Titanfall Beta Impressions (PC Version)

Let me start this blog with some quick facts about me and my feelings toward the First-Person Shooter (aka FPS) genre as a whole. I absolutely loved many of the games that were known for making the genre what it is today (this goes all the way from Wolfenstein and DOOM to Goldeneye and Half-Life). I was also one of those “oddballs” that loved playing FPS games with great campaign/story modes in them more than multi-player. That always just struck me as something that was simply “tacked on” in a lot of those earlier games, and it more or less was, with a few exceptions like Counter Strike (which still hold up well even now). As we continued to move forward through the years, multi-player gaming slowly started to become a bigger and bigger thing with games like Quake, Unreal Tournament, and eventually releases like Halo and Call of Duty. I was part of the (small) group that never really saw what the big deal was with these types of shooters. I thoroughly enjoyed many of them (Halo especially at the time), but I never quite caught on to why it appealed to the casual audiences so much (ala the groups that would play sports games and almost nothing else at the time).

Now, we’ve reached a point where (in the shooter market at least), multi-player gaming has become the main selling point of a majority of these titles; series such as Bioshock being one of the few and rare exceptions. As such, developer Respawn Entertainment (started by two former members of Infinity Ward) began working on a title that focused solely on multi-player, instead of tacking on a single-player campaign that they felt no one would want to play. I can certainly understand this decision (as they’re correct in that barely anyone plays the campaign modes on those types of games; Battlefield 4 especially), though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to hear it at the same time. Personally, I’ve always wanted to see an FPS with a world like the one in the Halo games, but with a much more fleshed out story. I suppose that’s just the RPG fan in me talking.

So with all of that said, how did a gamer who generally favors single-player games feel while playing a multi-player only beta? More content than you may think actually. Despite all of my feelings on the FPS market as a whole, I did find myself really getting into the game-play and the world surrounding it. Before being thrown into everything without mercy (like most games of this type are notorious for doing), you’re actually given a brief set of tutorial stages to cover all of the elements of the game you’ll be focusing on. Some of my favorite additions were the wall-run (very reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge) and the double-jump. The ability to grab ledges also added another layer of flexibility to the movement. These made the game feel less like the clunky jumping you’d see in games like Halo, and something a bit more fast and immersive.


You’re also introduced to some unique weapons and controlling of the Titans themselves. Most of the weapons are standard shooter-fare, but the smart pistol is likely going to get mixed results from gamers, and I admit it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. With this, you point your gun at one (or multiple) targets, and it will in fact, fire multiple quick shots, shooting everything you locked on to. Even if you were only locked on for a second and move the target reticule away, it’ll still remain locked on as long as you don’t exit the target range. The only thing preventing it from being really unstoppable is its short lock-on range and the fact that actual (non-bot) targets can dodge it much easier as long as they keep moving, and won’t be killed in one shot like the AI-bot characters. Still, I can imagine some players getting really deadly with this, really fast; especially after upgrading it.

Now let’s talk about the Titans; what really separates this game from all other FPS shooters currently on the market. After a certain amount of time, you’re given the ability to call on your Titan and have it land somewhere near you for entry. When a Titan lands, it has a small blast shield surrounding it, so no one can cause any damage to it while you’re trying to get inside. Once inside, you’re movement is slower, but your weaponry is much more powerful and destructive. Titans are also given the ability to bring up a small shield in front of them, not only stopping bullets and missiles from hitting you, but allowing you to even fire them back at the target that shot them at you in the first place! There’s a limit to how much of this you can use, however (just like the shield in the Smash Bros. games), so it’s important to keep an eye on this.


While these features will give players an edge so long as they know how to properly handle it, there are still plenty of ways to stop a Titan as well. On top of being given regular guns to fire at other players, you’re also given a more powerful weapon to fight off Titans with to help even the playing field. It is even possible to jump onto the back of a Titan and fire at the headpiece from close-range. Once the Titan’s health is depleted, the player has a small time limit to eject from the seat and not get blown up alongside it. Players can decide if they want to risk the extra time attacking more targets, or getting the hell out of there! It’s also possible for the Titan to be destroyed before the meter is depleted if other players can attack it enough.

