly just to get into a match as fast as possible. After the update however it takes the time to find others of near equal skill according to some algorithms based on a multitude of factors.

So am I complaining about matchmaking times?

No.

My problem is , and I believe I've complained about Trueskill based matchmaking before, how the competitive ideology doesn't take in the idea that some people just want to play for fun. To be fair I've brought plenty of my issues upon myself as I do set a high bar in the trueskill department. I rarely do anything less than above average in most games I play. Now for Titanfall I suppose I truly screwed myself by having a 7.0 K/D, which to non gamers or just not shooter fans think if a 1.0 K/D is average i'm 7x better than an average player so to speak.

Now you may be thinking well if your so good why would you be upset at a more competitive approach?

Well to answer that I'd have to say I got that without trying I just played like normal against whoever I faced I rarely faced anyone in even a close caliber to myself. Now I don't mind a challenge here and there but matching a whole team of people of equal skill to face me? That I take issue with. Especially as a solo player I rarely have the teamwork required to overcome such odds. So a system where I can no longer rely only on myself is just not what I want.

That's what finally lead to my decision to sell the game. I didn't want to, but by switching to a more competitive style of gameplay they essentially sucked all of the fun out of the game. Normally this is about where I'd mention this is just my opinion, but as the hype and online community has massively dwindled already it would seem i'm not the only one who feels this way. Titanfall fell into a trap because Respawn seemingly never heard the saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

I suppose I should be used to it though as this isn't the first time this has happened. though the last time it wasn't even supposed to be a competitive setting. I'm talking about Mass effect 3's multiplayer. Now again I gave it some praise before on here too. In this case it wasn't a random change the community banded together to pressure Bioware into running their initially fun Multiplayer into the ground. Bioware made changes based on community input and thanks to that most classes were Nerfed into a state of near uselessness. The enemies on the other hand were buffed to near invincibility. Its one thing to make harder difficulties for those who wanted them but forcing them on everyone as a whole is what inevitably chased most people away.

At least I didn't mention the ending.........shit

Both of these games attempted to up the competitive ante and fell apart needlessly. Both were great on launch an just fell apart over time thanks to unnecessary changes to appeal more to certain crowds. Not every game needs to make it to MLG tournaments or push difficulty to ridiculous levels to be good. Sometimes its best to just leave the game to be fun rather than challenging.

One games gameplay meets another's universe

I'm trying to mix things up so not a list or a review just some cool ideas. I think every one has had a what if these crossed over idea whether it be Movies, Television shows, or in my case video games. I've thought up 5 what if  crossover scenarios that I believe could be completely plausible. Of course we'll likely never see any of them actually made because things aren't that simple. Still without further ado my five crossover ideas.

Halo / Dead Space

Now in Halo your generally filling the shoes of super solider Master Chief, who can stop entire armies essentially single handedly. In Halo ODST we were brought down into the shoes of an ODST who are Halo's equivalent to Seal team 6. We've always seen the UNSC grunts we know they're there but have you ever thought about how awful the entire series of conflict must be to the regular soldiers? They don't get advanced armors, weapons, or gear like the Spartans or ODST. They are also vulnerable to Halos Parasite race the Flood. The flood are scary enough behind Armor imagine if they had the upper hand? Like the necromorphs do in Dead space. Imagine walking through a building and if even a spore flood gets the drop on you your dead?

Here to set the mood

So that's the premise for my first idea. The Game would take place between Halo 2 and 3. Your a marine sent to assist a Colony against an attack presumably the Covenant. When your ship arrives the Covenant are quickly retreating, which is highly unusual. Chasing them isn't your priority though, its checking the colony for any survivors. Your team is dispatched to the surface where you quickly find out why the covenant were retreating. After confirming flood presence your team is quickly picked off. Your Evac isn't possible so you are left to fight their way through the dead colony to a new evac zone.

The second course of the game or sequel would have your ship emerge from slipspace only to find itself on a collision course with High Charity the covenants former home, now fully taken over by the Flood and hurtling through space towards earth. Your only option is to try and find an escape route off the ship before you die.

