Two Mini Reviews

It's been a while since my last post so I'm going to post two quick reviews of films I've seen recently.

From the title of this blog you can correctly assume that I like giant robots.  From Transformers to Megas XLR the skies the limit when it comes to colossal automatons. So I was really looking forward to Pacific Rim when it was first announced.  You had great actors like Idris Elba and Ron Perlman along with spectacular visual effects all tied together by Guillermo Del Toro’s storytelling.  Together this crafted a recipe for success as I experienced one of the greatest films this year.  The plot tells of an alternate future where giant monsters known as Kaijus invade our world and cause general mayhem and destruction.  In order to combat this, the human race unites together and create giant robots called Jaegers to fight them.  What I really like about how the story is told is that you get to see it from different perspectives whether it be the pilots of the Jaegers or the scientists who are studying Kaijus.  Most of the actors are relatively unknown but they all do a wonderful job of portraying the people involved in this conflict.  It really gives the sense that this is a united effort and everyone contributes in their own unique way.  But of course the standout would have to be the amazing visuals.  Long gone are the days of people dressing up in giant rubber suits.  Both the Kaijus and the Jaegers are animated beautifully and will leave you anxiously anticipating the next fight between these two titans.  There’s not much more to say aside from telling you to see it if you haven’t already saw it yet.  Pacific Rim combines great talent, visuals, and story to create one of this summer’s best blockbusters. One more important thing: IMAX 3D is a must.  10/10

While Wolverine has always been the most popular X-Men in the public eye, his stand alone film left little to be desired.  I thought it was OK but I never really thought it contributed much to the story laid out by the previous films.  We already knew most of Wolverine’s origin from the other films and this just seemed redundant and confusing at some points.  Oddly enough though Wolverine has garnered a new standalone film called The Wolverine.  I wasn’t really looking forward to this film at the start which I blame due to it coming out after two bigger superhero films coming out beforehand, Man of Steel and Iron Man 3.  As the summer dies down I figured I’d give it a chance and see how well it does.  Hugh Jackman reprises the role of Wolverine and as always he does a great job in the role.  Taking place after X-Men 3, Wolverine has been living off the grid in the Canadian Wilderness.  One day, he is approached by Yuriko, a mutant employed by someone who Wolverine has helped in the past.  Wolverine flies out to Japan and is given the offer to be stripped of his healing factor.  He declines but the next day he finds himself unable to heal after getting roped into a conspiracy with the Japanese Yakuza.  It’s up to Wolverine to fight through his pain and solve the mysteries before him.  The story is pretty simple but it can get pretty convoluted at points as you try to keep track of each character’s motives.  Also like the first Wolverine movie I feel very little is accomplished in this film and was just here to tide us until a better X-Men film comes along (which if you stay after the credits is foreshadowed).  Hugh Jackman is good as always but I found the other characters very forgetful.  I know the film is about Wolverine but it would be nice to have some other memorable characters aside from Wolverine.  If you’re a huge X-Men fan or if you’re looking for a nice action film I could very easily recommend this to you.  But if you’re looking for something deeper than Wolverine going to Japan and doing what he does best you’re going to be slightly disappointed. 6/10

Deadpool Review

Deadpool has always been one of my favorite comic book characters.  Ironically it was his incredibly inaccurate portrayal in X-Men Origins that introduced me to him.  I think of Deadpool as basically the most insane comic character ever.  In addition to being a sociopath, Deadpool is actually aware that he’s a comic book character and constantly breaks the fourth wall. To me it was a pretty interesting character compared to most other superheroes out there.  So I was  excited when I learned that a Deadpool game was in development and that the developer of the Transformers Cybertron games would be developing it.  I thought that this would be a recipe for the perfect Deadpool game.  The game did turn out to be good but it is far from being perfect.

You begin the game as Deadpool blackmails High Moon Studios into making a game based on him.  From there the player is placed on an insane roller coaster ride as you follow the Merc with a mouth through all his exploits.  Said exploits include tossing a man out of a skyscraper and riding him all the way down to a bounce house. There are other moments similar to this where you just have to chuckle to yourself and wonder exactly what the hell are you playing.  Aside from that though the story is pretty weak.  All that is ever revealed is that you have to stop Mr. Sinister from doing evil.  His plan is never gone into detail.  All you know is that Mr. Sinister is obviously evil and you have to stop him.  Several other characters do make appearances such as Cable and Wolverine but they appear so briefly that their inclusion is almost unnecessary.  Also the game just ends without much of a resolution. No real final boss fight just one last fight and that’s it. I know Deadpool is supposed to be a spotlight stealing glory hog but when you show several characters off in promotional materials and give them little to no dialogue you are doing said characters an injustice.

