Video Games

My 2013 top 5 wanted games

TOP5JEZZA

 

In response to NekkedSnakes top 5 list, I thought I’d formulate my own and share the 5 games I am most looking forward to playing from here on in. Two of my picks are actually the same as Nekked’s, but, we do share similar tastes. So without anymore delay, and by order of release date, (or projected) here are my top 5 games for 2013.

A: Tomb Raider Reboot
I guess you can call this a more modern, more PC maybe, version of the classic series. Lara looking a bit more realistic, rather than the big chested, daisy duke wearing of old, and she looks more vulnerable than ever before.
Early trailers suggest that the story will be taking place well before the event’s of the previous games.
I’ve been eyeing this game since it’s announcement for a few reasons.
1. it’s being developed by Square Enix, one of my favorite developers. While they don’t always make the best games, they do know how to not make them crappy, and with a pretty well known IP, it should turn out pretty good.
2. The genre has been grabbing my attention more and more than any other genre at the moment. It was sparked by Naughty Dog‘s Uncharted series, the genre has a lot of potential, in terms of long term playability, and a complete sense of accomplishemnt when finished, and also, if done right, a very good potential in being very cinematic, and very well making you, the player a part of the game.
3. Have you seen the character models of young Lara? 😉

I have pre-ordered this game, the Limited Edition to be exact, and it arrives in stores next week, March 5th, and look forward to our usualy battery of our thoughts on the game as we play.

 

2: Sim City 5
Yes, the classic city building, wannabe mayor game is finally getting it’s 5th iteration after a 10 year hiatus. To be honest, I haven’t followed this game much, but all I know is that it looks awesome, and I cannot wait to start budgeting and city planning.
I have been in love with this city series of the Sim games since the very first one was released oh so many many moons ago. I just cannot get enough of seeing my city grow, and making my Sim’s happy as larks. i actually recently re-purchased Sim City 4 just to play it again. (it was on clearance at Target, I got it for $2.50)
Now with my newly built PC, and another shiny new game to install in it, I’m going to be as happy as my future Sim’s.
The game releases on March 5th (same day as Lara)

 

C: Army of Two: Devils Cartel
I’m really more after the co-op play on this game than anything else really. I first played AOT with my cousin from Florida, and it was fun. Well, playing with my cousin was, but the game itself left something to be desired.
Fast forward to AOT: 40th Day, and my Cheesecake is finally old enough to play this sort of game, and we had a blasty playing. Again, the game left something to be desired, but, it was playable and enjoyable enough that my cousin and I beat it a few times.
Now a new version comes out, and I am a bit saddened that it does not have the first 2 games protagonists, Alex and Rios, but 2 new characters, Alpha and Bravo. (seriously, can you get more generic than that, they shoud’ve named them Bob and Steve). I sure hope Salem and Rios make an appearance somewhere in the game.
Apparently you can alternately play as B.o.B and Big Boi if you pre-order the game. (not sure from what retailer) They collaborated on the game’s official theme song Double or Nothing.
The game releases on March 25

 

4: Last of Us
It’s a game made by Naughty Dog, makers of the hugely epic Uncharted Series, ’nuff said. They practically made the PS3 their bitch, and squeezed out every bit of performance from the Uncharted games. Now they release a new IP, and it just looks even more amazing than Uncharted 3, which I thought was not possible, but then again, this is Naughty Dog.
The game releases on May 7th

 

D: Grand Theft V

Not much to say about this game really, we all know the series, we all know Rockstar does no wrong when it comes to these games, or any of their games really.
I will say this though, the game looks impressivly amazing. I love the series, I love them so much, that my other other OG interweb handle is actually based on the game.
This series sure has come a long way, from the good old day’s of top down, Spy Hunter style perspective, to the 3-D world that was introduced in Grand Theft Auto 3, to how we see it today. This game personally makes me tingle all over thinking about it.
Projected release date is Spring of this year, but Rockstar is known for delaying, mostly so they can perfect the game.

 

The list above, as well as Nekked’s list is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. There are a few games we didn’t even list such as God Of War: Ascension, and Bio Shock Infinite, 2 games of which can easily be candidates for Game of the Year. Each year, it seems like the crop of A+ games are getting bigger and bigger, and this makes our wallet smaller and smaller.