Fallout / LA Noire

Fallout is an open world game where you traverse the remnants of a post apocalyptic alternate reality America. In Fallout's world technology greatly surpassed our own but culture was stuck at the 1920-1930's level. The only time we get to see or here about Pre-nuked america in Fallout is through occasional flashbacks or in written/recorded logs scattered though out the game. Where you can find out some details like how the tensions were rising before the attack and some minor details like recent technology. Of course we get to see many things left over from before like car designs and robots but we never got to see things at their prime. we've never seen a living version of Fallout's world.

That is until we get an open world L.A. Noire style game set in D.C. before it was known as the capitol wasteland. Cars and people still moving along, going about there days not knowing their end was approaching. You'd play a federal agent tracking possible chinese militants hoping to stop whatever they are planning, of course like Halo Reach, from the beginning you know the end. But you'd get to explore the entirety of the Fallout 3 map before it was reduced to ruins. You'd get to hear the anti-communist propaganda, the liberation of Anchorage, the rise of Vault-tec, Nuka cola, and other corporations before the bombs fell and stopped time in the fallout universe.

Fable / Dark souls

So if your like me you though Fable 3 was awful and did way too much to hold your hand. You felt the game was lacking any real challenge. Even Fable 2 was incredibly easy but at least that had a decent story and world. Now what happens when you match a colorful and often humorous world with a gruelingly hard combat system and much more in depth equipment system?

so maybe fable wasn't always sunshine and rainbows

I'd imagine something pretty awesome. Both games would finish each other getting rid of Fables ridiculously low difficulty level and Dark soul's ridiculously drab setting. The game would predate Fable one at the founding of the Hero's guild. Albion is in chaos there is hardly a place that could be considered safe with nothing to cut them back Albion's traditional enemies are much stronger and more vicious. Using an artifact that would later be destroyed and forgotten, The hero's must sacrifice something precious to obtain pseudo immortality. However if they are slain in battle they will return much weaker and their obtained exp will be lost. The goal of the game is to tame the land and establish the Hero's guild.

Mass Effect / Battlefield

This is the only one i'm writing about with multiplayer in the forefront of my idea. I was originally going to say Call of duty instead of Battlefield but I think Battlefield's class system would work out much better. Not to mention the vehicular combat could be interesting as we've only seen a few of Mass effect vehicles. The teams would be N7 Vs. Cerberus else of course players would be limited to humanoid size characters for balance reasons. The game would be in Mass Effects universe but using Battlefields engine to allow destructible environments.  The maps and weapons would be based around those from the Trilogy.
The Biotic/Tech powers would be the biggest difference maker to conventional gameplay though. Many might have to not make it for balance reasons. Imagine using Tech armor to gain a slight advantage in combat or closing the distance with a biotic charge?

Is this picture from Mass Effect or Battlefield?

I don't know about story mode though, I honestly don't see when this could fit in. Possibly between ME 2/3?
It could focus on a campaign to stop the Illusive man and Cerberus' plans. It could be interesting to see a more combat focus take on the Mass effect universe. even still its actually the most plausible idea on this list considering both series are EA.

Gears of war / Last of Us 

Speaking of plausible it needs to get thrown out the window for this idea. So through out Gears we play Marcus Fenix and Delta squad as they fight back the Locust invaders. Even though the Cog are already at the losing end of the battle when we're introduced they're still a trained army with years worth of combat intel. But what about those civilians and non Cog militia types called the Stranded we see here and there?
How have they managed to survive an enemy that's crippled their entire planets military/government? Whats it like for those who abruptly have to move through a hostile landscape?

How/why did people live on this planet before the locust came anyway? This had to be an issue...

That's where this game takes place. Your a stranded who's settlement gets overrun by the locust you have to make it to another settlement or die trying. of course this wouldn't be much Last of us unless you had a companion. You have to escort the Daughter of a friend who's last wish was for you to get her to safety. Without food, weapons, and shelter you must make it across Sera's harsh landscape. Along the way you'll have to avoid locust patrols, Kryll, and avoid dangerous weather like Razor hail.

Top Ten Survival modes

10  Left 4 Dead 2 Survival Mode
Left 4 Dead and its sequel both had survival modes that ,while fun, were usually very short.
They tended to get repetitive and boring fairly quickly.
Thankfully the PC community has created mods that liven things up.

