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Marvel’s Spider-man (PS4)

spidey ps4

It’s been a long time coming, but Marvel finally gave us a epic game again. Batman: Arkham Asylum , Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight changed superhero games forever and made DC the king of superhero games for nearly a decade but I’m happy to say Marvel came back with a vengeance.

The game takes place years after Peter Parker was fatefully bitten by the radioactive spider. Here we see Parker working for Octavious Industries, a upcoming scientific company lead by Parker’s mentor and dear friend, Otto Octavious, who is working on a series of cybernetic prosthesis. Aunt May works side by side with Martin Li, founder of F.E.A.S.T, a philanthropic organization dedicated to helping the homeless. Parker and Mary Jane Watson have split up and there relationship strained but find there paths crossing as MJ becomes an investigative reporter for the Daily Bugle. Norman Osborn has become mayor while his son Harry is “away in Europe”. After bringing down Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, a new villain appears, leading Spider-man to fight the sinister 6 lead by one of his greatest adversaries and fallen idol, testing everything he stands for along side Mary Jane and young Miles Morales. Enter Doc Ock…

This maybe my favorite version of Spider-man. While I adore Spider-man and Spider- man 2 as well as Spider-man: Homecoming and Spider-man: the animated series , the game’s story gives me pieces of what I love about all of those titles with a great story of it’s own. The story is a perfect blend of lightheartedness and pathos with a hell of a lot of Spidey’s villains. Combat flows beautifully ans while it takes time to get used to it, when you do you feel like an absolute badass with a huge mix of attacks, gadgets, and environmental aids. Web Swinging is truly flawless, quick and smooth, you’ll find yourself having a blast swing through New York visiting real and fictional landmarks. The game offers a lot to do and about 90% is fun as hell. For the Marvel fans, there’s plenty of famous landmarks to visit, plenty of Spidey’s iconic costumes to acquire, villains to fight. The only complaints I have are that boss fights are too easy and the stealth sections with MJ and Miles while not horrible, do break the immersion for me at times. In the end, Spider-man is the best game I’ve played all year and I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

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God of War

gow 1 Anger is a powerful thing, and very few characters in gaming are as brutal and angry as Kratos. The first game in this epic series follows Kratos on his violent quest for revenge against Ares, the God of War.

Incredibly strong with white ashen skin, Kratos was a fierce spartan warrior on his way back to Athens. After a battle at sea, he receives word from Athena, the only god he mildly trusts that the time has come: Ares has gone too far and must be brought down. The gods of Olympus can’t actively aid Kratos but they offer a sample of there powers and Athena tells Kratos of the fabled Pandora’s Box, which contains a power great enough to slay a god. Ares used Kratos, leading to the ultimate tragedy that drove Kratos so if its the last thing Kratos does, he will stop at nothing to kill Ares…

God of War is a hell of a game that started a brutal legacy. Gameplay is simple but awesome hack n slash. Besides Kratos’s signature blades are reliable with a great reach and combo options but on top of that you get storm powers from Poseidon, summons dead souls from Hades, throw lightning bolts from Zeus as well as other gifts. There is some puzzle solving and platforming which is fun but Hades part of Pandora’s temple is notoriously a pain in the ass as well as the pillars out of hell. Kratos is a cold character but once you understand why he’s on this quest and his reason for hating Ares, you do feel sympathy for Kratos and he has some deep moments of sorrow. The character designs are really cool but I must admit some of the graphics and some mechanics didn’t age well over the years. The gameplay can also be monotonous after a while and is only really challenging after the harder difficulties. In the end, the original God of War is a really cool game that deserves some love but it’s not timeless and it’s a product of its time, still well worth playing. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aquaman

Aquaman 2018

Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, is a force to be reckoned with in the DC universe. Half man, half Atlantean born from the Queen of the mythical under sea kingdom. Arthur rules the seven seas, is strong, durable, can swim warp speed and communicate with sea life as well as kick your ass with his epic trident. But despite these feats his character has always been a joke, but I’m glad to say his movie kicks ass…