One more layer of depth that the game decided to add is what happens after a team either wins or loses. Instead of the round simply ending, the losing team is given the chance to reach an evacuation point and escape, while the winning team is told to stop these players from being able to get away. If the losing team escapes, they’ll still get more points despite losing the round. It’s a good way of still feeling like you accomplished something, even if your team didn’t manage to snag the win this time.

One more aspect I’m very much enjoying, is the fact that the game seemed to take a page from the Borderlands series and added RPG elements to the mix. Netting more experience from kills and other feats will enable your character to level up and gain new abilities/types of gear, as well as new builds for your Titan. Add on being able to customize these features, and you’ve actually got yourself a hell of a setup.

Overall, I’m actually very happy with the game so far, and I’m surprised to say that I’m actually really looking forward to its release next month. I’m still not exactly keen on the FPS genre so much, but realizing that this was much more than just “Call of Duty with Mechs” has gotten me pretty psyched to play it with my friends. Hope to see you all there (on the PC of course)!

Broken Age: Act 1 (PC Game Review)

I don't know about anyone else here, but Double Fine's Adventure title is what brought me to the website, Kickstarter in the first place. Tim Schafer (of titles such as Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend) announced that he wanted to go back to the adventure genre that we used to see in games of PC's past (like the Monkey Island series, Sam & Max, King's Quest, and so many others). He asked the fans for help through Kickstarter, and the fans responded. With an initial goal of $400,000 to make the game, the campaign ended up reaching over $330 million, and the project was started. Throughout its development, we started to learn more about the game's unique art style, and more importantly, it's true title, Broken Age.

It's been a long wait, but backers (including myself) were finally rewarded with keys to play the first episode of the game through Steam. I downloaded it as fast as my computer could possibly respond to my clicks. It's felt like a very long time since we've had a game in this style that can still appeal to more modern gamers of today (as well as more seasoned vets from the late 80's and 90's). So what's it all about? Does Broken Age reinvent the genre that we used to remember so fondly, or is it more of the same?

At the start of Broken Age, you are given two characters to choose from, a girl named Vella, and a boy named Shay. Their stories could not begin more differently. In Vella's case, she is preparing for a ceremony where she is basically supposed to sacrifice herself to a giant monster and protect her town, per tradition. She is one of the only members in her family (besides her grandfather) who seem to think that defeating the monster would be a better solution, but no one else seems to take to this idea. Eventually, in trying to escape from this monster, Vella finds herself in a town up in the clouds, which is where her real adventure begins. Her story basically takes the "damsel in distress" concept and flips it the bird with a very likeable and relatable female lead.


Shay is completely different piece of the pie. Out in space, he lives in a ship with an AI mother and father who watch over him. He goes through the same routines everyday, and is more or less held captive. It's hinted that this is because he is "special" in some way that we're not quite sure of yet. One day, he finally attempts to sneak around the ship to get away when he meets a wolf, or rather a man in a wolf costume, who tells Shay about a horrible conflict going on within the cosmos, and asks for his help. His first episode focuses mainly on getting away from the AI and leaving to begin whatever his real destiny is.


Right off the bat, point-and-click adventure fans will notice all of the typical controls are just as they've always been. You click anywhere you want to make the character walk and interact with objects and people, pick up items, and use them or combine them in creative, though sometimes non-sensical ways. The genre is pretty much exactly where we left it, and while that may be disappointing to those who were hoping the game would go leaps and bounds over the conventional method, it's hard to argue that this formula doesn't work at the same time.

So what's the connection between Vella and Shay? Not much yet, but the ending to the first episode is definitely enough to keep you interested and see where it's all going. The game also gives you the ability to switch between the stories of the two characters whenever you want. While this won't help you with any puzzle solving, or anything in that sense, it can help you piece together some of the clues that lead up to the cliffhanger ending.

If there's anything I could say I found a flaw with, it's how there wasn't much in the way of actual puzzle solving; at least not yet. I can understand if they wanted to focus more on the story itself with just this first episode, but that remains to be seen for now.


