Savior Gaming

Our Favorites, Day 18, The Thing

the thing

There are few remakes I ever consider worth watching, let a lone being better than the originals. John Carpenter’s Thing remake is the magic of a simple premise pushed to the Nth degree. I’ve played the Resident Evil series as well as the DeadSpace trilogy, both of which took a lot of inspiration from the Thing in a means of body horror. Images like a human head ripping itself off, growing spider legs out of it’s neck and crawling on it’s own or a body rip itself open full of shark like teeth and tentacles. Besides the amazing bodily horror, there’s is a fantastic sense of paranoia. There is no real telling who the creature is and isn’t, even til the very end. This and tomorrow’s entry were gross out favorites of my dad’s he shared with me as a kid which is why I’m adding it to my list of must sees this Halloween. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Why DLC/Microtransactions Aren’t Going Anywhere, and it is our fault.

In gaming today you will basically certainly see the debate about DLC and in-game transactions. Is it good, is it bad? Should it count as gambling? Shouldn’t companies sell complete games? In my day we got the entire game and alternate costumes were awarded for doing stuff! These are all things we have heard before. Hell many of us have probably said them. But why do these things exist? We all know its money.

There are good aspects to it tho. For example games have been $60 for years and haven’t gone up in large part because of DLC and in-game transactions. It allows companies to continue to profit off a game after release and more importantly profit off used games as well. This allows them to deal with the very small, if any profit margin from selling games at $60 when they should probably cost $70 or $80.

Another good aspect is stories can continue, The Witcher 3 for example had DLC that extended the life of the game for over 100 hours probably. It allows new weapons and enemies or even game modes to be introduced. Don’t worry, I understand there are bad things and I will get to them next.

The down side of things however is it also encourages companies to bombard you with offers for stuff or even to leave things out and sell them to you later. Not every company does this, but to say it doesn’t happen is insane and naive. Another issue, as we have seen in Assasin’s Creed Odyssey, is them selling you experience boost to level up faster and it is not the only game this has been seen in. I have heard from numerous people “Yea but it is a fun grind so its ok” but that is hardly the point. The point is they intentionally designed the game to sell you that experience booster. Just because some people are cool with that grind doesn’t mean it wasn’t designed that way or that others aren’t going to buy it.

They aren’t the only company that does stuff like this, they basically all do it. EA is pretty much always getting the brunt of these joke because of their over indulgence of doing things like this. You also see a ton of games selling skins and loot boxes to the point you can’t even turn many games on without them saying hey come buy one, in game advertising is becoming rampant.

The truth of the matter is this will never go away, and the reason for that is honestly ourselves. The fact is we spend billions on this stuff a year, and that is why it exist in the first place. Simple economics is, if there is a demand for something someone will supply it. If there is no demand, the supply will try up. Now obviously you will never convince millions of gamers to stop buying things they want, so you will never get rid of DLC or microtransactions.

Clearly some companies have gone to far, and I do miss the days when I bought a game and got everything in one neat little package, but this is the world we live in and it does help keep the cost of games down. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

American Truck Simulator

This game actually has a funny story behind how I got it. See I didn’t buy it, but it isn’t a review copy. A guy in a Facebook group I am in was like “hey who wants it, post a funny gif, best one wins” and I won pretty much by default. Even better I am fairly sure he was from somewhere in Europe and I am an American, so I enjoyed that as well.

Also if you are curious about the other version of this, I did review that. Euro Truck Simulator 2

Now, on to American Truck Simulator. First you should know, I am not going to bash this game. Most people who played it do not. It has amazing scores on Steam and great reviews in other places, and rightfully so. The game looks good and its fun to watch the scenery fly buy as you drive across California and other west coast states.

The controls are also nice with them making the trucks control quite realistically without relying on simply making the controls unresponsive or sluggish. They are smooth and responsive without losing that feeling of driving a huge truck, and it does change based off your trailer. I also enjoy that you can put your own music into the radio and have it play in-game. It is a nice touch that adds to the immersion of it all.

The game however isn’t perfect, no game really is if we are being 100% honest. The game can get repetitive and if you aren’t into this style of game you will get bored really fast. Also if you are playing with a mouse and keyboard driving can be a tad weird at times because they aren’t are precise as driving a real car when it comes to controlling your speed. The game also does a poor job of teaching you things like how to turn your lights and windshield wipers on, two things you will obviously need. Thankfully its just a quick google search away.

