Gemini: Heroes Reborn (Xbox One)

So ... I had honestly never heard of this game until Imperative Entertainment's PR contacted me about doing a review of it. I didn't have a clue as to what the game was about beyond what I saw in the trailer, which I viewed prior to accepting the assignment. I didn't know that it was tied to the "Heroes" series, or the newly introduced "Heroes Reborn" series. After figuring this out though it did peak my interest quite a bit as I was a fan of "Heroes" back when it was popular, and in the headline news. I was actually curious to see how a game modeled after a TV series would pan out since such film to game translations often times do not bode well with the gaming community. We all know that such games tend to be not all that great, and that movie adaptations outside of games like the LEGO re-imaginings are usually a lost cause in the eyes of gamers.

I definitely think Imperative Entertainment, and the studio known as Phosphor Games were bold in taking on this game project, because of the legacy tied to said gaming genre and the legacy of the TV series itself. While I did encounter some unfavorable things in my playthrough, and several bugs along the way "Gemini: Heroes Reborn" did actually do alright for itself, in the "indie" sense regardless of my concerns. Using the Unreal Engine 4 as it's graphics processor really helped to bring the fantasy world, and the characters therein to life, if only visually. Even the gameplay was functional enough to a point to enjoy. At the same time though the rushed plot, and poorly applied character context building kind of hurt the mostly impressive gameplay. Having spoken dialogue, and onscreen text that was so to the point, and without proper storytelling elements in place really did the game a huge disservice. In the end it could have been better than it was, but wasn't too terribly bad for an indie game featured on modern-day consoles. Before I get too far ahead of myself though let me explain the game's premise to you ...

Google+ Subscribers, Twitter Followers & Page Views

It is 2016, and I'm still getting turned down by the occasional misguided indie game developer. For some reason they think the Google+ subscriber widget that is on this blog reflects my total audience count, and traffic sources. This couldn't be further from the truth. What developers, publishers, studio & PR need to understand when entertaining one of my review offers is that the Google+ widget only reflects the Google+ subscriber count. Not my blog's following. Here at this blog I get traffic from multiple sources, one being that of my Google+ page which houses all of my reviews, and blog posts. While that is substantial enough in the way of page views you have to also factor in my Twitter follower count which has friends, and followers who see and click on every review link that I share there. Currently I'm over 3,000 in Twitter followers which is definitely not a low number. It may not be on par with celebrities, and other famous persons of interest, but if you do the math and add up the links that are read and shared by said followers things begin to multiply. Things add up. I was not lying when I said that my Google+ page is nearing the 3 million view mark. That in itself is traffic worth mentioning as Google+ only contains post from this blog. Furthermore other traffic sources that contribute to my viewer reach include various other journalist sites who have linked to my blog as well as my Youtube channel which catches a lot of attention for what I provide there.

Zen Pinball 2 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PS4)

Before I get into the thick of this review I thought I'd be courteous, and let you know that I don't intend on leaking any movie spoilers. From time to time I may reference characters, but at this point we pretty much know of all the main role-players. For those of you who are unaware, and who have not yet bought this latest Zen Pinball 2 DLC pack I think you'll be pleased to learn that there are two tables instead of the one previewed table that was shown in the teaser trailer. It is the usual packaged deal in that you'll be forking over $4.99 in PSN credit for the DLC instead of the cheaper price for the individual tables. Single tables usually cost $2.99 each. In comparison of the two DLC types I think there is a bit of a discount with this set's pricing. The question that remains though is if it's worth having at all?

The State of Destiny 2016

I've been outspoken about Destiny since it's launch. Sometimes I've praised it, and other times I've outright bashed it because of it's growing laundry list of problems. Even with it's major downsides though I continue to play the game with friends, and admittedly so. I liken said experience to beating my head against a brick wall, but finding euphoria in the trauma induced dizziness afterwards. It's just one of those things in life, I suppose ...

Seeing as it's 2016 I figured in my spare time between reviews that I'd try to breakdown my thoughts on what Destiny has become, and what needs to be done in order to revive fan's faith in the game/series. I definitely have a lot to say, and honestly a lot of it is going to put the game in the negative spotlight. At the same time though I want you to understand that I don't want to see the game fail. I don't want to see it in the state of mismanagement that it's in. I'm hoping the team at Bungie can get it together enough to do what needs to be done in order to reverse the damage that Destiny's current build has done to the morale of those who have invested so wholly in it.

Amplitude (PS4)

From the creative minds at Harmonix comes a game that is all about sensory overload. This game of which I speak is actually a remake of a cult classic of the same namesake. It is known as, "Amplitude". Amplitude, at base level is a game that utilizes similar mechanics such as those which are tied to games like 'Rock Band 4', and Disney's "Fantasia: Music Evolved". By this I mean you will be hitting targets via specific button presses in time with songs that are each associated with the game's included soundtrack. As far as a story goes Amplitude does include it's own underlying plot about nano-technology packaged in a tutorial style campaign mode, and in providing such content said story implies the use of pseudo-surgery on the human psyche within a particular patient. The game itself combines trance-like music from various artists, mixes it with some intense psychedelic visuals, and adheres it to the rhythm style gameplay that comes with the interactive music experience. Along with the challenging, and musically driven gameplay presentation also comes high scoring opportunities tied to an online leaderboard, and a separate mode of play known as "Quickplay". For those of you looking to best your friends with noteworthy top scores you'll find that, that is also an option if you choose to buy the game.