Dark Souls...should I do it?

I tried Dark Souls once when I got it for Steam a few months ago.  After patching it up to deal with the lousy port for PC, I quickly made it to the first area after doing the tutorial, died dozens of times, and just gave up.

But maybe I was doing it wrong.  When I'm trying a game for the first time, I usually take the try anything and everything approach.  Don't know what a weapon does?  Equip it.  Don't know what a stat does?  Oh well, buff it and see what happens.

This game isn't forgiving enough for that.  I need to get back to tactics that are more sensible for a game this difficult.  I need to grind it out a bit and make sure I'm going in the right direction instead of any direction.  If I collect a bunch of stuff, I should just go back and save before I lose it all.  There's no way I can't get through this game, right?

Let's switch gears and talk about NBA 2K14 and Lebron: Path to Greatness.  I probably follow the NBA more than other pro sports with the exception of tennis, so this series really is a personal favorite.  Unlike Madden, it actually does things that are interesting for people who are into the league and its history.


Lebron: Path to Greatness gives you two paths for Lebron James' future.  One is setting up a dynasty with the Miami Heat as you go for 7 championships.  The other has Lebron leaving Miami after this season (and getting his threepeat...spoiler alert I guess) and moving on to some other teams and playing with some surprising players.  There are definitely some funny moments as crazy events happen in this fictional future, and if you appreciate the sport you will get a chuckle out of it.

It's not for everybody, but if you are into the NBA I highly recommend it.  I did have some technical issues getting it running on my PC, but eventually I worked it out.  2K Sports has terrible support.

I finished the main game of Pokemon Y and I'm not sure how much further I will take it.  On one hand, I can see it being totally plausible and fun to get all of the Pokemon and truly mastering the game.  On the other hand, there are plenty of other things for me to play on 3DS, including picking Fire Emblem back up.

That's all for now.  More entries coming soon.  I'm IMTheWalrus610 on Steam, Twitch, PSN, and Xbox Live if you would like to reach out on those or Google+.

I had so much fun with one console launch I had to do it again. My thoughts on the Xbox One

There it is.  Pretty much exactly how it would look in your living room.

The question everybody asks me is which of the systems is better...is it the less expensive but supposedly more powerful PS4 or the more expensive and complex Xbox One.  Here's the answer.  Neither is better than the other, and nobody is going to care about the price difference or hardware specifications once they have the games and applications ready for them.  Nobody talked about the processor in the Xbox 360 when they were playing Gears of War for the first time.  Nobody cared about the clunky online platform in the PS3 when they were enjoying Uncharted.  The bottom line is that people are going to get the system that best fits their style of entertainment.  Everybody wants to make a console war.  I guess people find it entertaining (or perhaps mentally fulfilling) to take a position as if these consoles are like politicians or a religion.  The fact is that these are consumer purchases.  If one of these platforms totally dominated, we would all be worse off for it.  Sony would not be focusing on indie support now if it weren't for the success of Xbox Live Arcade, and Microsoft would not have ramped up Xbox Live Gold to include free stuff if it weren't for Playstation Plus.  And Nintendo is still in the wings delivering something completely different which is probably why the Kinect came along in the first place...it's likely a response to the Wii Remote and that kind of fewer button, non-controller interaction.

But hey, it's not very interesting for me to not take a public position on it, so here are my thoughts on the system, both positive and negative.

Let's start with the hardware itself.  Much like the Playstation 4, the design is sleek and definitely much more elegant than its predecessor.  When I removed my Xbox 360 from the entertainment center, it just looked old to me.  Perhaps I'm just spoiled.

The controller feels very nice to me with the analog sticks.  I've heard gripes about the positions of the triggers and bumpers, but so far it has not been an issue for me.  If I had to choose one, I would probably go with the Playstation 4 controller, but both are good.

The differences really start with the Kinect and how it delivers a totally different and unique experience from the Playstation 4 in terms of how it works with the rest of the devices around your TV.  There is an HDMI input for your cable box, and as a result you can do more interesting things with the Kinect.  For example, if I say "Xbox Watch ESPN" it just changes the channel to 570 (ESPN on FIOS) and it's done.  Sounds good, right?  Well...ask it to change to NFL Red Zone or NBA TV.  Those don't work so well.  It turned me to Lifetime, TNT, NBC...just not the channels I wanted.  That can be frustrating.  But when I say "Xbox Turn On" when I get home the whole thing turns on and tunes to whatever channel I was on last while I'm doing other things like feed the cats or put down my work stuff.  Overall it's a positive experience, but I found that I did have to go back to the remote control quite often.  The Xbox also features something called One Guide.  This is like a TV guide, but I think it's not so great.  If you channel surf, it's just way to slow.  I kept having to say "page down", which is obnoxious to others in the room and annoying to do.  When I use the remote, I just press down a bunch and it moves faster.  I don't know how it would work, but like a "surf" command would be nice for the system to just scroll through the channels at a reasonable speed.  Perhaps it exists and I just don't know about it.