The gameplay is fast and frantic just like you’d expect from a Deadpool game. You go around levels slicing and dicing all the various enemies in your way with some gunplay mixed in. Along the way you earn Deadpool points which allow you to unlock and upgrade your weapons.  I was worried how High Moon Studios was going to mix both hack and slash plus third person shooting mechanics but they do it in a way that works.  My only complaints would be that the lock on targeting really doesn’t work and the camera can be really frustrating in a closed area.

The graphics are average for High Moon’s Standards but I feel that this may be intentional.  While the game isn’t cel shaded per se the game does look bright and colorful like a comic book. Still coming off of Fall of Cybertron the game did look underwhelm me.

While I did enjoy Deadpool this game isn’t for everyone.  Experienced players could probably finish the game in under a day. If you’re a Deadpool fan I’d say it would be a safe buy but otherwise you may want to try it out first.

6/10 (7/10 for Deadpool fans)

The Last of Us Review

Joel and Ellie: Our Two Protagonists

Naughty Dog has always been one of my favorite developers.  I've been with them from the beginning whether it be a colorful romp through the world of Crash Bandicoot or living out the life of an action hero in Uncharted.  The Last of Us however is a sort of a departure for Naughty Dog. The above games could be described as fast paced, colorful, and full of wit.  The Last of Us however is a complete 180. It’s dark, gritty and very tense with little to no comedic relief.  After finishing the game I was left in my seat knowing that I may have played what may have been one of this years finest games.

The story takes place after an outbreak of the cordyceps fungus.  What results is a post apocalyptic version of what was once the United States.  While there are some humans left, the rest have been turned into mindless zombies.  While the zombies are an important part of story the main focus is on two characters Joel and Ellie. Joel is a hardened survivor who has seen a lot of horrors ever since the outbreak while Ellie is relatively young and has seen very little of the world.  Joel has made a career for himself in this world as a smuggler.  One day he is approached by a member of a resistance group known as the Fireflies.  Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie to a firefly lab on the other side of the country.  Joel begrudgingly accepts the job.  I feel one of the greatest parts of the story is seeing how Joel and Ellie interact with one another and seeing their relationship evolve over the course of the story. What I also love is the sense of ambiguity in the story as you question your actions.  I think what really shows this is when a non infected enemy is brought to their knees.  When you aim your gun at them they start begging for their lives.  While the enemy themselves have also done reprehensible actions in the game it’s moments like this where you wonder if you’re no better than them.  I also got that same feeling in the ending and I feel that it’s going to be debated on internet forums for quite a while.

It took me a while to get used to the controls.  If you go into the game expecting for something similar to Uncharted you are going to find the game very difficult to play. Joel moves much more realistically as opposed to Nathan Drake.  He can only really climb up a ledge if it’s around the same height as him otherwise you need to find a ladder. In addition ammo is very scarce so you really need to be careful with your shots.  Sometimes it may be easier to take the stealthy approach as opposed to going guns blazing.

Even though the game deals with some very dark themes the game can look very gorgeous in some places.  While some areas are dark and dank there are other areas that are legitimately beautiful areas where plant life is growing through urban areas.  It really hits home when you see some animals roaming free in the world.

Multiplayer is also really well done.  There are only two modes but the way it’s framed makes it interesting.  At the very start you’re given a choice of two factions: Scavengers or Fireflies. The idea behind this is that you’re the leader of a small survivor’s refuge.  Whenever you play a multiplayer game there are supplies littered throughout.  In addition to completing multiplayer goals you are also tasked to find enough supplies to help your refuge survive.  The actual multiplayer though is very simple. It’s two takes on the classic team deathmatch. One mode is a last man standing survival mode while the other has the team sharing a pool of respawns.  What I really like though is how they incorporated most of the elements from the single player mode such as the crafting system.  