All in all though, I'm very happy with the way the game has turned out so far. Fan's of Schafer's previous games may find this project a little more kid-friendly, and less over-the-top, but I don't see that as a bad thing when the result is still so fun and interesting. You can complete the first episode for both characters in less than 5 hours if you're good enough, which I think is a fine length considering this is just the first part of a series.


I give the first episode 8 boxes of Cinna Moon's out of 10

What do you the rest of you think? Have you gotten to play the first episode yet? What were your thoughts? And thanks as always for reading.

Deadpool's Super Crazy Funky Movie Review Of American Hustle (2013)

Good to be back, America! So I was thinking (and you know that’s always a very dangerous and sexy thing), “Why stop at all of the usual films that you’d actually expect me to review, and not surprise you all once in a while!?” Well congratulations, that thought bubble has now been pulled from your head and into mine, to do with whatever I please… which is this review!

So, American Hustle… Wow, where do I start on this comedy-drama piece of crazy? Well, for one, the casting is completely insane, between Christian Bale as Irving, Jennifer Lawrence as his wife, Rosalyn, Amy Adams as Sydney, Irving’s partner in crime, and Bradley Cooper as Richie, the FBI agent. You could tell that they all wanted to win awards when they filmed this one folks. Everybody puts all of their acting cards on the table and starts dancing like it’s 1978… Hey wait, that IS when this takes place! ABUUUUH!?

So after we’re treated to 5 glorious minutes of Irving figuring out how to mend his balding head, we’re then whisked away into to his brief and completely totally innocent story of conning people out of all their hard-earned money with the help of Sydney, posing as an ENGLISH English aristocrat woman. Things go awry when Richie catches them in the middle of a loan scheme. Instead of putting them away, he makes them an offer they can’t refuse (admit it; you said this in the Godfather voice… ADMIT IT!): a chance for their freedom if they help him with 4 additional arrests. The mentality being that with people like Irving and Sydney, who KNOW how the criminal mind works, there is no criminal they cannot apprehend. So baldy and Sydney decide to eventually go along with it, and from there, the goofiness and hilarity ensue (not that we weren’t already getting plenty of that before!).

What really makes all of this work is the acting. If the acting was poor, this whole film would fall apart, but everybody is brilliant with what they do here. Though I haven’t mentioned her much yet, Jennifer Lawrence gets some serious props for her role in this film too, as Irving’s insane wife, who refuses to divorce him and let him get custody of his son. I found myself laughing at almost every scene she was in, which is total plus.

Louis C.K. also plays a part in this film, and while it is not a huge role, it is a FUNNEH role! Yet another character who caused me laugh again and again whenever he was on stage. This man may be a brilliant comedian, but it turns out he's actually got some nice acting chops as well.

As I’ve said in previous reviews, but will happily say unto you once again, Amy Adams is… not the girl from Enchanted anymore, let me tell you what! In fact, if you really wanted to mess with someone who loved her in Enchanted (scar them for life/turn them on), showing them this movie would do the trick. I saw more of her in that movie than I’ve seen of myself in the last few years. Most would probably say that’s an improvement in my case!

The soundtrack, while a little predictable in some places, is all-around excellent. Between Steely Dan, Duke Ellington, and Chicago, you’ve got yourself and all-star 70’s lineup! I wasn’t born in the 70’s myself, but seeing movies like this won’t stop me from wanting to grow giant sideburns and crazy beards like these mofo’s up in here! Don’t stop till you get enough!!!

I’ll also give the film EVEN MORE CREDIT (I’m going to go over the limit soon if I don’t back it up!) over the bits of drama that occur throughout the film as well. Yes, it’s mostly silly crazy ha ha hee haw, but there are a few emotional moments trickled into this for effect, and they hit where it hurts (no, not THERE you pervinator!), in the feels… Character development is very real in this movie, and you all know how I feel when shit gets real!

It’s not hard to see why the movie is getting such high critical acclaim and awards and all of that shiny stuff I’ll never see in my lifetime. Everything really was top-notch, and you could tell the film was destined for great things. I’m just glad it actually delivered. You all know how I feel about those damn hype trains…

Hype train-avoiding Deadpool gives American Hustle 9 Science Ovens out of 10

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff! Now someone help me comb my afro. I’m about to take you back to a time you were probably never even born in! Like me... Ah ah, don’t stop till you get enough!!!