The Kinect also can do other things like Skype calls or party chats, which I think work pretty well.  When I did a Skype call with a friend, the camera was smart enough to zoom in on him as he walked around his living room.  That was impressive.  What wasn't impressive is how it thinks my cats are people, so it won't do the same zooming quite as well in my living room.  Also, I can't get the hand gestures to work the way they are supposed to.  It feels slow and again it may have to do with the fact that my cats are in the room or that the room isn't oriented in a way the Kinect likes.  It's clearly a more sophisticated camera and microphone system than the PS4, but I don't know how necessary it is.  The PS4 actually seems to do a better job recognizing my face and not seeing my cats as people even though the camera is less powerful.  That is a software issue, so Microsoft should be able to fix it I imagine.

From standby, the system turns on very quickly.  But from a completely powered off state, it is extremely slow to boot up.  Much slower than the PS4.  Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

The dashboard itself is awful.  It has that Metro UI that I never liked on the 360 or in Windows 8.  I think it's very colorful and artistic but has no logic behind it.  That said, if you are using voice commands to open applications and games (which works nearly perfectly) the dashboard is totally irrelevant.

The Xbox also allows some limited multitasking with the use of "Snap".  For example, on Sunday night I had the Broncos/Patriots game snapped to the side of the screen as I played Forza Motorsport 5.  This is a gimmick in my opinion.  I couldn't pay attention to the game on the tiny part of the screen while racing.  It's totally impractical.  Also, the video in the snapped portion of the screen seemed much less smooth.  I seriously doubt I will continue to utilize this feature.

For the time being, the Xbox has the superior exclusive games.  Forza 5 is probably the best overall console launch experience for both systems in the sense that it is a complete game, looks incredible, and is just a lot of fun.  If you are a fan of the show Top Gear, it is a must buy for the tie ins to the TV show.  I also purchased Dead Rising 3 which is not available on other platforms but I have yet to open it.  All of the buzz surrounding that game is positive though so I'm sure I will enjoy it.  I hear the graphics are a bit lacking.  Killer Instinct I bought digitally and it's a strong sequel to the previous games.  It feels the same with a fresh coat of paint.  I purchased the ultimate edition, but for $20 you can get the game with all of the characters (2 are coming as DLC later).  If you like fighting games at all I strongly recommend it.  It's not perfect, but $20?  You really can't go wrong.  Does this make the system the one to buy on launch?  Maybe...it depends on what your tastes are.  But I don't think the PS4 will be lacking in exclusives and I would actually imagine that the exclusives I care about like Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, and The Last of Us (in addition to anything Japanese in origin) will be coming to the PS4.

For the time being, I prefer the Xbox One.  I just think that today I will get more value out of it.  But I like both systems.  I think they are well designed, the games look good, the controllers are awesome, and they have some ambitiousness behind the fundamental design.  Unlike the old days of the NES, these systems will continue to evolve with firmware updates that will enhance them even more.

I'm sure I failed to mention a few things about both systems...for example, I don't think I mentioned the PS Vita remote play on the Playstation 4 which works exceptionally well.  But I think if you are going to buy one or both of these systems, you have to make the purchase based on what is known about them for now and what matters to you.  I suspect that if you are into some of the bigger titles such as sports games or first person shooters, the Xbox will likely be the right choice.  If you prefer games that have a more specific niche audience, the PS4 is probably going to be a better decision.  You can't really go wrong though.

So which system is going to get my attention this holiday season?  The answer is...The Nintendo Wii U and 3DS.  I have been a very harsh critic of Nintendo for their weak online functionality, underpowered hardware, eccentric design, and lack of 3rd party support.  All of that stuff gets thrown out the window when you load up The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (expect a post just on this game) and you realize that you are having more fun with a game that runs at lower resolution on a weird looking system.  Nintendo has some significant problems as a company including getting people to buy their poorly marketed Wii U as well as having 3rd party publishers bring exclusives to the platform, but Rayman Legends, Super Mario 3D World, A Link Between Worlds, Wind Waker HD, Fire Emblem Awakening, Pokemon X/Y, etc. are some of the best games that came out in 2013.  I'll be doing a top 10 games of the year and honorable mention blog post soon as I complete a few more games, but expect to see Nintendo well represented.