What else can I say about The Last of Us.  It’s a spectacular game made by a spectacular developer.  If you haven’t already done so buy it on sight.  10/10

E3: The Aftermath

And so E3 is over.  It's a bit of a bittersweet moment.  On the one hand one of the biggest video game events is over and we won't get to experience this again for another year.  But on the other we leave this event with more information as to what's coming in the near future.  This year was especially exciting as Sony and Microsoft went toe to toe and showed off their next generation consoles.  Other companies came too including Nintendo, EA, UbiSoft, and many more to show off new and upcoming games.  One of the most anticipated aspects of E3 is the press conference as gamers around the world gather around a live stream to hear some of these announcements first, myself included.  There's a certain sense of anticipation and excitement as you see a company take stage and show off a completely new game whether it be the continuation of a popular franchise or a new IP.  Since this is one of the more important aspects of E3 I figured I would give a summary of each one along with my thoughts.

Microsoft:  Going in Microsoft was the one company who had a lot of work to do.  After the lackluster debut of the Xbox One they really needed to show off some high quality games that would convince people that the console is worth it.  As such I think that they showed off a lot of  interesting games such as Ryse: Son of Rome, Metal Gear Solid V, Dead Rising 3, Project Spark, Titanfall and many more.  While the games did look good the one thing that concerned me was the lack of exactly sharing used games would work or how the console would have to connect to the internet once every 24 hours.  The best way I could sum this up is that Microsoft showed some good games but then you realize you would need to buy an Xbox One.  And the price for the Xbox One didn't relive much tension either as it had a whopping price tag of $499.  It's not nearly as crazy as the PS3's original price of $599 but it's still expensive.  When I was finished watching the conference I was left thinking that the games were alright but I still didn't have much faith in the actual console.

EA: EA was average this year. I had no idea what to expect going in as we already knew about most of EA's games such as Battlefield 4 and the various sports titles they make too.  They did however have a surprise or two up their sleeve.  The first was Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, a third person shooter based upon the popular mobile game franchise.  It looked like a good game but I honestly wouldn't pay full price for it.  The next surprise was the announcement of a sequel to Mirror's Edge.  Only a trailer was shown and it was made pretty clear that DICE, the developer, was taking it's time with this game only offering a vague release date of "when it's done."  The one announcement that I was excited for the most was the first Star Wars game being developed by EA.  While it was only a short trailer it brought me joy knowing that EA was going to be resurrecting the Battlefront series. Aside from that EA also showed off Dragon Age Inquisition and a new Need for Speed game.  They both looked  good even though I wasn't particularly interested in either franchise.  The weirdest announcement though was  a Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame.  It flet out of place but at least it didn't take up most of the conference.  Overall the conference was  average for me aside from the Battlefront announcement.  I'm sure other people are excited for Dragon Age, Battlefield and the other games as well but for me I just wasn't interested.

Ubisoft: This in my opinion was the most disappointing press conference.  Almost every game shown were games we already knew about and no gameplay was shown yet.  Sure it's nice to know South Park is still in development but it would've been cool to see some gameplay.  All we got was a short trailer.  The same goes for the other games there as well such as Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, and Assassin's Creed.  The only new games shown were The Crew which looked like an interesting online multiplayer driving game and Tom Clancy's The Division a post apocalyptic MMORPG.  Even though I'm not a fan of the Tom Clancy games this one looked interesting.  But one of the biggest drawbacks of the conference was the host Aisha Tyler.  While I enjoyed her last year, this year she seemed a little off.  While last year she was full of enthusiasm and ramped up excitement for the games, this year she just seemed to crack jokes about sex whenever she could.  It may be funny the first time but it gets tiresome if that's the same shtick you go with for the entire conference.  I wish Ubisoft showed off more of their games instead of just showing us trailer after trailer.

Sony:  I was looking forward to Sony's press conference the most this year.  Ever since the announcement of the PS4 in February I was hungry for more information about the system.  If the  announcement in February was the appetizer consider this the main course.  Starting off Sony briefly touched on upcoming games for the PS Vita and PS3.  From there though they kicked it into high gear as they finally showed off what the actual PS4 system look like.  The console looked very cool.  It was a black box like most expected but it had some interesting angular details to it.  After that they debuted a trailer for The Order: 1886.  The game is a third person shooter set in an alternate history.  It looks like it's about an organization that's trying to hunt down monsters.  It had a very interesting Steampunk aesthetic as one character had what appeared to be gun that shot electricity.  No other details were shown aside from that.  Following that Square Enix had two announcements.  Final Fantasy Versus XIII was now retitled as Final Fantasy XV and work on the long anticipated Kingdom Hearts 3 has finally begun.  Sony also showed off a slew of Indie games for the PS4 focusing on its more development friendly nature.  We also learned that Killzone, Knack, and Driveclub were all going to be launch titles.  But arguably the biggest announcements were that Sony wasn't going to be blocking used games or forcing the console to connect to the internet. Combined with the price of $399 for the actual console and many have agreed that Sony definitely triumphed over Microsoft that day.