9 Battlefield Bad Company 2 Onslaught mode
Bad Company 2's Onslaught mode was Brutally Difficult.
Onslaught mode was not a mode you could just jump into and god forbid you play with randoms.
With the right team though it was incredibly fun.

8 I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1 
This is the only single player only entry in this.
Its arguably the best Indie title on the Xbox 360.
Its also the only twin stick shooter.
I almost skipped it over because it doesn't technically have a story.  

7  Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 Terrorist Hunt
Vegas 2's Terrorist Hunt mode can invoke more fear then most modern horror games.
The AI were ridiculous they could hear an ant fart across the city.
They also never missed so if they snuck up on you it was over.

6 Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer
Mass Effect 3's multiplayer was really deep.
There were many classes, weapons, color schemes, ect. to unlock.
The unlock system was random so it quickly became addicting to try and get the best stuff .
Unfortunately the developers killed the game by listening to the communities ridiculous demands.

5 Gears of war 3 Horde
Gears 2's horde mode is often credited for inspiring most modern survival modes.
Gears 3 vastly improved horde mode by adding bosses and build-able fortifications.
 Improved AI and increased weapon count added more variety to the mode.

4 Call of Duty (Ghosts) Extinction
Extinction is the surprise hit game mode, most(me included) thought it was a gimmick to copy Treyarch
We quickly learned its depth and interesting gameplay mechanics separated it from zombies.
Extinction is the only good part of CoD Ghosts in my eyes.

3 Resident Evil Mercenaries
I know I just went into this yesterday but to reiterate.
Mercenaries is a mode where you have to defeat as many enemies as possible within the time limit.
Its always fun and usually my main reason for buying the games tbh.

2 Call of Duty (Treyarch) Zombies
Zombies mode was an instant success for Treyarch
Since being introduced in WaW as a test the mode has done nothing but improve
Zombies mode is a fantastic way to procrastinate.

1. Halo 3: ODST Firefight
Ever since I played Halo I wanted a survival mode .
Halo ODST finally delivered it and it did a damn good job.
Halo Reach failed to replicate the experience by making it far to easy and not giving it proper servers.

Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D

Released: June 28, 2011 Platforms: 3DS

Story: Nope

Gameplay: The Game is a port/combination/upgrade of The mercenaries modes of both Resident Evil 4 and 5(It was released before RE 6). The Mercenaries is a wave survival game mode where the player faces many enemies and bosses from the two games for as long as they can. The game is timed and time is extended by breaking time beacons on the map. The Games last until time runs out, the player dies, or 150 enemies are defeated.

There are 3 different enemy types from the previous games. From weakest to strongest they are Civilian Majini(RE5), Military Majini(RE5), Los Iluminados(RE4). The Boss types are The Executioner (Black and Red), The Chainsaw Majini, and Garrador(Think big blind wolverine zombie).

Graphics: Really not bad for a 3DS game of course they don't hold up to resident Evil 5's original graphics but it could have been much worse

What they did well:

Gameplay: The Game handles much differently than the console version it derives from. The best way to describe it is more fluent. You can move while aiming and recovering from taking a shot is much faster.

Skills: The Skill system introduced in Mercenaries 3D adds some well needed variety into the game. It also is really cool to be able to plan classes on a character to character basis. They also give you more incentive to play to level the skills up to higher level. Level 3 skills gain and extra ability.

Map Changes: The maps were all selected from RE 4/5 and for the most part I think they did a good job in picking maps out of the games. The Maps however were cut down in size and This is actually a good thing. Some of the maps in there original form were far to large and caused issues in spawning and made getting around annoying. The Mercenaries 3D versions are clear and concise and rarely allow for and spawn issues.

Item Drops: Items drop at a much higher frequency and in a more random way then in RE 5. The preset classes means you cant just drop a weapon to stop ammo spawning for it.

What could have been better:

Characters: All of the characters are cool and serve their purpose but considering how many playable characters there were in Re 4/5 you'd think more of them would be included in a game dedicated to the game mode. With the missing characters there were also many missing outfits/weapons which is a pretty big disappointment
.
New Content: RE 4/5 Mercenaries were great and combining them was a great idea but, there wasn't anything new at all , no new character or map. It seems fairly lazy to just port old content to a handheld with no major additions.

Overall : 7.5