Monday, November 10, 2014

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - "Impressions"

If you have been following my rants about the latest CoD release you'll know that I've had some mixed opinions this week. These opinions which favor, and insult the game for it's features continue to evolve as I type. Unlike most of the CoD games I've played in the past this was by far the most frustrating of them all due to it's complexity, and failed functionality. Taking a different playthrough path than what I usually do in a CoD game I opted to go with the game's Campaign from the start. I found for the most part that the Campaign was brilliant in delivery, but that it contained a few design flaws that sometimes would hinder my progress. Things like the lack of distinct objective direction, and the poorly crafted enemy/ally ID system really made the playthrough aggravating at times. Other than those issues the campaign was certainly the best the CoD series has ever seen, in my personal opinion. On the flip side, when it came down to multiplayer delivery though things got a bit messy, and half-assed.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

#KILLALLZOMBIES (PS4)

While shmups have been around in various forms over the years it wasn't until recently that indie developers began mixing different ideas into the genre. One of those ideas, which I love, took the zombie apocalypse, and mashed it up into a top-down military style shooter filled with bloody tidbits. While some of the provided indie zombie shmups were good others fell behind with their over simplistic designs. Some cost only a dollar to own, and were better than anyone could have hoped for while others cost a good bit more, and were piles of shite not worth the time of day. Recently while scouting the PSN store updates for review games I happened upon one of the soon to be released higher end zombie shmups which was created by a developer called Beatshapers. After having played a similar themed shmup earlier this year on the PS4 that had failed miserably I was a little skeptical. Thankfully that worry subsided once I began to play the game though. I think, in all honesty, that Beatshaper's zombie shooter is the penultimate zombie shmup. While it holds tight to traditional formulas it still does it's own thing, and does it exceptionally well.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror (PS VITA)

I've always been an advocate for creativity, and originality in the gaming industry. I believe developers who are willing to try new things are the future, and that those who copy others' works are just drawings us back into the past. Without innovation the gaming industry, or any other entertainment industry for that matter is doomed for failure. That's why it's always a pleasant surprise to stumble upon a game that incorporates such innovative features. Recently I had the privilege to play such a unique indie, the likes of which falls under the label of creativity which I just spoke about. I ended up enjoying my playthrough thoroughly, and intend on finishing the game to it's end soon. The game in question, for those of you who are wondering is GlitchyPixel's "Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror". They take the simple concept of a haunting, throw in a unique plot about the ghost of a former mansion owner, and add in gameplay that is definitely genius in it's own right.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

HALLOWEEN 2014 ... Hey, That Rhymes xD

Greetings all you ghoulies, ghosties, and long legged beasties! Tomorrow is "Halloween 2014". While I personally won't be celebrating, or dressing up in costume I do have some horror movie suggestions for your late night festivities. Being the horror film enthusiast that I am I've seen me fair share of unique horror movies including some foreign films that push the limits of decency. I'll try to mix in a little of everything so that you'll have several movies to choose from should you not be afraid of watching such things. I hope that you all have a safe, and responsible Halloween. Always travel in groups, and with trusted adults. Always check your candy thoroughly before partaking of it, and also wear bright colored clothing when walking through traffic heavy areas. Halloween is meant to be enjoyed, and I hope that you enjoy your Halloween to it's fullest this year!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Blood of the Werewolf - "Impressions" (PS3)

I hate to do this to you readers, but I'm going to have to go the "impressions" route with this game. Not only does it look as if Sony implemented the timed trial review codes that I mentioned earlier but I will not be repeating the second stage one thousand times to see what's beyond it, nor will I ever be able to complete the game far past that stage in the timed limit. The fact is that there's a point when a developer's game design pushes the limits of difficulty decency. Making the game difficult just for the sake of making it difficult is not the way to go, period. Unfortunately that's exactly what the developer, "Scientifically Proven" chose to do in "Blood of the Werewolf". A lot of the level design within the game, and the accompanying character mechanics conflicted so much that it made the playthrough truly unbearable for me. Difficulty in that respect was geared solely towards a precisely performed playthrough that gave the player only one viable course of action that was damn near impossible to achieve a majority of the time ...

Sunday, October 26, 2014

A Post About My Time Off

For the sake of posting a post I'm going to fill you guys, and gals in on what I've been doing during my time off from reviews. Exciting, right? Anyways ... Destiny has been the go to game for me for a while now. It has a sort of addictive charm about it that I just cannot deny. I've gotten plenty of new games (not to brag), but have found myself returning to Destiny for some relaxing thrills on a frequent basis. In fact yesterday evening a friend of mine (Dee) invited me to a chat in Destiny only to invite me to the "Vault of Glass" playthrough that he intended to do. I knew my level 26 hunter was ill-prepared for the task ahead, but seeing as it was my friend requesting help I could not say no. After assembling a crew of educated, and uneducated Vault of Glass players we took a two hour trek into one of the most nightmarish, and unforgiving environments that Destiny has to offer. With the aid of a level 30, and 29 players though we all managed to muscle our way through the abysmal experience, and come out victorious with plenty of noteworthy perks.