I won’t even touch on the fact that the next gen consoles are slated to be released this holiday season, and who know’s what they will bring on the table.
And seeing as January has come and gone already, and we are on the last week of February, a few games has already been released (one of wich was on my want list, Fire Emblem: Awakening), and it does not look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.

 

 

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP Version Makes Its Way To The Vita

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MGS fan site MetalGearSolid.nl has reported that the PSP version of Peace Walker is already available in the PSN Store for the Vita. (Note: this is the PSP version, not a port of the version that comes with the MGS: HD Collection for PS3 and 360 that includes MGS2:SOL and MGS3:SE).

With such news surfacing though, one has to wonder why the game was never included with the Vita MGS:HD version in the first place. I’m sure it adds a bit of confusion, what with the Japanese HD version for consoles actually shipping PW separately from the collection, as it were. My radar always seems to point to companies always wanting more money from us consumers. Greedy SOBs.

Personally I have a physical UMD of PW for my PSP so I have absolutely no reason to pay for a premium download of the game. I also don’t own a Vita so that’s a factor. I don’t know who comes up with the models that dictate how certain games are sold or how they’re released but sometimes they don’t make any sense. At all. I believe that these pricing procedures hurt buyers and fans of gaming franchises in general. If I wanted to buy a Vita and had a desire to play MGSPW on it I wouldn’t be able to because the media isn’t compatible and being a download-only title for the Vita, I’d have to spend more money to reacquire a game I already own. Perhaps if there were a code to let places like PSN know that people physically own certain games that would help. Big companies aren’t that generous though.

As for Vita owners new to MGSPW you’re in for a treat as the game boasts 100+ hours of gameplay and a crucial addition to the MGS lore. Since this is the PSP version I wouldn’t expect much of a bump up in terms of visuals but at least you can play on the pretty screen Vita offers. Head over to PSN to grab a copy right now.

Logitech G700 gaming mouse impressions
Logitech's G700 gaming mouse

Logitech’s G700 gaming mouse

 

I almost forgot how comfortable my old Logitech MX Revolution mouse was until I got the G700 yesterday.  The bigger form factor on this mouse just fits my oh-so massive hands very nicely.  After spending some time using it on Windows, pointing and clicking, felt comfortable.  The textured thumb and pinky rests give it a very distinct feel, and the clicks, felt…clicky.  Setting up the whole thing was quite easy, as is opening the package.  Yeah, I am mentioning the fact that it didn’t take special tools to open the box up.  There are just some products out there that are a bitch to open, mainly blister packs, and there are some that are just near complicated to do so, and it feels like the manufacturer does not want you to start using their product.

But anyway, after unboxing the mouse, and plugging in nano receiver and downloading the latest software, you can start customizing the mouse in about 10 or so minutes.  I am pleasantly surprised too that the batteries it came with were Sanyo‘s Eneloops.  I use a bunch of them on my flash guns, and by far the best set of rechargeable’s I’ve used.

The software has a myriad of options, from setting what DPI it goes to when you press the DPI button, assigning one of the 18 buttons the mouse has.  It also auto detects installed games on your computer and allows you to set specific buttons to do what ever it is you need it to do.

Anyway, I finally was able to sit and play SWTOR for a little bit over an hour, and the only thing I can think of was “how come I never got this a long time ago”.  It felt very comfortable, and my hand did not suffer any fatigue as it normally does with my previous mouse (a Logitech MX510.. My previous MX Revolution had some issues with it double clicking when it’s not suppose to.)  Hitting each of the macro buttons were seamless. P

In any case, stay tuned for a further review on this, the Logitech G700, and also my gaming-centric keyboard.

 

 

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance update

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

 

After my blaring recommendation yesterday, I might have to pull it back some.  I played a bit more today, and the camera system on this game is just horrendous.  For a game with such a high pace and fast action, the camera can’t seem to keep up.  I’ve had unnecessary deaths due to the camera not being able to decide on where to place itself.  It’s probably one of the worst camera system’s I have played with so far.  It totally detracts from everything else that is so good with the game, and just ruins the whole experience.  Maybe I need to play with some settings as what NekkedSnake suggested, but at this point, I just need to put the controller down, and take a breather.

