Spider-man: Shattered dimensions

spidey shattered dimensions

With the new Spider-man game’s date finally here ( Spider Man PlayStation 4 ) I thought it’s only fitting to talk about the last Spider-man game I played: Shattered Dimensions. Mysterio has a piece of a powerful artifact, the other pieces are scattered throughout time and space. Madam Webb has to call upon the Spider-men of four dimensions, classic, 2099, Spider-man Noir, and Ultimate black suited to face the villains carrying the pieces and beat Mysterio.

Each Spider-man has there own play style and abilities. Classic uses a lot of webs and acrobatic, Ultimate is hard up beat em up, Noir revolves around stealth, and 2099 has a lot of high reflex combat and free falls. Noir was my favorite; I enjoyed the black and white style and dark tone. The stealth was simple but fun and ran pretty smooth. 2099 was my least favorite. While free falling was epic I just didn’t think the levels were really fun and his heightened reflexes die off super fast. Deadpool was the best cameo of the game in my opinion, always a joy. The game is only fourteen missions if you count the prologue and it’s more linear than I would like but it’s fun and a worth a good play through. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Zoo Tycoon (Xbox One)

zoo tycoon

Zoo Tycoon is one of the more odd tycoon games I have played recently. The game looks good, but not great. The campaign is good, but most of the missions have but time limits. They are for the most part reasonable and aren’t all that like, usually no longer than 45 minutes at the most but many as low as 15 minutes.

The animals for the most part just wonder around their enclosures and every attempt I made to toss some deer in with the lions and tigers was met with the game telling me no. This is in every way a game about running a zoo and it won’t let you traumatize your patrons. This is probably for the best actually since the game is clearly meant for educational purposes. There is plenty to read and lots of fun to be had while you are at it.

The game also has plenty of challenges and even has a challenge mode as well as a sandbox mode.  However this is one of those games I would suggest getting on sale or if you have game pass playing on there. The game is fun, but or many it will get old quick. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Far Cry 5 (Xbox One X)

far cry 5

Far Cry is one of those series that is notorious for certain things. For example climbing a ton of towers to reveal the map and find missions. A lot of damn towers, what feels like hundreds of towers. There is never hundreds of it them but it always feels like them. So early in Far Cry 5 I am climbing my first tower thinking ” Here we fucking go” and as I climb something unexpected happens, the game suddenly becomes self-aware and the guy makes a joke about not making me climb towers all over the county. You know what? 12 hours later I hadn’t climbed a single tower.

The story is pretty typical of the series, someone takes over some place, a guy helps free it from a madman using what can only be described as pretty much super human abilities even to he isn’t super human. This time around it’s a crazy cult leader that has taken Hope County in Montana. While it’s never truly said explicitly they seem to be taking a shot here at far right extremist in America. During one fire fight a cultist starts screaming at me about being a “snowflake” for example, and all of them are clearly insane and brainwashed. At another part a guy is using a huge cross to kinda beat a dead body, tho he may have been digging a hole. I was busy shooting him with an arrow to truly know.

Now before anyone thinks this is some sort of shot at Christians or Republicans hold on a minute. These are not Christians or Republicans. They truly are insane cultist. Everyone in the county are pretty much country folk that own guns, love god and America. There is even a priest helping you out and fighting to free Hope county.

I explain all this because I have seen a few people saying they won’t buy the game because they are clearly being political and attacking America or Christians and I have seen a few reviews say it could have been a good game but they clearly are making a political statement. None of this is true. It is simply a game that takes place in an area that would in reality have a lot of guns and religious people and would be a likely place for a cult to pop up.

Graphically the game looks beautiful on the Xbox One X and at no time did I ever experience any slow down or frame rate loss even when a lot was going on and bullets were flying. The sounds are immersive and the music very fitting. There are however  a few in-game glitches that are worth noting. For example I have experienced enemies randomly re-spawning after I kill them to attack me again numerous times. Not in the I leave the area or anything. Just drop them and they stand back up and attack. Enemies have also floated, once I even saw a car do it. Nothing game breaking but it should be noted that these things do happen. The game however is worth playing, and it has my full recommendation. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Favorite Locales in gaming…

Let’s talk real estate, location, location, location. In gaming we get some gorgeous worlds that make us wish we could live there or pray we’d never set foot in but either way are memorable. Here’s a list of mine in no particular order starting with one that actually exists..