Deadpool's Completely Festive Movie Review Of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Muahaha… While you all thought I was just being lazy, I was actually holding off on releasing another review until Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Fesitvus/ZombieJesusDay/etc.! (… Okay, that’s a lie; I was actually just being lazy. Hey, YOU try working a mercenary job with no salary these days! Damn kids and your Steam sales…)

So on top of ALL those other movies we already saw this month, we have perhaps one of the most hyped right in front of our freaking little pupils, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Based off the second book in this irregularly popular series, the trilogy continues right where the end of the first film left off. I’m going to be completely honest with all y’allz; as a fan of the three books (HEREADSBOOKSZOMG), I did NOT care for the way the first story was depicted on screen. Not only did the movie take away every last sense of wonder and mystery that the first novel gave you , but their attempt to look like “the indie kid” with that damn shaky camera was just too much to stomach (Literally! I couldn’t keep that popcorn down for long folks!... Sorry again to the kid who was in front of me… He knows why… >_>).

Well I’m thrilled to report that this sequel fixed just about every annoying little complaint I had with the first film. For starters, NO MORE SHAKY SEIZURE-INDUCING CAMERA BITCHES! I think we can all agree it was just a bad idea the first time around and move on with our self-entitled little lives. Secondly, the mystery factor is more or less back again. Now obviously, when a book is written from the perspective of one character, you can’t usually expect the movie to follow the same pattern. While the second film doesn’t exactly do that either, it’s okay, because the things you see going on outside actually enhance the experience, rather than just rob you of any ounce of development like it did the first time around.

And plenty happens this time around. Just when you think you’re starting to get a grasp on things by about halfway through the movie, they slap you across the face at 180 degrees to show you that things are just getting started and that no one is ready for what’s coming. Gotta love that doom and gloom. Kids love the doom and gloom. Because it’s deep. Deep like them.

… So deep.

As usual, the actors and actresses were at their best, and we got some excellent newcomers thrown into the mix. Everyone plays their part like they were pretty much born for the role. This especially applies to parts like Effie, who should more or less be a Japanese anime character, and Finnick, who was so accurate to his book description, I’d almost argue that he existed in real life first and that Suzanne Collins simply wrote about him after!

I will also say that of the three mentioned books, this is actually my favorite of the three. After the first story, you had absolutely no idea what was going to really happen next, and that was totally rad. It added to that badass feeling of badass-ery when you finally did know what was coming and knew where to go from there. Even though I’m pissed that the third book (of EQUAL length to the other two) is being made into two separate movies, ala that annoying trend I’m now seeing among most Hollywood book-to-film projects, I’m still happily excited to see where the movies will go from here. But enough of that! It’s time for the part where I give the review score and say something witty to end this on.

9 Quarter Quell’s Out Of 10

If there’s one thing that seeing the success of these books/movies has taught me, it’s that in order to be a famous writer of today, you need to craft a story about a young female overcoming obstacles and fighting corruption. If you do this right, you will become a BILLIONARE. I kid you not. If you think I’m wrong, read up on another little series called Divergent, which is about to do the EXACT. SAME. THING. No offense to the Divergent series, but I think we can all see what’s going on there, as do I since I read the first book (HEREADANOTHERBOOKZOMGITSLIKEIDONTEVENKNOWYOUANYMORE). Merry ‘all those holidays I wrote down in the first paragraph’ everyone!