This gets back to my fundamental point about new consoles.  People get into flame wars over hardware specs, backwards compatibility, online play, and other factors that don't have much to do with what games are actually on the system.  If the next Gears of War game comes out for Xbox and everybody loves it, nobody is going to give a shit about the fact that Microsoft initially wanted to get rid of used games or that the system is technically less powerful than the PS4.  DDR3 or DDR5 memory means nothing when you are enjoying the experience.  The Last of Us could very well be the game of the year, and it has a lower resolution and an inconsistent framerate on a platform that is 6 years old.

If you see one of these new consoles in a store and you really want to play Forza or Resogun, just get the system that has it.  I'm sure it will all work out in the end.  You will find plenty to enjoy on all of these platforms.

Comments and feedback are welcomed.  Feel free to share this or my other posts with friends.  You can reach out to me on Steam, Xbox Live, PSN at IMTheWalrus610, or connect with me on Google+ through this blog.

Playstation 4 Launch!

I was one of the fortunate people to procure a Playstation 4 for launch due to a preorder I got from Amazon almost immediately upon the announcement of the system.  Perhaps it wasn't the wisest decision to commit myself to spending that kind of money (as well as the preorder of an Xbox One...coming this Friday) without doing much research.

But why not?  Let's be honest...was I not getting these systems at some point anyway?  Did I really think I would go 5-7 years with just a PC, a Wii U, and one or neither of the 2013 launch consoles?

So this whole thing was inevitable.  Fortunately, I am pleased with my purchase so far despite the fact that it wasn't a necessary purchase.

Obviously, this is a much more powerful machine than the PS3.  I played The Last of Us over the summer, and while it looked very good artistically and technically within the hardware limitations of the PS3, comparing the graphics between a game like that and Bioshock Infinite which I run on my PC or Killzone Shadow Fall on PS4 is a pretty striking difference.  The jump in resolution, draw distance, framerate, etc. is noticeable for anybody who has been actively playing video games.  They also did some nice operating system changes.  Things feel a bit quicker and more elegant.  Games and Applications launch quickly with reasonable loading.  The online functions seems faster.  And with the Playstation Camera I now have it setup so that the system recognizes that I am playing it when it turns on based purely on my face.

Remote Play on the Vita worked flawlessly and setup very quickly.  In less than 5 minutes after bringing my Vita downstairs to set it up I was playing Resogun and mirroring screens between my Vita and TV.

Unlike some of the reports, I have experienced no hardware issues whatsoever.  That could change, and it probably will based on the amount of time I will put into playing the system.  I lost a PS3 and two Xbox 360s probably in part to design flaws but also because of the amount of operating time they had.  I suppose I consider that a part of the cost of owning these products.

The launch titles are limited.  Killzone is the big first party exclusive, and while the first half of the single player campaign was fun, I found myself frustrated towards the second half as the game went away from the big open first person shooting areas and into weak puzzles and stealth areas.  It just didn't feel fun to me.  I'm told that the multiplayer is better, but Halo 4 had a strong campaign and multiplayer.  So the bar has been set, and in my opinion Killzone does not reach it.  It does look and control well though.  I'm eBaying my copy, but I could see people playing this game online for a while.  But if you are like me and look for the single player experience first, and the multiplayer second, I can't recommend spending $60 on it.  Fortunately, I got it on Amazon in a buy 2 get 1 free deal, so hopefully once I sell it I will get my money back (and maybe a little more).

I also have Assassin's Creed 4, which is not exclusive to PS4.  I'm pretty optimistic about how that will turn out.  Everything suggests it's better than Assassin's Creed 3, which is one of the weaker games of the series, but I still found plenty to enjoy.

Need For Speed: Rivals is on its way.  For some reason Amazon didn't have it available immediately.  I'll get it soon enough.  It's another game I have faith in based on the series and what I read in the gaming media.

My favorite game in the system's launch window is Resogun.  It's a very simple concept that should be familiar to anybody who has played the classic arcade game, Defender.