Yes I may be over reacting right now, but hopefully my tune will change tomorrow once I come to terms with taming this camera issue

 

 

Top 5 Games On My 2013 Want List

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Hey there ladies & gents. It’s already almost 3 months deep into 2013 and with each new year come a barrage of new games. Some good, some not so good, but that’s all relative. I’ve made a Top 5 of the games I feel deserve my money that I’d like to get and perhaps you will agree 100%, 50%, or 0%. Keep in mind that the clips below contain spoilery gameplay elements so if you haven’t seen them and choose not to, consider yourself warned! With that said lets begin.

Tomb Raider (reboot). A game developed by Square Enix, this reboot has our well known heroine Lara Croft before she set out on her past exploits. All of her dual gunslinging, tightrope traversing, puzzle solving have been nixed in favor of a more gritty, emotionally charged gaming experience. Her will shall be tested and her skills honed and sharpened.

Visually the third person game will take on a darker tone than TR games of years past. Being a prequel Lara will look younger and fresh faced, pretty much sticking out like a site thumb. It will take on a more Uncharted feel, crossing chasms and caverns, getting bumps, bruises and scrapes among the way. None of those glamorous, daisy dukes much of us are used to. Sigh. Tomb Raider comes out this March.

The Last Of Us. Naughty Dog is prepping to give their fans this upcoming survival horror action adventure game. Set in a post apocalyptic world, Joel (who you control) and Ellie (who assists), the game’s two protagonists fall prey to the unknown. Much like any post apocalypse the plot has our characters navigating around dangers such as pitfalls, other human survivors with a do or die mindset, and perhaps other strange unforeseen creatures.

As with Naughty Dog’s Uncharted, it’s an exploratory measure we take though not for treasure, but for survival’s sake. Procuring items is a must as you’re barely with anything other than you’re own two fists. Empty handguns, bullets for the items therein, Molotov cocktails, pipes, rocks and the like are littered yet scarce across the landscape. You not only have to survive but make sure your partner stays alive. But Ellie’s no slouch. She helps you combat potential baddies along the way. Anyway you slice it this game aims to please. Release date apparently changed from May to June. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a 2013 window haha!

Beyond: Two Souls. Quantic Dreams looks to change the gaming scene once again with their intriguing new entry. Their last outing, Heavy Rain, was a game full of eye candy and mystery thrills and sci fi chills. The story centers around a man who, without spoiling things, goes thru a struggle that tears said family apart. The race is then on to try and rationalize the events that happen thereafter and deal with the consequences that our quasi-protagonist experiences.

Beyond seems to follow HR’s same tune, being a psychological/spiritual thriller. The game deals with questions about life, death, and the main character trying to reconcile a possible possession by an unknown entity. More details are forthcoming as time rolls on. Research suggests the release date will be Q2 as of now. Looking forward to this.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Ubisoft’s new installment seems to be looking sharp and polished. Actually it’s a little too polished, which isn’t a bad thing. The only reason I bring this up is because Sam Fisher looks and sounds younger. His last outing was Conviction which had Sam on a vengeance run to get his daughter back from the clutches of The Third Echelon. He didn’t have his trademark sneaking attire but instead wore dark pants and long sleeve dark shirt. Also he just physically looked like a seasoned veteran with his scruffy face, which contradicts Sam’s current state. He embodied such tough guys as Charles Bronson and even Chuck Norris of 80’s fame but with a more stealthy appeal.

In Blacklist Sam looks considerably clean shaven and dawning a slick sneaking getup while sporting his signature 3-lens NVGs. Some complaints have been made about this as well as the voice acting. You see, Michael Ironside, the original voice actor for Sam is no longer reprising this role. There’s been a bit of backlash due to this occurrence and while I’ve never really invested any time playing any SC game other than Conviction, I can’t help but feel a little let down myself. Ironside does still have a role in the game’s production, which is creative consultant. He’s basically telling the new voice actor how to walk and talk in Sam’s shoes thru the eyes of Michael. Still, it’s not the same. That’s like having Solid/Naked Snake being voiced by someone other than David Hayter. That definitely wouldn’t fly with me, but I digress. Hell, he even looks like Snake.

Visuals and gameplay, though do look pretty damn good. Those are already enough to have me include this game on this list at all. Released date is apparently this August.