The movie tells the origin story of how Arthur Curry, son of a simple lighthouse keeper would rule the seas. After the events of Justice League (second opinion) Arthur returns home to to visit his dad only to get visited by the beautiful princess Mera who begs him to come to Atlantis before Orm, Arthur’s younger half brother begins a war to destroy the surface world. Angry the Atlanteans seemingly executed his mother for treason, Arthur refuses the princess’s plea. Orm launches a strike on the surface after a fixed attack on a diplomatic meeting and after seeing his brother’s drive, Arthur sets off on a quest to find his ancestor’s mystical trident and stop the bloodshed and war of the power hungry Ocean Master…

As a Aquaman fan, I can absolutely say this is what I was hoping for. Jason Momoa brings his natural likability but surprises at how heartfelt he could be. Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe lend really good supoorting performances. I wish there was a little more Manta, but he was awesome for what he was in. Visually it’s a treat for the eyes, unlike JLA, there is so much beautiful use of colors and there’s plenty of life to feast your eyes on- Atlantis isn’t dull and murky. The final battle is truly badass in scale and shows why I fell in love with character and comics. I’d say it’s say Aquaman dethroned Wonder Woman as the crown jewel of DC movies, but I highly recommend it as a fun adventure flick. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellboy 2019 first trailer

Damn I feel old. I remember rushing to the movies as a kid to watch the strange movie that was the original Hellboy. That was 15 years ago. David Harbour looks pretty good as the titular anti hero but I’m always going to have a soft spot for Ron Pearlman. I chuckled a few times and I’m glad it’s going to be R rated supposedly but all in all I wasn’t overly wowed by anything I saw. I’m still going to give it the benefit of the doubt but I was a bit disappointed. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Wave Race 64

wave race 64

Nostalgia is a great thing. The other day I talked about Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire which was my first ever video game. While Empire kicked my ass, my first finished game was Wave Race 64. The concept is simple: you choose from 4 jet skiers and race in a variety of courses and modes while fighting against the waves and doin sweet tricks.

This game is simple as hell but simply fun. In fact, you literally can play the game with one hand and be perfectly fine- I’ve done it. The tricks are pretty simple to execute but can be somewhat stiff. The game does good to gradually get harder as it goes, adding more viscous waves and obstacles though I felt like more could have been added.

The worst thing about Wave Race is also the best unfortunately: it’s bare bones simple. You get 4 racers, each with an alternate costume. That’s it. At most, there’s about 10 courses if you through the hardest circuit and the practice map. That’s it. You got standard races, time trail, standard Vs, and stunt rings. That’s about it.

Wave Race is a fun game but don’t expect much. There is some fun solo or with friends but because of it’s limited options, I can’t say it’s a must play. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Happy Birthday Savior

savior birthday

2018 has a year of epic ups and downs for all of us out there, including us here at Saviorgaming. Today, I just want to give a big shout out to my boss, best friend, religious adviser and big brother figure Savior. I owe a lot to the man. In the pits of my dead end job, I was getting royally depressed after 8 years of getting beaten down and starting after starting this blog, he gave me a chance to do something awesome and expand my writing talents. He never gave up on me and my dreams of writing books and being the best WTF writer I can be, and I have to say thanks. So join me and give some love to Savior on his birthday and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Love isn’t perfect and no journey ever begins with a perfect step. I got my N64 at age 7, my first ever game system, and suddenly my life was changed. The first game I ever got was Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi we follow some dude named Dash Rendar who looks like young Hano Solo but ain’t Han Solo because… well ,reasons. The game begins during the battle of Hoth via Empire, and we’re treated to a pretty impressive snowspeeder segment that is pretty badass. A majority of the game we play as Dash as he shoots and platforms his way across different worlds and bosses. At first, the game is fine. Damn near awesome I’d say. First 3 stages run good but things start to unravel. Stage 4, for most of my young life was the hardest shit I had to deal with and that evil mechanical son of a bitch I G 88 was the bane of my existence. A decade later, after some hard gaming experience I kicked his ass only to really see the flaws unfold. Boba Fett’s level pissed me off enough where I nearly smashed the TV and controller and well…I never finished it.

