Life, Gaming & the Pursuit of Happiness

Sometimes in life we need a reminder of why it is we do what we do. Whether it be job related, hobby related, or life related we just have a desire to figure out why it is we were so interested in whatever it was we thought we were interested in. A good Twitter friend of mind tried to explain this to me earlier this week regarding my thoughts on my current review situation. I tried justify my thoughts against what he said which were basically countering what it is I was trying to comprehend. For the longest I've relied heavily upon numbers to get me what I need to be able to provide the reviews for you guys. It wasn't so much that I couldn't do it without the required numbers backing me up, or that I thought numbers mattered, but it was more so that I thought that's what the industry providers were asking of me. To some extent I may have been right, but to rely on such a standard to get me by as a "respectable" journalist was a fool's errand. I know I'm good at what I do no matter who chooses to follow me, or who chooses to trust in me.

Collective Views

I've been trying my hardest to wrap my mind around the fact that my Google+ page gets vastly more page views than my blog. This whole ordeal came into focus recently when Deep Silver turned me down for the third time. They claimed Alexa, a site stat investigator saw that I had inadequate views in accordance to their standards. I've often times said that views come from different sources though, and not so much the direct website or web page. I do understand that Alexa is supposed to take this into consideration, but if they had they would have seen the over 3 million collective views my Google+ page is securing, and building upon. A page which I will share a screenshot of shortly. I do know my blog itself gets up to hundreds of views a day in my absence, but that my Google+ page gets thousands. If this is the case, and it seems to be, I am definitely capable of reaching a significant audience, and have been doing so for quite some time now. I want you, and the PR to understand that my Google+ page which houses posts of only my reviews, and articles does in fact have the collective view count that I manually adjust on my blogs applied stats side bar feature. I offered to share this to any curious PR in my "Contact" section, but have never been hit up for it.

Battleborn - Pros & Cons

Most of you know that my initial thoughts of "Battleborn" were mostly against it. I felt that Gearbox, and 2KGames making the game server reliant was a huge mistake. I personally feel that requiring a server sign-in at launch limits the gamers' control over their paid for experience. Should the servers go down for whatever reason the gamer would not have access to the game at all. Furthermore all of the players' save data being stored on server data banks that they do not have access to can lead to even more complications should said data banks be hacked into. I'm not saying your data is any safer on your PS4, because it isn't, I'm merely saying you have even less access to what you've earned/paid for due to said development choice. That accompanied by the looming fact that Battleborn is a wholly team oriented with each played character playing a crucial role in in-game team efforts makes this game an iffy buy. When you play competitively in Battleborn it's not like playing as one of CoD's elite soldiers, or Destiny's heroic guardians who can each carry their own in PvP combat. Each used character in Battleborn ultimately feeds off of, and relies heavily on the aid of assisting players' characters. You have weak healer, powerhouse brutes, and a balanced few characters who are equally assist and combat centered. In that sense k/d is made less important even though the uneducated few still thinks it holds sway in Battleborn's victories. If you fail to see Battleborn in this light then most of your time will be spent being frustrated.

Cheating in Online Gaming, Is it Real?

Cheating has been a staple of person to person competition long before video games ever came into the picture. Cheating has been present in poker during the wild west days, and various other games of chance and skill throughout history. It has been present in early to modern-day sports, and will no doubt continue to be a staple of humanity's recreational hobbies so long as competition, and the payout from such sporting events are present and rewarding. Even video games are subject to such things though the payout may be less than substantial in an economic sense. To deny any of this is to be ignorant to the facts of human history, and human nature itself. Why do you think the countries of the world are always at war with each other? Why do you think such warring nations will go out of their way to secure a victory over their opposition in any way possible? It's all about controlling the outcome, and reaping the rewards of said outcome. That, and being better than those you deem unworthy. Sometimes it's even about demeaning those you find who are in a better light than you. The same ideology that are those few reasons is very much the same in today's increasingly competitive world of entertainment.

The Binding of Isaac: AfterBirth (PS4)

Unlike some of you I was first able to play this deeply disturbing dungeon survival-horror game when it came out on the PS4 and PS Vita consoles a few years back. I had wanted to play it for so long, and finally being able to do so on one of my currently favorite gaming consoles was a privilege. I think what attracted my attention to it more than anything was the indie design which seemed to incorporate both "The Legend of Zelda (LoZ)" dungeon layouts, and a twin-stick shooter mechanic for the core combat. Of course the game itself has a lot more in store for the gamer than just that, and with this latest DLC expansion the game opens up even more so on said offerings.

What "The Binding of Isaac" had, and has going for it (for those of you who are unaware) is an immense replay value in a challenging pick up, and put down gameplay driven package. It features it's own unique protagonist, and an underlying story that is definitely not forgettable. There are plentiful encounters of creepy humanoid creatures, defiled denizens of the damned, and grotesque bosses of varying sorts which each bare their own pseudo-religious overtones. All of which Isaac (the protagonist) must face in the labyrinthine darkness of the basement he has been imprisoned in. It's a telling presentation that plays heavily on Isaac's troubled childhood, and the fanatical mother who is out to rid the world of his supposed evil ways. Much like a living nightmare Isaac himself has faced his many fears in the basement of his home with only the tears, and the power of his imagination to combat the very real threat before him. It is these tools which you must use in a twin-stick shooter fashion as Isaac to make your way to a final ultimate fight against your wayward mother.

MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune vs Zombies (PS VITA)

In possibly one of the most creative, and different ways imaginable developer Tamsoft, and publisher Idea Factory have come together to steer the Neptunia lore in a distinctly new direction. This spin-off of sorts does away with the usual Neptune guided hijinks, and puts Blanc of Lowee in the seat of power as a the Gamindustri gal leading the show. In fact it is a sort of indie movie show that plays out as the Gamicademi girls/CPUs fight off a very real zombie threat. When the game begins we find the ruling CPUs of the Gameindustri attending a Gamicademi (Academy) which is on the brink of closure due to a lack of attendees. Like the anime "Love Live!" these CPU goddesses, and their CPU sister candidates devise a plan to attract an even bigger crowd to the Gamicademi in hopes that they can keep it open. This begins with a fantastical idea involving the creation of a film club, and later a scripting of a zombie apocalypse indie that pays homage to games like 'Resident Evil'. The filming starts off innocently enough with only actors participating, but for whatever reason real zombies come into the picture only to be used by Blanc, and her quirky film crew as source material for their indie film project. There are plot twists, and sequels aplenty as you act your way from cut scene to cut scene in fun-loving film fashion.