Watchdogs. I saved the best for last on my list. Over the summer Ubisoft released a 9 minute gameplay trailer for a game that not only peaked my interest visually, but showed elements of stealth and sci fi hackery and open world goodness that looked like GTA on crack, literally. Not much info has been shared about this game other than that breathtaking trailer. Texturally speaking it seems to harken back to, again, Heavy Rain. Rich colors and the lush environment composition seem to assault my optical senses in the most awesome way. Q4 seems to be the ETA on this so looks like we won’t be touching it till the holidays, if that. Side note – the first time I got wind of this game it was apparently supposedly running on current gen hardware but since the PS4‘s announcement things might switch up so just keep an eye out for this nugget.

And there you have it, my top 5 games to look out for this year. As I said earlier, you guys will either agree 100%, 50%, or 0%. If you guys and gals have your own top 5 list don’t hesitate to post them in the comments section. Geronimo!

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – Initial impressions

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I just got done playing through the first chapter of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and one word that comes to mind to describe it is intense.  The way the game feel’s with it’s sword play, and the way it connects to the NPC’s, feels superbly satisfying.  Hit after hit,  gives you a sense of joy when each slash connects.  The graphics so far are top notch, some of the best I’ve seen on the PS3.  The voice acting so far seems to be very good.  Now for some downsides, the camera, is a bit busy.  There were times it was angling too low, and as always when there’s a tight space, it get’s confused, and kind of just gives up all together on where to go, thus giving you a bad angle, which equates to getting hit and eventually dying.  The music, sad to say sounds too much like generic rock.  It just didn’t seem fitting, at all.

This looks like it’s going to be a very fun week or so trying to get through this game.  I know I have only played about 30 minutes of the game, but It’s left me with a good enough impression that I can stand behind this game and fully recommend it.  If you are a fan of the Metal Gear series, or the genre, do yourself a favor, and pick it up.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op8mjKZxccM]

 

 

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New Toys

So, I’ve been on the market for a new mouse, gaming mouse, since my regular mouse hurt my hand after a good amount of  playing, and well, it wasn’t just up to par playing MMO’s.  It’s a nice idea to have some buttons within thumbs reach on one hand, just to get an attack or a heal out in the thick of things.  I almost bit the bullet last week on a Mad Catz R.A.T. 7, with full customization’s on the shape and feel of the mouse, the only downside was, that it was wired.  It was also on sale at Best Buy for $79.99 and I had some Best Buy Rewards money, so it would’ve cost me well under what it normally sells for out of pocket.

Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse

Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse

Well, I ended up procrastinating, and the wired-ness of it turned me off a bit.  I ended up going back to BB today, and check out if it was still on sale, and it wasn’t, BUT the Logitech G700 wireless gaming mouse was, and for a lot cheaper, $59.99.  So I jumped on it.  I just finished installing it, and it is a lot nicer to hold than my previous mouse, and more closer to feel to my old Logitech MX Revolution laser mouse.  (I loved that thing).  I haven’t had a chance to try it on SWTOR yet, maybe later.

Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse

Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse

 

While I was at Best Buy, I decided to pre-order the next Tomb Raider, due out next week.  I have been keeping my eye out for this game, as it’s a reboot, and they made Lara Croft more, realistic per-say.  I also picked up Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on the recommendation of NekkedSnake.  I’m gonna go eat dinner and try this out real quick, and will post up an initial thought’s segment, and let you know how the first few minutes or first hour is of the game.  I want to get it done by next week, so I can have more time to dedicate on Tomb Raider.

My new items

My new items

My game’s list is quickly filling, with SWTOR, Fire Emblem: Awakening, and now Metal Gear Rising, I won’t have much time to do anything else.  I can’t even list the other games I have pending, and I won’t even mention the fact that myself and Cheesecake are still playing RE 6.  But this will provide more content for you, our readers.

A Glimpse At Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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Hey all. This will be my first post as contributing editor for this blog and as a first piece for my contribution I’ll be writing a review on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

I just picked up my preordered copy today from GameStop. I’d have gone to Amazon or even BestBuy to cop this game except I was enamored with the Gray Fox DLC that GS is offering. I took a photo of my unopened copy above to show you that I have the PS3 version of the game. I will either update this post or do a whole new write up in the coming weeks when time permits as I am a new father to my 5 month old son, who hopefully will also be familiar with the MGS series in his formative years.