Deadpool's Timey Wimey Movie Review of Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor (2013)

Long time, no rant folks! Hope you didn’t miss me too much! ... Because honestly, the feelings probably weren’t reciprocated…

So, Doctor Who. That’s certainly gotten quite a rise in popularity, hasn’t it? If you’re not in on the craze, I’ll break it on down for ya. So this guy, right? He’s not this ordinary guy though. He’s this time traveler, known as a Time Lord (they look like us, but they don’t age like us!). He travels in a police call box (courtesy of the 60’s!) with different companions through time and space. What do they do with this amazing power? Usually find all kinds of problems (by accident!) and solve them, saving said time and space. Many aliens and Dalek’s abound! After a certain point, when one actor’s run on the show would be up, they’d create a scenario where the character would be dying, only to have him regenerate into a whole new Doctor, with the memories of his previous self. A simple formula that’s more or less worked for the last 50 years! That’s right folks. This show is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. What began as a small, low-budget science fiction television series has now become a high-engrossing low-budget science fiction television series, with a fan-base comparable to that of Star Wars. Yes, it’s THAT popular.

What’s kept it going for so long? Well, to be honest, it wasn’t always doing so great. The first few years were pretty solid, with an excellent pickup by this guy in a long scarf in the 70’s. (You may have heard of him; Tom Baker’s pretty iconic now.) Things got a bit rocky in the middle, with arguable reasons as to what brought the show’s popularity down (*cough cough* the Colin Baker years *cough cough cough* Poor bastard *cough cough* He got the crap end of the stick for doing what the writers and directors told him to do *cough cough holycrapthatsalotofcoughing cough cough*). Once 2005 hit, the show was rebooted with surprisingly awesome results. The Doctors also became younger, which therefore brought about a ridiculous number of fangirls into the show. Said fangirls are also the reason I avoided even getting into this show until about a year and a half ago. If there’s one train I have no desire to hitch a ride on, it’s the ol’ HYPE TRAIN! Lucky for THOSE annoying people, the show is freaking awesome and I’ve been trying to watch it all to make up for lost times. What, how was I supposed to know the hype was actually justified for once!?

Flash forward to now, and we’ve finally got a big fancy movie to justify this whole shebang. The current Doctor (Matt Smith) meets with his former self, the 10th Doctor (David “Best Hair Evar!” Tennant) to get involved with a topic the show kind of danced around ever since the reboot began: The Great Time War! Yes, not only do we finally learn what happened in this war that caused every other Time Lord to lose their lives in it. (Not a spoiler by the way for those who don’t know Who! They say that almost right after the reboot starts!) Without going into too many other details (because believe me, there are a LOT of details I could go into), things get crazy pretty fast. Steven Moffat has been building up to writing this story for quite some time after Russel T. Davies left the mount, and boy was there a lot of ground to cover.

Something I should get out of the way is that this movie is NOT for new fans. Seriously, if you start with this, you’re pretty much asking for a grenade to go off in your head; that’s how fast it will explode over what you’re seeing on-screen (especially if you saw it in 3D!). There are a lot of plot threads that were touched on, with many many many many many many MANY more that can still be expanded onto. I can respect Moffat not wanting to go back to the material that Davies had left before passing on the torch, but I was hoping for at least a few more references to it. People expecting some kind of 10th Doctor/Rose reunion are going to likely come out disappointed, and even worse than that, David Tennant’s hair is no longer floofy!!! I want my floofy David Tennant hair back dammit!!!

Overall, the movie itself is quite good, plot holes be damned. You get what you came for: Matt Smith and David Tennant taking hilarious jabs at each other, a complex plot with an even more complex result, and all of the action that one would normally expect for this type of show. If you want more than that, then again, you may be disappointed. That said, I’m not sure what else you would have actually expected from this by now. I mean bro, do you even lift, ah, I mean watch the show!?

As much fun as I had with this movie (and believe me, I had a BLAST with it!), there are of course some issues. So now that we’re past the “OMG DOCTOR WHO IS THE GREATEST; BOWTIEZ FOR LIFE!” stage of this review; I can get down to my more personal and sexy thoughts. My beefs mainly go in line with Steven Moffat’s writing. The guy has a brilliant knowledge base of the show and uses it quite often to make little nods to the classic episodes, which is aweomsesauce. The problem is when he writes these plotlines with huge stakes, only to result in little actual repercussions of any of it. It was annoying the more he did it in the show, and it’s completely out of hand here. Fans of Russel T. Davies’ writing on the first four seasons will also be quite disappointed to see almost everything they loved about those seasons get more or less ripped out from under them. Some won’t care; in fact many won’t, based on some of the attention spans I’ve seen in the human race lately.