ac2 italy 1. Renaissance Italy ( Assassin’s Creed 2)

I’m a huge fan of the Renaissance era and being able to experience it and venture through Italy’s gorgeous architecture was truly a pleasure.

skyrim  2. Skyrim ( Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim)

Who the hell wouldn’t want to go to the lush, fascinating kingdom of Skyrim full of interesting people, magic, killer beasts and epic dragons? Plus talking cat people…

arkham city 2 3. Arkham City (Batman: Arkham City )

I’d go here just because of the villains that lurk here like Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and that lovable goof Mr. J and his sweetheart Harley. A community is only as good as it’s people after all..

yharnam bloodborne  4. Yharnam (BloodBorne review)

I loved this creepy, Victorian, Gothic town the second I walked in with my trusty ax. Between the Lovecraft style monsters and classic horror feel, I’d put a top hat on and hang out there a night.

dishonored dunwall 5. Dunwall (Dishonored series)

Another town, though with a steampunk flavor of whale blubber, robot walkers, and plague but hey, the fashion is quite dashing. Especially that creepy bastard in the skull mask…

sevastopol isolation  6. Sevastopol Station (Alien: Isolation)

The last two are a morbid curiosity deals more than anything, but as a sci-fi, horror nerd I gotta do it. Granted I ain’t going here with a alien on board, hell no..

ishimura deadspace 7. U.S.S Ishimura (DeadSpace )

Many modern horror fans shiver at the name, knowing the horrific things inside but the areas inside are creepy as well as cool looking to see. Just make sure you have a plasma-cutter handy..

May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Beloved games I’m not into…

ranch

So you may be asking yourself, “Torsten, why did you start this review with a picture of ranch dressing? That’s kinda creepy.” Well reader, since were talking bout beloved things by many I don’t like, I thought this would put it into perspective. I hate ranch dressing but millions love it, as with these games, starting with…

dmc 1. Devil May Cry- 80% of my friends swear by these games, many consider 3 to be in there top favorites. I’ve sampled the series, dedicating at least a few hours to the original 4 but they never clicked. I appreciate the art but that’s as far as my fandom goes.

uncharted 2. The Uncharted series- this I do enjoy on a level but a small level. They are fun, they are beautiful, but I would never call them masterpieces as many have. The hype combined with the amount of BS deaths I experience in Uncharted 2 alone made decide I wasn’t going to be a major fan.

outlast 3. Outlast- I found this out quick. Put 2 hours in and found myself running and running out of batteries a lot. I appreciate what they were going for but it didn’t scare me.

overwatch 4. Overwatch- I played the beta. It was fun as hell. Found out the beta was pretty much the game, just you’re paying $60 for it. No story, go to YouTube (thanks for giving Ridley Scoot ideas guys), just multiplayer matches. No thanks.

I hope you enjoyed and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Trapt

trapt

What’s one of the biggest cliches in gaming? Cute, defenseless princess gets kidnapped and a hero needs to come to save her (not mentioning names Peach.) I found this PS2 pseudo-horror game on accident and while it kicked my ass, it also was a rarity for me at the time- a game that is badass but made me think.

Allura is a princess on the run after her father is murdered and she is framed by her evil stepmother. Her only refuge seems to be a Gothic manor where she gets possessed by essentially the Devil. She gains the power to summon traps in the house to kill her pursuers.

I will tell you off the bat I didn’t play the game in English but Japanese dub with English subtitle; I’m not sure if there is a English dub. The game isn’t perfect but fun. You set traps along the floor, wall, and ceiling, and use yourself to lure your prey to them. Besides these traps, you are defenseless so don’t get cornered and keep moving. The traps are cool and damn right cruel by the end, so if you are a Saw fan I’d definitely check it out. There are very elusive ultimate environmental traps that once triggered are disturbingly awesome, unless you get caught in them that is. Your own traps can kill you. Graphically, the game looks pretty and sounds nice. I found myself near rage-quit a few times because of either a bullshit kill or a certain boss that is a absolute pain about half way through. I’d recommend some research before buying but I found it alright in the end. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dante’s Inferno (game)

dante's inferno

I miss a time when EA games made games that hooked me, instead of killed things I loved like DeadSpace and Star Wars: Battlefront. Also by Visceral, we got a game adaptation of the dark epic poem by Dante Alighieri, journeying into the depths of hell.