If you subscribe to Playstation Plus, this game is free.  You should probably buy it anyway though even if you don't (why don't you?  $50 a year for the free stuff is worth it).  The game is an arcade style twin stick shooter that anybody can pick up and understand, but only the truly skilled will learn to master.  I suppose I'm biased though...I think simple and tight but fun experiences are great.  It's one of the things I appreciated most about the last generation of consoles.  Games like Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD (same creators of Resogun), Super Meat Boy, and Everyday Shooter really became more mainstream as digital delivery of "indie" games became normal.  These types of games add serious depth to the overall pool of games available.

Another free title I got through Playstation Plus was Contrast.



This is a puzzle game where you have to switch between a normal 3D platforming experience and going into the shadows to solve puzzles.  In the picture above you can see that the character is climbing onto the shadow of the umbrella so that presumably she can jump onto the balcony.  It's a neat concept, but unfortunately the whole game feels thin.  I've only spent a little time with it, but the puzzles were very simple and the graphics aren't that impressive.  They could have done a lot more.  But again, it's free.  So I suppose I can't complain.  It's worth booting up.

Soon I will try to stream Assassin's Creed 4 via Twitch.tv if I can figure it out, and from what I can tell the process should be simple.  If you would like to follow me on Twitch.tv, my username is IMTheWalrus610.  I imagine that won't have to change for the PS4, but crazier things have happened.  So far I haven't done that much streaming on the PC, but maybe I'll get back into it.  Like most things with electronics, I like to tinker with features even if I don't end up using them extensively.

The big question is whether you should go out and buy a Playstation 4 today.  That really depends on the type of person you are.  I can't honestly say that there is an extremely compelling reason to go out and buy this system based purely on the launch titles.  But that being said, if you want to play next gen versions of things like Madden, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty, etc. and you don't have a high end gaming PC, the Playstation 4 is worth getting.  Also, if you are really into playing video games in general it's not like this machine will gather dust.  Yes, Killzone and Assassin's Creed are not going to be the two best games of the year, but like with the previous Playstation iterations there will be plenty of quality titles to go around over the course of time.  Buying a Playstation 4 on launch seems like a better investment than buying a Wii U at launch, although I bought that shortly after launch which was a mistake.

Quick Update

Since the last time I posted something, I've been mostly focused on Dead Space 3 and Pokemon Y.  I also put a little more time into Rayman Legends, and I'm that much closer to completely finishing it.

This art reminds me how good Dead Space 3 can look.  When you are floating around in space trying to find parts, you get beautiful views of planets and space junk.  Unfortunately, you don't get enough time in space in my opinion.

Dead Space 3 was fun.  I think the reviews are a little harsh, but the consensus is correct.  This is not as good as Dead Space 2 if you are looking for a survival horror experience.  I felt as if the game was pushing me into encounters with tons of enemies rather than scaring me and putting me in surprising situations that were uncomfortable.  I also continue to enjoy the anti-gravity parts of the game where you float around an area that has no sound trying to defeat enemies that sneak up on you while you try and accomplish an objective without air or gravity.  Sadly, after the first several chapters of the game, you get sent to a planet never to do things in space the rest of the campaign.  Why Visceral made the decision to do this is a mystery to me.  The game is called Dead SPACE.  Why would you take that out?

But I still enjoyed it enough to run through the entire campaign over a weekend, and it's a fairly decent sized campaign.  I think I missed some of the optional missions, and I haven't done the co-op missions yet, but I clocked about 12 hours into the campaign.  I imagine you could get several more hours in by being more thorough than I was.  That being said, if you don't enjoy the action as much and you really need that survival horror feel, I could see you growing impatient and not wanting to spend extra time on it.

The bottom line is that it's a solid game.  I've played a lot worse, and the game does look good.  The story was satisfying enough for me.  And you can probably get it for cheap.  But play Dead Space 1 and 2 (especially 2, which is one of my favorite games of all time) before moving on to this.  If you find the action in those games unsatisfying, you might be turned off by this game.

Go ahead and search for Pokemon X on Google without the Y.  Make sure there are small children in the room.

A couple weeks ago I downloaded Pokemon Y (only because others I knew bought X) since I had some eShop credit and a spur of the moment pledge to purchase the game in exchange for borrowing Beyond Two Souls.  I sort of dismissed it as a gimmick and that I was past Pokemon.  I was wrong.