Maybe I’m just talking into thin air… Cyberspacey air at that, but it wouldn’t be one of my reviews without me letting out my deepest most inner thoughts… about a sci-fi TV series… Shut up, I’m NORMAL!!! X_X

So there you pretty much have it. It was fun, exciting, and left a whole new dimension of possibilities for what we can expect in the future. I wish it was done differently, but I’m not going to act like that made this a bad movie by any means either. Kudos for some of the nods to the show’s own trivia, like everyone’s pal Tom “The Mother-F@#king Scarf” Baker’s cameo, and the brief and slightly unexpected shot of the upcoming new Doctor, Peter Capaldi. Even if it was just a few seconds; that was the best “giving the eyebrow” face I’ve seen in years!

8 Regenerations out of 10 (Or should I say 11 for now? Hehehe… Clever. That’s what I am…)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go rewatch every old episode, so I can complain about how the stuff I liked was better than the stuff that’s out now. Hipster Deadpool has spoken! Face!

Deadpool's Mighty Movie Review Of Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Welcome back to my side of the streetz boys and girls! While everyone and their grandmother is enjoying Catching Fire and Doctor Who’s Day of the Doctor special this week, I’ve decided to take my time with that and write up my review for Thor: The Dark World first. Honestly, if it’s not done right, I probably won’t do it at all, and that’s just not cool… You don’t want me to not do anything. I’ve got all this blog space, and SO MANY IDEARZ TO SHARE WITZ UZ GUYZ!!! For starters, this review!

So this time around, the filmmakers decided, “Hey, we didn’t have enough scenes outside of the Earthly realm in the first movie. Let’s totally do more stuff on Asgard and other places!” … Lucky for them, that’s EXACTLY what I was thinking they should do! So right off the bat, I was on board. Top it all off with the fact that the actors and actresses clearly enjoyed playing their roles a bit more this time around. It goes a long way when people actually ACT like they want to be in the film they’re a part of.

I felt like there was a slightly better plot within the movie this time around, at least from what I can remember. It revolves around this substance called the Aether, a weapon capable of destroying the universe itself (because just being able to blow up one planet at a time is simply not enough to keep the kids attention these days!). While Loki is being imprisoned after the events of The Avengers film, Thor and his posse go ravaging across the Nine Realms in order to keep the peace. Marvel seems to have learned that fans like the cheesy one-liners, and OH MY GAWD do they bring on the cheese with this one! Thankfully it’s the good, natural kind of cheese, and not that disgusting processed stuff.

It’s not before long that things go amiss after Dr. Jane Foster goes and somehow gets infected by this very Aether substance! Hammer senses tingling, Thor immediately realizes that SHIT JUST GOT REAL and proceeds to head back to Earth and find her. Bringing her back to Asgard, they realize how serious things are, just in time for the real villains of this movie to come into play. Christopher Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor himself for you Whovians!), plays the bad-ass Dark Elf Malekith. Now personally, if I had heard that a villain with the name of Dark Elf Malekith was coming after me, I’d have probably screamed like a little girl and run fast as a cheetah… No…; TWO cheetahs, to get the hell out of there. He’s just a straight up fearsome dude, especially when a goliath like Thor is having issues with him!

The real best scenes in this film however, revolve around the relationship between Thor and his brother Loki once again. Loki has come a long way from when he was that quiet, fragile… thing, and has really started to prove himself as one of the best, if not the best actor in the movie. Let’s just say that sibling rivalry reaches some all new levels of craziness here. It’s not done in some sense that you feel the movie is trying to insult your intelligence (like certain sequels involving transforming robots with lots of explosions... who shall remain nameless… ), but rather in the sense that you actually feel like you’re having fun AND being enlightened at the same time.