That being said, I know I got the game for free but if I had paid for it, I would be quite happy with the purchase. If you are trying to decide between the two honestly go with what country you are from. My biggest issue with Euro Truck was having no clue about their traffic laws and kept driving down the wrong side of the road ( which would have been the correct side in America) and I don’t have that issue with American Truck Simulator and that makes the game far more enjoyable for me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our favorites Day 17, Suspiria

suspiria

With a lot of anticipation I covered the Suspiria 2018 trailer 1 and Suspiria remake trailer 2 that has been coming out because frankly I’m almost at a loss how you would go about remaking Suspiria in the first place. I’ve seen many a horror movie in my day, but nothing as colorful, eerie, and unique as the original Suspiria. It’s about American girl who travels to a German ballet academy that is secretly under the machinations of a group of ancient demonic witches. Sounds weird right? Well it’s filmed like a old live action Disney film and the music is both whimsical and freaky when it starts getting a hard punk vibe to it. Shots of the movie are beautiful to look at and it’s such a strange movie I had to talk it, because Suspiria is proof there is art in horror. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

For those that are interested in helping us out and checking this movie out here is a link to it on amazon.

Suspiria

Final Fantasy 6, Why Its Only An Average Game.

As I promised this morning here is an opinion that will probably annoy a lot of people. Final Fantasy 6, is only an average game. The story is good yea. The first 3/4th of the game or so is really good, the traveling around, the war itself. Kefka is a pretty demented guy poisoning people and even managed to demolish the world and take it over. For more details on all that check here.

This is where many of my issues come into it tho. First Kefka taking over the world and all was 100% accidental. He had no intention of destroying half the surface of the place like this and clearly if that is true taking over the world this way was also not the plan. You can’t really claim this guy is a great villain when his plan wasn’t a plan but a happy mistake.

After this point in the game the entire rest of the game is negated and pointless. You wake up on an island, your party scattered. You will now spend this entire section of the game finding and recruiting people you already recruited. Maybe. Why maybe? Well many of them are now option characters, some of those important characters from the first part of the game you can now go beat the game without. There is no trick to this by the way or game glitching needed, they are simply optional.

This brings me to another issue I have. There are 14 characters in this game, 11 main characters and 3 optional. Sort of, as stated before after the world is destroyed you only need to recruit 3 characters. (Celes, Edgar and Setzer) That is it, after those 3 are back in your party it is actually possible to go finish the game. You can go collect the other 11 main characters and 3 optional characters (and Gogo and Umaro have 0 backstory by the way and Mog isn’t much better) so aside from being strong are pointless.

Hell even Shadow and the other characters aren’t exactly well made, tho some for their time are greatly done. Much of the game tho is busy work simply to add play time. Now the game isn’t by any means bad, but to say it is great or even one of the best is insane to me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Anyone interested in checking this out and helping us out here is a link to Final Fantasy Anthology on Amazon.

Final Fantasy Anthology

5 Best Final Fantasy Games

Yesterday I did the 5 worst Final Fantasy games, today I am doing the 5 best. This is completely subjective obviously, and admittedly the list is pretty much the same list most fans would make. There is one game that did not make the list and I will forever defend it as being simply a mediocre game. That comes later on today tho when I upset a bunch of people by not praising Final Fantasy 6. But without further waiting, here you go, and in no real order.

Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation One)

yup, Final Fantasy tactics. Of course the PSP version is also great, and arguably is even better than the PS1 version I reviewed. I haven’t reviewed that one but regardless the War of the Lions is an absolute amazing game. The story was far more adult than other games in the series and most people never seemed to realize it not only was full of social commentary on the typical haves vs the have not of society but also how many things in history just aren’t what they seem or we are even told. All in all, this game is worth playing one way or another. In fact this might be my favorite Final Fantasy game.

Final Fantasy 9 (PS4)

Next up is FF9, an amazing game also from the PS1 era. It was a golden time for Final Fantasy, with 7 being a HUGE hit of unexpected proportions, most people don’t know they actually were working on FF8 and FF9 at the same time. The characters are great, the story magnificent and graphically it holds up well even now. Many people debate whether or not 7 or 9 is the better game, and truthfully I can’t choose.

This one is a bit of an argument waiting to happen since people seem to love or hate this game. The story is much debated at times even with many people thinking Squall is dead for most of it. (He isn’t confirmed here) I mean he was hit in the damn shoulder. Tho the games junction and card game make the game very breakable, you can actually get Squalls ultimate weapon on disk 1. Regardless I love the game and like most people I still hold out hope we get an HD remaster, tho I doubt it happens.