Dante is a knight who went off to slay and lay for god during the Crusades, only to have his broken promises to his beloved Beatrice come back and bite him in the ass. The Devil comes and takes her as his own to punish Dante, forcing him to face the Grim Reaper guarding the gates of hell. After getting the Reaper’s scythe and a powerful holy cross he must fight through the River Styx, Purgatory, and all 9 levels of hell, battling the damned as well as his own demons to save Beatrice and slay the Devil.

I’m going to be blunt and call this what it really kinda was, God Of War with a creepier skin. A LOT of the gameplay is lifted from God of War, so if you aren’t into hack/slash type games, this isn’t for you. What sells the game hands down is the level and enemy designs which are truly beautiful and horrifying. I do like finding real historical figures in hell, hearing there stories and choosing whether to absolve them to heaven or damn them to oblivion. On a bad note though, towards the end the game fizzles out by the end and the Devil is a pretty lame final boss. I still think the game is worth checking out and at the very least admired  for showing us a classic but freaky hell. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

A Way Out

a way out

Here is the concept for  A Way Out, 2 guys in prison must break out, go on a revenge mission. There is a small catch here tho. This game must be played with a friend, and both in-game characters have very different personalities and ways of doing things. Every so often the 2 players that must choose one of the 2 characters will have to pick which idea to take.

Leo is more of the loose cannon hardened criminal type. He meets things more head one.  Vincent on the other hand is more down to earth and thought out. That isn’t to say he isn’t willing to go off the deep end a bit, at one point you end up torturing a guy together.

The game play itself is smooth and the game while not the best looking game is still quite beautiful, I had no complaints in this department, especially at the $30 price point it’s offered at. The game does run a little on the short side, but this is most likely so people can play through multiple times with various people. The game is actually one of the few games I have played that required 2 players that I honestly did not mind the requirement. Also the fact that one person can download the free trial then play the full game with someone who owns the game is fantastic in itself. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

gta vice city

I wasn’t alive for the 80’s but damn if I don’t love things that came out of it: over the top action movies and slasher films, bad hair styles, and music you love or hate that you love. Vice City screams the 80’s.

Tommy Vercetti gets screwed and has to track down who…ok, let’s be honest as friends, do people really play GTA for the story? Sure, I’m sure some do. Back then we didn’t have much massive open world games and when we bought games, they were actually whole game- imagine that, buying a video game without pay walls, DLC, or season passes. My experience, the story in GTA: Vice City is your standard crime thriller, mandatory double cross in all.

So let’s talk game play; how does it hold up a decade plus later? My opinion, about as well as it’s predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 3 . Not that great. The graphics are a step up, and there’s much more than just cars and the rare plane this time. When get motorcycles, boats, and motorcross bikes this time around and a good selection and handling for each. Hell, for one mission we get a damn tank. Yes a tank. For controversial shit, they went into F bomb territory: aw Ricardo Diaz. The biggest drawback is the gunplay is still kinda crappy. Towards the end you will get frustrated as gunplay becomes a bigger pain in the ass. It’s fun and nostalgic but it won’t rock your world. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Grand Theft Auto 3

gta 3

I grew up with Grand Theft Auto, beginning with this entry as many- controversies and all. Yes, most people played it to kill anything that moved, wreck cars, blow shit up, and occasionally pick up a hooker or two and watch the car rock while you two just sat awkwardly in it. For a while, this game was every parent’s worst nightmare.

Though not as raunchy and vulgar as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , this game sets the stage. You and a dude named 8-Ball get set up, go to prison, and get free when the transport gets wrecked and now you gotta figure out who the hell was behind it as you dig into the crime infected hellhole that is Liberty City.

In 2001, this game really set a new precedent for open world games to come and the amount of freedom you could possess in them. 2018, much of the game hasn’t aged well I’m afraid. Graphics range from meh to damn right crappy, water past knee high kills you super quick, gun play is sloppy, and the missions become punishing too quickly at times. But the game is hilarious. Whether you are getting beaten up by the elderly, listening to a mobster cry about his mommy issues on the radio, or listen to the absurd random crap the people say walkin down the street (I’m hot and you’re not.) Driving handles pretty well after all this time and the stunts are cool.  It ain’t a terrible game but don’t expect a legendary experience after all this time. May the gaming gods bring you glory.