There are a few little complaints I have about this sequel, though I’m happy to say there really aren’t that many. For one thing, they introduce Jane Foster’s rival of sorts in the romance department, Sif. Strange as it sounds, I actually felt like she and Thor were having a much better relationship throughout the film than Thor and Jane were, and felt like they threw her out just as quickly as they put her in. Another thing is that looking back on the story itself… Well… The story actually wasn’t that good. It can be overlooked because the whole thing is fun anyway, but I can’t think of one moment in the main story that actually stood out to me in any shape or form. The whole thing is just kind of hazy now, and I’m pretty sure that nothing except for specific illegal substances are supposed to make me feel that way.

Maybe the Avengers film just spoiled us, to the point where we won’t accept anything without the same level of quality. I don’t really know. What I do know is that this is still definitely a sequel worth seeing. Just don’t expect any jaw-dropping moments (save for one choice scene near the end, courtesy of Loki and his wacky antics) and you’ll come out feeling like you had a good time.

7 Swings Of The Hammer Out Of 10

I also have to note that the fangirls are getting a little insane with this one. Yes, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are attractive young dudes, but I DON’T need to hear you all squealing about it for the whole movie! The last thing we need is more Twilight-esque rivalries between the two… But if there are, I’m team Loki… Just… throwing that out there… >_>

My First Impressions Of The Playstation 4

Some of this may come off as rambling, but I feel that’s the best way to get the most of my thoughts out in this particular case. I had a lot of things go through my head as I booted the PS4 up for the first time and saw what Sony is describing as “the future of gaming.” While I don’t know if the “future” is too different from what we have now, it’s still an interesting topic discussion.


First off, we have to talk about the design of this thing. It has a slanted look that makes the whole thing very sleek and artsy-looking. Some may write it off as odd, but I like it. This look comes at a bit of a price however. For one thing, the shape makes it a little difficult to reach around the back if you’re plugging in the connector cables. It also doesn’t help that the system has a bit of a wobble to it. Yes, if you press down on the left side of the system, it will wobble like that annoying table you’ve questioned keeping until you remembered how expensive new tables are. It’s not a deal-breaker or anything (I’ve got mine on a surface that doesn’t even have this problem), but something to note if you were just going to sit it on a flat table. One last bit of weirdness to note is the power and eject buttons. Most people probably won’t even see them (I didn’t!) the first time around. They’re tiny, and placed in between the small crevices of the system’s left-center. Honestly, they’re just odd. I’m not even sure I can call that sleek like the rest of the system, but I could see why people would say it is. The blue/white light that emanates on top of the system is quite nice-looking as well. Everything else is about how you’d expect. 2 USB ports in the front and standard ports in the back round it all up.


The controller tries to take the best features of the Dual Shock 2 and 3 and implement a little bit of touch-pad ability as well. It feels about the same as the previous versions despite, though the analog sticks thankfully aren’t popping out like the previous two iterations, and actually point inward, not unlike the Xbox 360’s controller. I always found this to be the more effective method for analog sticks, and am glad Sony finally caught on to using them this way. The shoulder buttons are about the same as last time for better or for worse (as I still find myself hitting the R2/L2 triggers by accident!).


When you first turn everything on, the visuals aren’t going to look too drastically different from what you’ve seen on the PS3’s dashboard. You mainly have all the same functions as before, but switched around a bit into a setup that some might or might not find easier. Personally, I don’t see much difference, but do feel it is at least a bit smoother than before. Putting in a new game disc can be a bit of an annoyance if you’re hoping to simply start the game right from start up. You will have to install some data onto the hard drive and depending on the game; it could be as high as 50 GB or more per title! Thankfully, I haven’t experienced any games with an install size that high yet, but this could quickly become taxing for those who don’t want to replace their hard drive with a larger one right away. You can also start with all of the same video apps you used previously (Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Crunchyroll, etc.), and they work about the same as they always have.


It’s the game visuals you really want to hear about however, so I’ll get right into that. I played a total of 3 games so far (as well as a timed demo I tried briefly). The first game was Resogun, a shoot-em-up in the vein of classic titles like R-Type and Geometry Wars. While the game itself is simple enough (fly around in a circular plane, blowing up other ships, rescuing people, and upgrading in order to blow up more things and giant bosses), the effects are absolutely stunning to look at. There are particle effects and explosions abound. The game itself is hard as nails, which is just how I like games of this type. I only beat about 2 or 3 stages in my playthrough, but I intend to go back and get even farther next time.