Shadows of the Empire isn’t a bad game, regardless of how it aged, but damn it’s flawed. Platforming can be a royal pain in the ass, the shooting can be crap and feel automated, and there isn’t much really tying it into the Star Wars we know but it is a interesting time capsule of a game, though for the love of the merciful gaming gods find the cheat codes for it so you can unlock all the stages and get some booze for the horrors of Stage 6’s speeder bike controls. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Infamous: Second Son

infamous second son

Here we come to the first game I played for PlayStation 4, the continuation of the Infamous story, leading off of the good karma ending of Infamous 2 where Cole sacrificed much of the Conduits as well as Himself and the Beast to preserve mankind. At first I was hesitant to follow the series with a new hero/ villain but eventually I caved, but what did I find diving into Seattle as Conduit Delson Rowe?

The world has changed since the Beast came and now Conduits are seen as monsters, freaks. An agency called D.U.P is on the warpath against them, lead by Augustine and her concrete abilities. She’s called to a small Native American reservation on the outskirts of town in search for a Conduit fugitive that we meet our main character, Delson, the rebellious young graffiti artist who discovers his own abilities- he can copy other Conduit’s powers. After Augustine harms his people, it’s up to Delson, his cop brother Reggie, and a couple of Conduit outcasts to ban together and take D.U.P and Augustine down.

I’m just going to say, Infamous: Second Son is a hell of a first game to jump into PlayStation 4. The gameplay is remarkably smooth, especially switching between all four power sets: smoke, neon, video, and concrete (which sucks). each power has its own set of traits, strengths and weaknesses and epic as hell ultimate moves. Visually the game is colorful and striking and a treat for the eye. Because it was a launch title, there was some interesting uses of the new controller functions that work well like waving it to spray paint or getting calls through the controller’s microphone. The story is above solid on good karma but honestly the evil karma side is weak as hell. the story is inferior, all the powers replace there vast color pallets and styles with shades of red and purple. Another drawback is the fact I couldn’t help but feel the X-Men comparisons in this story. Augustine isn’t a really remarkable villain either. Overall, it’s a damn fun game but I have to say it loses it’s replay value and feels cliche but if you stay good, the game is well worth it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Avengers 4 trailer

The day has arrived at last, our first trailer for Avengers: Endgame has come. Thanos has won and what few Avengers remain are lost and desolate. The feel of the trailer is a perfect follow up to the end of Avengers: Infinity War . I was glad to see Hawkeye return as well as Antman’s funny bit at the end. I wish they showed a little bit more but the feeling of defeat and loneliness was perfect. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ultimate Fantastic 4: N- Zone

ult f v3

Originally my plan was to cover volumes 3 and 4 together but the next volume is literally like 3 stories in one where as volume 3 is one solid story. Also to avoid a recap, check out my review on Ultimate Fantastic 4: Fantastic / Doom but essentially we’re wrapping up there primary origin as the 4 embark into the N- Zone, where it’s believed they got there powers.

After facing the nefarious Mole Man and Dr Doom, Reed Richards ( Mr Fantastic) discovers a means to travel to the Negative Zone, the place who’s mere exposure caused there mutations and Doom’s deformation. It takes some talking with the volatile General Ross but Reed gets clearance to venture unto the breach with there custom shuttle, the Awesome. The N Zone is a dying universe, cold and near lifeless. The rules of physics are nearly null and void. The environment has a nasty, almost lethal effect on Johnny and his powers but they can’t go back without answers or empty handed. They come across a mangled space station inhabited by the starving dwellers of the universe, overseen by Nihilus, a eerie fly like creature who is desperate and wants a way out by any means necessary. Can the Four overcome this new threat with a man down and escape this dying hell?

This is a solid book but there is some drawbacks. There are some strong character moments between Sue and Johnny as brother and sister and I like seeing the conflict in Reed stemming from his ambition. Nihilus does have a creepy vibe to him his motives are sympathetic. A problem that kills the story for me is the fact he’s honestly a wimp. One punch from Thing basically takes him out, and once they return to our dimension Johnny pretty much roasts his damn posse in 30 seconds. I felt like the pacing was off and the beginning was a little too long and the end game was too quick and there were a few times there could have been some sweet action scenes. In the end its a good solid story I think many would enjoy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.