Final Fantasy 7 retro review

Look you knew this game would be here. By now if you don’t understand why this game is on the list nothing I say is going to make that happen. It brought the RPG and Final Fantasy games to the main stream and basically solidified them as a staple of the gaming community. Also a fun fact, I was one of the first people in America to finish this game. My brothers friend worked at Wal-Mart when the game released and I got the game almost a week early and finished it in a weekend. By the time the game released I was halfway through my 2nd play through.

Final Fantasy, the original. This game isn’t necessarily the best in the series so much as it is the first, and that is why it is here. Without Final Fantasy for the NES man of the favorite games of RPG fans everywhere may not even exist. I remember arguments of people discussing what was better this or Dragon Warrior (Now dragon Quest) Years later the 2 companies became one which is rather funny to me. Final Fantasy and the light warriors however were the first FF game, and many of the things within it became major parts of the series such as crystals, the characters becoming job classes and even Garland (the first boss) being used in FF9.

Before I go I should point out I made this list once before, so feel free to check that out and see how my opinion may have changed. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Top 5 Final Fantasy Games

Our Favorites Day 16: Phantasm

phantasm

For my first day scary favorites, I want to talk about a truly weird horror movie that’s underrated and walks the line between sci-fi and abstract horror. Phantasm begins with a kid seeing something…odd to put it lightly, and how seeing something strange can unravel everything we though we knew. The Tall Man ranks up there for me with the ranks of Michael Myers and Pennywise the clown as a horror icon: intimidating, strong, has one of the most peculiar weapons in horror and a band of creepy ass undead JaWas. If you need something strange as hell, check this out and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bad Times At The El Royale (2018) — Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews

Next time, stay at the Ritz. The El Royale is a hotel that straddles along the California-Nevada state line and back in the day, when gambling was allowed and legal, it was quite the happening place. But now, in the late days of the 60’s, it’s definitely seen better days; it’s run-down, dusty, and vacant, […]

via Bad Times At The El Royale (2018) — Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews

The 5 Worst Final Fantasy Games

We all know the Final Fantasy series, many of us have played it, but we have all heard of it. Most fans have arguments over the best ones, is it 7? 9? 10? Well how about the worst? Here is my take on that, so in no particular order here are my 5 worst Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy Adventure, if you want to know more about the story click here. The game is actually credited for spawning the Mana series, which really is something to be thankful for. But this game for me was horrible. The attack gauge annoyed me how you had to find magic just did nothing for me and all around calling this a Final Fantasy game was just misleading.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Now we all know I LOVE Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions. But this one? I hated it. In fact it was one of the few games I ever returned the same day. The story of a kid finding a magic book and getting transported was silly, the law system where in fights you couldn’t do certain things or you would be arrested, the whole thing was just a train wreck for me.

Final Fantasy 2. The game did introduce things that became trademarks like chocobo and Cid, but the leveling up system basically was all about what you did. Take damage to increase HP do or do damage to increase strength. This honestly truly ruined the game for many people including myself.

Final Fantasy 13. You can just go ahead and count the entire 13 trilogy here. None of them were all that great, but 13 itself was horrible. It was beyond linear, it capped your leveling up in each chapter the characters were forgettable and some (looking at you Hope) were flat-out annoying as hell.

Here is the one that will get me in trouble, it always does and people always get upset. I don’t care, this game is one of the worst in the series.

Yes Final Fantasy 12. The story isn’t great but the real death of this game is the gambit combat system. I have won boss battles while not even holding my controller. You can legitimately set your gambits up then just walk around. The updated version is a bit better since you can speed it up so it doesn’t take as long but this is truly not a good game. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorite Movies Day 15: Bram Stokers Dracula

images

Day 15, and my last day of doing this I am ended with a classic. After today our good friend @torstenvblog will be taking over. The ending to this, Dracula. The movie was made in 1992 but the story goes back far longer Dracula is of course the story of, well here. Check this out if you need to know more about the story. The story of Dracula is a classic and has been around for more than 100 years and will be around for 100 more I am sure. The movie is scary, had a great art and music style to it and it is also the first movie my parents banned me from the room for. What my mother doesn’t know is my father watched that movie with me and my bro when mom went to work later in the week making it also the first time I am aware of my dad went behind my moms back to show us something. That is why this made my list, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.