This game is super addictive.  I played Pokemon way back on Game Boy with Pokemon Blue (I think...now I can't even remember), so I knew what I was getting into.  But they did a great job modernizing this game, in particular with the online features.  The fact that you can trade Pokemon and battle with people throughout the world is a huge leap for the series.  It probably should have already happened by now, but now that it's here the game is a much more robust experience.

It's a simple RPG...it won't really challenge you.  But the beauty of the game is you can really play it in the way you want.  Like a particular kind of Pokemon?  Just train a bunch of them and ride them the whole way.  Want to use different Pokemon at different times?  The Experience Share item allows you to build different parties without boring grinding.  The main objective of the game and the story are extremely basic.  In fact, I would say the plot borders on stupid and ridiculous.  It's definitely got that Japanese tone where they talk about cleansing the world and ultimate weapons and other tropes.  But this game is targeted to a wide audience including children, so I expected broad themes.

If you like RPGs, collecting things, handheld experiences, multiplayer, etc., you can't go wrong with it.  It's one of the best games of the year.

That's where I'm at right now.  This weekend I plan on putting more time into a few things if I can.  NBA 2K14, Batman Arkham Origins, Spelunky, and Tales of Xillia are all possibilities.

Gone Home AKA Diet Myst

When I want that sweet Myst flavor without all of the incomprehensible puzzles, I play Gone Home.

Gone Home is the perfect test case for Steam Friends and Family Sharing, which is how I was able to play this entire game without spending a dime.  While I have some very positive things to say about the overall experience, I can't recommend that anybody spend $20 on this game.

I don't want you to mistake that statement for thinking that this is a bad game.  In fact, I'm not even sure it is a game.  You can't fail.  It's not really a challenge.  But I enjoyed the 2 hours or so I spent absorbing whatever it is that Gone Home is supposed to be.

When you boot it up and start a new game, you hear a short answering machine recording (not voicemail, this takes place in the mid 90s) telling you family that you are coming home from your long trip overseas.  Upon arriving, a note is on the door telling you that nobody is home and not to look into it any further.  So you read the letter, think about what is says...and then you spend the rest of the time doing the exact opposite because otherwise it wouldn't be fun.

Once you figure out how to get in the house, you start to learn about your parents and sister, and the game slowly drops you clues to understand who these people are, what they have been up to, their personal struggles, and you eventually get an idea of the truth.

I'm not going to get into the story much further than that because it could easily spoil the experience.  But to solve the mystery you will have to look around for notes, recordings, keys to locked rooms, etc.  It's not hard to figure out if you just pay attention.  Even if you are diligent, chances are you will miss a few things, and that's OK.  While my experience playing the game left a little ambiguity at the end, I still understood what was going on when I was finished.  This is definitely not something you will want to go back to again and again.  It's a one time experience.  There aren't really any alternate ways to play it or different gameplay modes.  That's not a knock on the game.  It's just a very simple experience.

But if you are interested at all in stories about very personal things like love, frustration, longing, ambitions, and disappointments, Gone Home will be a good use of a couple hours, certainly as much as a quality movie or book.

What makes this effective as a story telling vehicle is the writing.  This story is entirely from your perspective and as I said, nobody is home.  So you never meet the other characters.  And yet the lives that the game tells you about through the clues it leaves you in the house paint a very lucid picture of who these people are.  I really find it incredible that a game can make me empathize with characters that I never met.  To top it off, the environment is great.  While the graphics are not high end by any means, the use of sound effects, music, and journal entries read aloud by your sister truly play with your emotions.  I felt like I knew this family at the end of the game even though the only image in my head is based on a stupid family painting on the wall.

It should also be noted that as someone who grew up in the 1990s, it reminded me of what that time was like.  It's almost like I forgot about cassettes, answering machines, and handwritten notes instead of email.  There are even Super Nintendo cartridges, but I wouldn't forget about those because...well...you know.  I suppose this era makes it easy to create the mystery and story.  In 2013, they would be able to settle the story pretty quickly with a few text messages.

If the game was $5, I would recommend you go out and get it right away, and I think even non-gamers can appreciate it.  It's not like it's difficult.  Not really a game either...sort of an interactive story.  It's an exaggeration at best to say that it's like Myst.  Myst requires you to think and consider your actions.  Gone Home doesn't do that, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.  The big problem I have with it is that it's $20.  For something that you can only do once, isn't a technical marvel, and doesn't even have variation with the story telling, that's just a bad deal.  Since it is on Steam, you can expect that at some point it will be $5 or less.  You can wait until then.  Or you could share it from a friend with Steam if you are on the sharing beta.