Category: Opinion

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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Surviving Mars (PS4)

So during the sale on PSN I picked up Surviving Mars on PS4. I loved it on Xbox. Surviving Mars (Xbox One) So I really wanted to see how it stacked up, and this time I had all the DLC. If you want to know about the actual game please feel free to see my Xbox review. The game is pretty much identical, even the looks are quite comparable.

The DLC is also quite nice, giving you more options on what to build, songs on the radio. The DLC also adds a lot of great things and the tutorial is pretty nice. There is a small issue, in fact, this will be the first time I ever say to buy a game but to avoid a certain console. Do not buy it on the PS4. The game runs great, in fact, I really enjoy it. I did not, however, enjoy having to restart the game every time I wanted to play. See when I try to load a game, it would simply crash the game and I would have to restart it. This is apparently quite a common issue. While there are some workarounds the game has been out long enough this shouldn’t be necessary and while I love Paradox and their games, this one on the PS4 is best avoided. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

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 (2018, Savior Review)

As a late birthday gift @torstenvblog decided we needed to go see Aqua daddy on the big screen since he was the best part of Justice League (2017) Justice League (second opinion)

Now we all know how I personally feel about the DCEU. Most of the movies for me range from train wrecks to amusing train wrecks. Wonder Woman being the clear exception, but the question remains what does the future hold, and how does it hold up? Well honestly Jason Mamoa and Aquaman may not be the hero the movies wanted, but it is the hero the movies needed.

The movie is a combination of flashback origin story that simultaneously takes place after the events of Justice League. The first 20 minutes or so is Arthur Curry explaining how his parents met and a bit about his childhood. This, however, doesn’t drag on like I expected it to. I won’t lie, I went into this to at some point crash into a crapshoot of a movie that relied on action to cover up a horrible story and questionable CGI.

Around now is when we hit the present time and a submarine being attacked by pirates that have stolen a submarine of their own. It is a pretty cool scene that introduces the man who will eventually become Black Manta. The action here is nice and yet there is a touch of humor. The entire movie is like this in fact and it is something I didn’t know I wanted from the movie.

I don’t want to give the entire movie away, but Black Manta is both a major part of the plot and yet very minor at the same time. You will see him chasing his famous trident and fighting his biggest enemies all in one movie. The movie, however, stands alone. If you have never seen a single movie in the DCEU, you can pop on Aquaman and be perfectly fine.

The 2 biggest surprises here for me were how good the CGI was and how bad the soundtrack was. I hated the music for the movie and truly was the weakest part for me. Regardless any fan of superhero movies (and ladies that like Jason) should check it out. Best wishes and 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.

5 Favorite Game Series

I make the occasional list, and today’s list is simply 5 of my favorite game series. I know the picture says top 5, but they really aren’t in order. Let us have some fun.

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First up is our friend Mario. I don’t talk about him much because I don’t own a Switch. But from the original Mario to Mario RPG and so much more I have loved so many of these games it is impossible for me to not have this on the list.

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Next up is Mega Man, and I am counting both Mega Man and Mega Man X as one. Sure I loved them both and they are technically 2 different series with different characters but I would feel really dishonest to separate them that way. The blue bomber just had number 11 release as well as a few collections. Admittedly I only used this pic because I liked the gold number.

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We all know how much I love BloodBorne review and that I have a love it hate it relationship with Dark Souls 2 Scholars of the First Sin But all in all this series, in general, has always brought me a certain kind of joy. I have logged hundreds of hours across them all and will probably sink more into it.

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Dragon Quest is another series I have played since the very first all those years ago and even now with the release of 11 I am still playing it, without no doubt, I will be playing number 20 at some point. This turn-based RPG is a rock in the ever-changing sea of games that aren’t what they used to be.

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Last but not least we have Final Fantasy. This is the opposite of Dragon Quest. See I have also played this since the very first one, but where Dragon Quest doesn’t change Final Fantasy is forever doing something new and innovating itself.  Between the 2 of them, the RPG’s of the past are in good hands.

So what do you guys think and what do you guys enjoy? Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Cooking Game-Master Chef Kitchen For Girls

The cooking game is a mobile game by Play Spirit Games with quite the simple concept. Cook food, sling soda and wait on customers. It looks pretty great and the sounds are quite nice as well. The game admittedly starts off pretty was. You can make a burger and one soda while customers come in one at a time, occasionally a 2nd will overlap a bit.

As you raise funds however you can upgrade to pour more soda, cook more burgers, toss toppings on them and need to handle multiple customers at a time. The game is challenging at times but fair, and while not really my kind of game fans of this style of game will surely enjoy this one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Settlers Online

The Settlers Online is one of those rare in 2018 browser-based games, tho it did come out in 2011. The Settlers is honestly an odd game for me, I didn’t much like it but I wanted to. It is a typical builder game with wait periods and all. You will tame a wild island, battle enemies to ensure the safety of the people in your care.

It is essentially a pay to win game for mobile on your laptop tho less pay to win. The sad part is there truly isn’t a lot to even say about the game. The sound and graphics are nice, but nothing impressive and everything else about it is a standard city builder game set in a medieval time period. There are certainly better games out there and most are on your cell phone. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory/

GameBlast19: festive streams

via GameBlast19: festive streams

 

Our friends over at Later Levels have a charity thing coming up to help our gaming brethren with physical disabilities play the video games we all love. Ok now I will admit, this does also get me out of doing a little bit of writing today and I am feeling a little lazy, but the gaming gods do demand we help charity when we can. So please everyone go check this out, at least vote on what they play. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.