Nintendo:  I won't lie but I was kind of disappointed by Nintendo's showing this year.  Instead of doing a press conference, Nintendo just did a general livestream of upcoming games.   What disappointed me however was that the new Mario game they were touting was just going to be an expanded version of Super Mario 3D Land.  There was also a very small presence of third party games as it looked like UbiSoft and Sega  were the only companies outside of Nintendo developing for the Wii U.  The only announcement I was genuinely excited about was the new Super Smash Bros. game and the fact that Mega Man was going to be a playable character.  While Nintendo did show off several interesting games I am worried about the lack of third party developers producing games for Nintendo.  Nintendo can't sell the WiiU on Mario and Zelda alone. 

Well that was what I thought about the press conferences this year.  While some companies did a lackluster job others did showed off some impressive games and hardware. Either way I left E3 this year more excited for the next generation of consoles.  

Pre-E3 Thoughts

Summertime is always a good time for me.  I don't have to worry about school, all the amusement parks are open, and the one of the biggest gaming events occurs: E3.  Whenever E3 comes around you can always expect big announcements whether it be a new game in a blockbuster franchise or a new console.  I find myself really excited for this E3 due to both Sony and Microsoft bringing their new consoles to the forefronts.  Everyone has their expectations piqued and so do I.  I thought I would share what I hope to see at E3 with you guys.  Let me know what you guys think and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments

An Actual Xbox One Game:  As I previously recapped, Microsoft showed little to no games at their Xbox One reveal event.  With E3 coming up Microsoft really needs to show some triple A titles in order to entice potential customers.  I've heard rumors of a new Fable game, the next Halo game, and even a new Banjo Kazooie game of all things.  As long as the games they show off are entertaining or fun I'm pretty sure Microsoft will be able to rally some support behind them.  

The First EA Star Wars Game:  Some of the biggest news this year was LucasArt's closure.  What was even more surprising was that EA was going to behind making new Star Wars games.  While they aren't planning to release anything this year it would be nice to see what they have in store for us.  Maybe they're continuing work on Star Wars 1313 or maybe the long rumored Battlefront 3 could emerge.  Hell maybe we could potentially see a new RPG from BioWare.  I always have a soft spot for a good Star Wars game and I doubt  EA will disappoint.

South Park The Stick of Truth:  While South Park has a rocky history with videos game The Stick of Truth looks like it's going to break that trend.  While the game was finally revealed last year there has been very little information released.  It didn't help that the publisher, THQ, went bankrupt and had to auction off all of their assets.  Thankfully UbiSoft managed to acquire the rights to publish this game so hopefully we'll see some news during their press conference. 

Naughty Dog's PS4 game:  This is purely speculation on my part but I really hope that Naughty Dog has something in store for the PS4.  With The Last of Us literally coming out the week of E3 it would be hard to believe that Naughty Dog wouldn't have one of their teams working on a secondary project.  I have no idea what kind of game they're making and I want to keep it that way.  In a world where many announcements are leaked in advance  it's nice to be surprised once in a while.

A new traditional Ratchet & Clank games:  While I love Ratchet & Clank I feel that the last two games, All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault strayed too far from the essence of Ratchet & Clank.  While it would be interesting to see what a PS4 Ratchet & Clank game would be like but I'd be alright with a PS3 game.  Maybe it'll come out this fall or maybe it'll come out when the movie is released I just want to see a return to glory for one of my favorite dynamic duos.

Sly 5:  I know Sly Cooper Thieves in Time was just released this year but the cliffhanger ending had me clamoring for more. This one is pretty self explanatory so I won't go into great detail.  Let's just hope it's not another eight years before a new game is announced.

A tease of the next Fallout:  I know that Bethesda is hard at work on The Elder Scrolls Online and many other titles but I really hope that they drop some hints at what they're doing with the Fallout franchise.  After seeing what they did with The Elder Scrolls in Skyrim I can only wonder what Fallout 4 will be like.

More Details On Metal Gear Solid V:  I think it was a surprise to no one that  The Phantom Pain turned out to be MGSV.  After the game's reveal at GDC many questions were raised.  Is the game going to be current or next gen?  Who will be voicing Big Boss?  Which characters will make an appearance? Is Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes going to be sold with MGSV or will it be its own separate thing?  Here's hoping that more details will be revealed. 