As soon as I get my hands dirty with Raiden (no, not like that) we can talk more about “Jack’s” MGR exploits.

Stay tuned.

Playstation 4 thoughts

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Sony recently announced it’s successor to the Playstation 4 yesterday at their press event in NYC.  On paper it looks like a power house, sporting an AMD 8-core “Jaguar” X86 64-but CPU,  AMD Radeon, Graphics, 8 GB of GDDR5 RAM, the usual array of wireless letters, a Blu-Ray drive, and other goodies usually found in consoles these days. (USB ports, HDMI, etc., etc.).  Sony seems to be making this a social system, meaning it will let you see what your friends are playing, watch them play in real time, post up to FB, and other social features that Sony has planned.

They also unveiled the Dual Shock 4, and I am so relieved that they still retained the classic shape and look of Playstation controllers of the past, but now, it has a touch pad similar to that found on the PS Vita.  Few new features found on the new controller is a headset jack, and a share button.  Absent is the start, and select buttons, but seems to have been replaced with an ‘options’ button.  It appears to have gained some weight also, seeing as it does sport some new hardware, one can only assume that it has.  This was probably my biggest concern, since there were rumors floating around prior to the the press event that Sony was totally revamping the controlling.  I am so glad it still retain’s the old shape we have known to love since the PSOne days.

Sony's Dual Shock 4

Sony’s Dual Shock 4

I’ve been conversing with a few friends about this, and we are all very excited.  The graphics on the tech demo’s and other trailers that have been released just look astounding.  I’m not too fond or keen on the social aspects, but it’s probably going to be pretty transparent.  There are no photos of the actual system itself, though, pictures of the dev. kits has surfaced.  Before today, we were all unsure if there would be a physical tangible disc, as they were really focusing on downloading the game.  Reading some more articles today squashed our fears of not having physical discs.  But another concern is the need to be connected to the internet at all times to be able to play. Now I hope this is just a rumor, because, even if my PS3 is always connected to my router, thus giving it access to the interwebs, my ISP sometimes has hiccups, like if someone sneezes hard in the general vicinity of it’s equipment/wires.  I still would like to play ‘offline’.  Not everyone has blazing fast internet also. So I think it would be a poor decision on Sony’s part to implement this.  Again, this is just a rumor, and hopefully it will stay that way.  Also, it does not have backwards compatibility with PS3, which is lame. Reason, well, the Cell processor which was a power-pc type, is a different architecture from x86.  Coding wise, it’s different, and from what I read, if it can’t be emulated without taxing the system too much, then it wont be playable on the PS4. Another piece of rumor I just came across, is that the system will controllable via smartphone (iOS or Android), and tablet.  It will work similar to that of Microsoft’s Smartglass app for the X-Box. (source: http://toucharcade.com/2013/02/20/rumor-playstation-4/)

Apparently the release date is Nov. of this year.

We are truly excited to see this come to light.  The specs for it will make it seem like a true computing powerhouse, and once the developers get to know the system, and manipulate it like how Naughty Dog made the PS3 it’s bitch with Uncharted 2 and 3, one can only imagine the type of game’s we will be playing in 2-3 years.  We will post up any new information regarding the PS4, as we get a hold of it.  Rumor or not.

For now, enjoy some videos showcasing the PS4’s brawn.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw1l_C4kXrg] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk-RsawGjPY] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYY-J3ckeSI] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B26lKK8t9pE] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5VqaNf-gZ4] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRwp6aCWRw]

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My latest addiction…

in gaming has been Star Wars: The Old Republic, or SWTOR for short.  Picked it up right after I built my PC, since it’s been changed to Free To Play.  We’ll I’ve played it for about a week, then ended up paying for a subscription.  It’s been about a month, I have since created 5 total characters, and I have been playing every chance I get.  This is my first MMO game experience, and I have to say, I have been missing out.  I know the defacto standard is World Of Warcraft, but I just never really was into that franchise.  I want to get into Guild Wars 2 also, but maybe after my addiction to SWTOR dies down a bit.

If anyone is on the Ebon Hawk Server look me up, my Jedi is Vamentha (pictured below), and my Bounty Hunter is Gerta’k

My SWTOR Jedi Knigh

My SWTOR Jedi Knight

 

My Bounty Hunter Gerta'k

My Bounty Hunter Gerta’k