The next game I played was called Contrast, a 3D platformer/puzzle game. It’s hard to fully explain the plot of this game without spoiling a million plot details, but know that it is a 2D/3D platformer in the sense of exploration around Paris in the 1920’s. You play as (at least from what I can tell so far) an imaginary friend of a little girl named Didi, setting off to follow her mother and father, and trying to get them back together again after what appeared to be some hard times for them all. What makes the gameplay interesting more than anything, is your character’s ability to jump into walls with light pointing at them, making you control her shadow in 2D platforming sections. This adds a whole new dimension to the genre, having to make sure lights are pointed in the correct places in order to get through the many obstacles the game throws at you. It starts off with a child-like wonder, which appears to be getting darker as it goes along. I’ve only played the first of the game’s three acts, but I can’t wait to go back. While not graphically the best, the style is simply unforgettable, and it actually makes me jealous and wish I came up with something like it first myself!


Now let’s move on to some bigger stuff. I had some difficulty deciding which launch title to go with for PS4, but finally decided on Assassin’s Creed IV for now. I noticed that Battlefield 4 and others will be in random Black Friday sales (including online), so I will likely go for it then. While virtually the same game as the previous system versions, I did check multiple comparisons between platforms, and sure enough, the PS4 version is the best looking to come out so far (PC and Xbox One versions pending, since they’re not out just yet). The PS4 version also seems to have an extra hour or so of gameplay (according to the box at least!), so that’s another plus. I’ve played every Assassin’s Creed title up until this point, so continuing was no problem for me. Happy to say I’m actually enjoying it a lot more than III as well. I’ve loved the concept of pirates since I was about 3 years old, so this one kind of gobbled me up from the get go. Also interested in seeing where the story will go this time after the events of III kind of left you hanging.


Finally, I also played a demo for a game called Knack. I initially had high hopes for this one because it was from game director/developer/programmer/producer/etc. Mark Cerny. You may recall his name on titles ranging from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, all the way to Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and so many more. Well, this is his latest project, and while it isn’t quite as great as the titles I listed above, I’d say it still has some of the charm we’ve come to love from his past games. The problem is the gameplay. You move very slow and sluggishly, and the game is also surprisingly hard for the family-friendly audience they’re presenting it to. This may have been intentional on Cerny’s part (especially if one remembers how hard the first Crash Bandicoot game was), but I’m not sure how fun people are going to really find this. While called a 3D platformer, it’s really more of a 3D brawler than anything else. Not that that’s a bad thing necessarily, but throw it up with gameplay that doesn’t really amount to much more than bashing your enemies in and getting taller (ala Katamari Damacy). If the rest of the game doesn’t really progress from this, I’d have a hard time shelling out $60 for it, however I’m sure I’ll play it once it’s come down to below the $30 range someday. With that said , I will give credit where credit is due. The graphics involved in both Knack and the characters he comes to interact/fight with are top notch. It’s hard not to be dazzled by the way everything looks in motion, and some of the other characters may even remind you of that Pixar-esque charm we’ve all come to love.


I really haven’t found myself taking in too many of the system’s new features yet, but I intend to check it all out soon enough. I also have to note that it was incredibly annoying to log in to my PSN account, due to how many times I was kicked out when everyone else was trying to sign on at the same time. Once I was in however, things were pretty smooth from that point on. It’s also nice to see Sony giving a little extra to all early adopters, by adding $10 of PSN shop credit, as well as 30 day trial for their unlimited music service and a free month of their PS+ service.

It’s hard to label this system as a must own at the moment simply because there have not been that many great or unique (first and third-party) titles at launch yet (I’m hearing mixed things about Killzone, and Knack really hasn’t won me over yet either). As of right now, I can only recommend it to the hardcore gamers that want to jump into the action early. For everyone else, it might be better to hold off and wait for some of the better lineup come February/March. That said; I do see great things ahead for this console, and I can't wait to see how things progress in the coming months.

Hope this has been at least somewhat informative for everyone and thanks for reading my rambles!