The Next Smash Bros. game:  After being teased and teased and teased yet again I think it's time for Nintendo to pull back the curtain on the next Smash Bros. game.  Ever since Nintendo teased it people have been wondering how the WiiU version and 3DS version will connect with each other.  There's also the fact that it's being developed by Namco-Bandai as opposed to being internally developed by Nintendo.   Knowing the pedigree of the Smash Bros. series expectations are high as nothing is known about this game. 

Earthbound Compilation:  This one is a bit of a stretch but after hearing the news about the original Earthbound game coming to the WiiU Virtual Console I figured there was a small chance of this happening.  While many gamers are excited about the Virtual Console release I hope that this may give way to releases of the other two games which have only been released in Japan thus far. Known as Mother in Japan, the only game that has ever been translated for a domestic release has been Mother 2.  A translation group has offered to give their notes on Mother 3 to Nintendo so who knows where this might led.  It's not likely but I'm holding out some hope.

The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past 2:  While I am a casual fan at best of the Zelda franchise when I saw this game announced during a Nintendo Direct I found it pretty cool.  A Link to the Past 2 looks like it's going to take good advantage of the 3D gimmick while also introducing new gameplay mechanics which allow Link to attach to a wall and turn into a drawing .  While I doubt it's going to be called A Link to the Past 2, so it can attract a wider audience, it's still made very clear that this at least going to take place in a similar environment to the original.   

Xbox One Event Thoughts

I have always been a PlayStation fan but I decided to watch the new Xbox announcement as I was genuinely curious what Microsoft was planning for their console.  I had heard plenty of rumors about the console, the most notable one being whether or not the system would require a constant internet connection.  It was a time of great anxiety for both Microsoft and it's consumers.  Regardless of what all of us were thinking we all sat down whether it be at Microsoft's event in Washington or in front of a live broadcast to see what Microsoft had in store.  I think it's fair to say that announcement was underwhelming.  To start off the name of the new console was revealed to be Xbox One.  I'm not really a fan of the new name as I think it'll confuse many people in the future as I think it can be easily confused for the original Xbox.  I know the reasoning for the name for the console was because Microsoft wanted it to be the one  stop for entertainment but I think some of the rumored names like Xbox Fusion or Xbox Infinity were a little better and could still be used to convey the console's potential.  The actual look of the console is also a little underwhelming.  It seems a little too large and blocky.  I understand there's a lot they have to store in there but I believe the Xbox 360 had a certain elegance to its design.  The controller is pretty much the same so I didn't really have any complaints.   Microsoft next touched on how the console could connect with your TV and Cable Box.  They also demonstrated how you could seamlessly switch between games, TV shows, movies, apps, etc. by using voice commands.   While I thought this was all pretty interesting I'm not sure if this was the right place to show off those features.  Another feature touted was the ability so snap an application while watching a movie or playing a game.  So hypothetically you could talk to your friend over Skype while playing a game or look up showtimes for a movie on Internet Explorer while watching TV.  Again this is all well and good but I feel that Microsoft should focus more on the graphical and technical capabilities of the console.  EA Sports took the stage to talk about some of their plans and in all honesty I really wasn't enthralled.  I may write a blog post in the future about this but I'm not really a fan of sports games.  Another game shown off was Quantum Break.  Not a lot of details were revealed but the game is apparently going to combine both live action cutscenes and gameplay.  Only a short clip was shown so I can't weigh judgment yet.  One of the more stranger was a Halo TV series being made by Stephen Spielberg.  While I don't mind the idea of a Halo TV series I feel this was the wrong place to announce it.  When you plan an event to talk about your newest console you should do just that.  I feel  a Halo TV series announcement would be better placed at San Diego Comic Con.  The last thing shown off was the new Call of Duty games.  Nothing really spectacular if you ask me.  It does look better than previous gen games but I wouldn't really use Call of Duty as a benchmark for graphics.  And that was the end of the conference.  I know this was more of a technical presentation but I think we expected Microsoft to show off more of what it could do with games as opposed to how you can watch TV and use apps.  Also some of the news about the console after the event have been very disheartening.  While the Xbox One won't require a constant internet connection a user will still be require to connect to the internet at least once a day.  Also while not outright blocking used games if the console does detect that the game has already been linked to an Xbox account it will block the player and require a fee to be paid.  All of this combined with the lackluster showing is not putting Microsoft in a good position.  I really think the Xbox One should have been announced sooner like at the Consumers Electronics Show or Game Developers console.  Microsoft really needs to bring a lot of AAA games to E3 in order to save face.  

Pre Microsoft Conference Thoughts

I will freely admit that going into this I am completely and totally biased.  I am a PlayStation fan at heart and have never owned an Xbox in any shape or form.  I do not however hate Xbox.  I learned a long time ago that being jealous of other video game companies is petty and all in all it's not really worth it.  With that said I am genuinely curious on what Microsoft has planned.  There have been plenty of rumors flying around such as the notorious always online rumor.    Whether or not it's true we'll find out soon enough.  Outside of all of these rumors I'm not sure what to expect.  I mean I know some new games will be shown (Halo 5 is most likely a given) but what will the actual console do?  Will we be seeing a new version of the Kinect?  Is the new Xbox going to take a similar developer friendly approach like the PS4? How will Xbox live be upgraded?  I have no idea.  That's the disadvantage of restricting myself to one console.  While I can speculate about the PS4 I have no idea what to expect this time.  I am going in blind to this.  Regardless though I am still excited.  I am always interested by advancements in the gaming industry and this is no exception.  I probably won't buy the new Xbox but I'm still excited.  If I had any predictions whatsoever about the new Xbox I'd say that maybe Microsoft is probably moving towards more of a broader entertainment device than a console.  While I think the new Xbox will still play games and the like I think there may be more of an emphasis on entertainment providers like Netflix and Hulu.   Will I be right? I don't know.  The 21st is approaching and I am looking forward to see what Microsfot has in store.

Iron Man 3 Thoughts

So the first post-Avenger film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come out.  How was it? It was pretty good. I hesitate it to call it the best Iron Man movie but it was certainly better than Iron Man 2.  The main point of contention  would have to be the twist.  People who have seen the film know what I'm talking about.  I won't give anything anyway but this will either make or break the film for you.  Aside from that I liked pretty much everything else.  I feel that Tony Stark has grown as a character after the events of The Avengers.    I also really loved the effects. In the climatic fight scene, Tony calls a legion of Iron Man suits that he has built and every single one looks distinct with little overlap.  As for any hints as to what's next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, aside from the trailer for Thor: The Dark World there aren't any. The stinger does provide a pretty funny moment similar to the shawarma scene from The Avengers.  While I wouldn't say this is as good as the initial Iron Man film I would still say that this is one of the better films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I'd recommend seeing it in theaters but if you're short on money you can wait until it's on DVD/Netflix/On Demand/whatever.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a review.  This is just a short look at a film I have seen recently and what I thought of it.  I do plan on doing more in depth reviews but when I'm short on time and want to give you guys content I'll give you guys my thoughts in a similar style to this. Hope you enjoy.

What I've been playing lately

I know I haven't been writing as often but I've been busy with schoolwork and the like. Hopefully this summer I'll be able to amend that.  For now I figured I'd tell you what games I've been playing recently and what games I'm looking forward to.

For starters I played BioShock Infinite and it is just as awesome as everyone has been saying it is. Talking about it here in so little detail does it an injustice. I really regret not writing a review closer to when it came out. If you haven't played it yet, please do so. BioShock Infinite is one of those rare games that help to define a generation.

I also replayed some games I already own like Batman Arkham City and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker due to new games being announced in their respective series.  Both games still hold up really well despite coming out 1-2 years ago. I've always appreciated how the Batman games engulf you in the universe of the Dark Knight. You truly feel like you are Batman when playing this game. You have all of his gadgets and all of his skills. There's a certain sense of glee you get when you get into a brawl with a bunch of criminals. That same sense of glee is amplified when you are picking each of the thugs slowly one by one while the others slowly get more scared knowing that Batman is in the same room as they are but they just can't find him.  

As for Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker I still enjoy it. Even though I'm playing the PS3 version as opposed to the PSP version nothing is lost in translation; it's still a fun game. The main draw to the Metal Gear Solid franchise has always been the story and I always liked the story of Peace Walker as it continues the story of Big Boss and what he did after Snake Eater. (still need to replay that and the other Metal Gear games as well) I decided to hold off on getting Metal Gear Rising for the time being. I've heard good things about it but I just couldn't justify paying full price for it in this day and age. Maybe when it becomes a greatest hit I'll get it but for the time being I feel that I can live without it. 

Speaking of the Metal Gear Solid series it's finally been revealed that The Phantom Pain was really Metal Gear Solid 5 the whole time. Yeah we all expected it but it's still nice to get some clarification. I'm still a little confused whether or not Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is going to be a stand alone game or if it's a part of The Phantom Pain but either way I'm looking forward to the next installment in the Metal Gear series.

Going back to Batman, the newest game Arkham Origins seems pretty interesting. While it's a bit annoying that we're going back to Batman's early days even though that story has been told so many times that it's been done to death. After reading about it in Game Informer though I feel pretty confident that Warner Bros. knows what they're doing. 

I am considering not getting Remember Me. Capcom, the publishers of Remember Me, has received a lot of scrutiny this generation for doing some shady business practices such as cancelling numerous games in the Mega Man franchise, releasing new versions of games even though they could just release DLC, and including DLC on disk and making you pay for it to unlock it. While Capcom does have me intrigued with a remake of the old NES DuckTales games I'm more than a little concerned that we're going to see Remember Me Super Hyper Mega Edition in a few months after it's released. If anything it's going to be like Metal Gear Rising where I get the game after a price drop. For now though I'm remaining skeptical.

I'm actually surprised that I haven't mentioned a word about the PS4 on this blog considering how much of a PlayStation fanboy I am.  There's already several games announced for it that I am interested in.  Assassin's Creed 4, Destiny, Diablo III, the newest game in the Infamous franchise, Killzone Shadow Fall, and the previously announced Watch Dogs. While early details have been pretty interesting (except for the lack of backwards compatibility, though as long as I hold on to my PS3 I'll be alright) there are still a few unknown variables. I am very interested in what Sony is planning on showing at E3. Hopefully we'll see more details about the games I previously listed as well as some new games announced.

Lastly I'm starting to feel really glad that I bought a 3DS. While I'm finally getting around to playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time I'm also excited about games further down the pipeline such as Donkey Kong Country and the newest Pokemon game.  What really has piqued my interest though is a new Legend of Zelda game based off the old Link to the Past game. I really like what I've seen so far and I think it might be nice for the Zelda franchise to return to basics after heavy hitters like Skyward Sword. 

So yeah that's what I've been playing as of recently. Maybe I'll go more in depth in the future but for now I'm going to get through the rest of this semester.  

Good Night Sweet yellow guy who holds up the sun

Star Wars has always been near and dear to my heart.  I also was very into video games as a kid.  The two managed to overlap when my parents got me Star Wars: Rebel Assault II for the computer.  That feeling I got when I was flying a ship at the beginning of the game and blasting tie fighters was magical  I wasn't just watching a movie, I was living it.  I felt as though my actions were impacting this world.  It's a feeling that many game developers try to capture today but mostly fall short.  From then on I had a fondness of many Star Wars games.  From Battlefront to Knights of the Old Republic, I ate up Star Wars video games.  And who could forget their popular point and click adventure games like Sam and Max and Monkey Island. Those games really helped to shape my sense of humor.  While Lucas Arts isn't exactly the powerhouse developer they were in the past I still watched whenever a new Star Wars game. Their newest one Star Wars 1313 looked particularly interesting.  However that game may now never see the light of day. As of today LucasArts has been shut down by Disney.

While LucasArts has been having trouble this generation I will still miss them. LucasArts made some impressive games that helped shape this generation.  Without Knights of the Old Republic I'm pretty sure no one would know who BioWare is. I've hoped for a new Battlefront game for a while but unfortunately it seems like that is not going to happen. While I could have spent most of this post bitching at Disney for closing LucasArts, it would be a fruitless effort. Instead I will simply pay my respects to LucasArts.  It's a damn shame the studio was closed down. I hope that everyone who worked there are able to find new jobs.
Good night sweet yellow guy who holds up the sun. Let Jedi Sing Thee to thy rest.

Pardon Our Dust

Well it certainly has been a while since the last time I wrote something.  I think the reason for that is I kept on trying to think of different kinds of posts I could make while still keeping this entertaining along with the pressure of school and all that. Well it's time to change that.  The blog is going nowhere but I'm taking more of an unscripted approach.  I'll still be talking about the same stuff: movies, TV shows, video games, but I'm not going to dedicate different  features to it. If I feel like writing about something, I'll write about it, plain and simple. So stick around, I'm not going anywhere.