How do you ruin a good time? Just ask Bungie.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let's be completely frank here.  Destiny's loot cave needed to die.  It was nothing more than a way for players to abuse a system set up to provide enemies for the game on a timed basis.  It was NEVER intended to be used the way players were using it, and certainly not to be abused so overtly and so blatantly.  Bungie recognized it incredibly quickly and did the right thing, though I'm sure I'm one of the few players to think so.

Raging began almost immediately once the people using this method of farming for loot lost their precious little toy, and has gone on since.  I've seen everything from people claiming that they're quitting their high level character, to people claiming that this was Bungie's plan all along, just to lure people to play...  ?  Wait, what?   How does that even work?

Whatever.

The mistake that Bungie made, however was in regards to 'nerfing' (weakening to the point of being useless in gamer parlance) the Queen's Wrath gear that you get from doing her missions.  Up until the fix they provided for this, this legendary level equipment would give you materials necessary to upgrade your other armor or weapons, and for anyone that already HAD gear that was higher or maxed out, at least getting the material made it worthwhile for the purposes of upgrading.  Without that as an incentive, there is literally no reason to play these missions, other than curiosity.  Yeah, I'm not that curious.  I was playing them, and I trying to raise my reputation with the Queen, and I may continue to do so, if for no other reason than in the future it's probably going to be favorable for me to do so, with the coming expansion packs.

That's not a good reason to do it though.  It just isn't.  As it stands, there really is no reason for me to do it.  That's just poor planning Bungie.  I expect better from someone with so much experience in online multiplayer games.

I'm still enjoying Destiny, just less so now.

It is... Our Destiny... Or whatever

Okay, so first impression, non spoilery stuff:

Visuals - Pretty damned impressive.  Skyrim has been the measuring stick for me on the 360 for how beautiful a game can be, and this is either as good, or slightly better.  Bear in mind, I'm on the 360, and playing on a 40" plasma at 720p, so in all fairness it'll probably look better on current gen stuff at 1080p and who knows what 4k would look like.  That all said, there's something goofy about certain parts.  For some reason certain areas look very cartoony to me.  I haven't figured out why, unless it has to do with moving from a wide open space where everything is given such an eye for detail to a fairly small area that looks like 'videogame spaceport 1.111'.  It's actually a little jarring, to be honest.  Overall, the game is gorgeous but anyone following this release probably already knew that.

Sound- In all honesty, sound doesn't equate to much in games for me these days, unless it makes me notice it, and this one does.  I can't tell you how many times I was playing and immediately whipped around, looking in every direction to ascertain what the hell I just heard.  That is something I haven't seen so prevalent in a long time.  I don't know the specific mechanics used, but they did it right. 

Presentation- You won't find a lot of innovation here, but the formula being used is not a bad one.  The HUD, the screen prompts and the like are all pretty standard stuff.  If you've played FPS games in the last 10 years you'll be comfortable with what they have here.  Where you'll notice a change is the Menu, and I really like what they've done with that.  It's difficult to describe, but I guess if pressed I'd say that it is an 'aim' and click interface.  It's very intuitive, very easy to use, and you can get around quickly which is important since if you 'pause' in the worlds where enemies exist, they can still shoot you.  That's certainly not pausing in the traditional sense.  That said, I was still able to use it, and I didn't die once while paused.

Okay – spoilery stuff potentially follows, continue at your own risk and so on and so forth:

Setting – The world (even for the beta) is fucking huge.  No joke.  There is a just a vast area to explore, and I’m relatively certain that we still didn’t get everywhere even after hours of exploration.  We looked everywhere we could, found some enemies that couldn’t even be harmed by our weapons, and we got to a LOT of places – but it still felt like we didn’t get even close to exploring everything.  Time will tell if we did or not, and I’ll comment more later on the size, but this being only the beta, I would imagine that it’s only going to get bigger with the final release. The only thing that was weird for me was the ‘TOWER’ which is basically just ‘RPG spaceport/village’ 1.111.  What I mean is that you’ve seen all this before, even if the presentation is a little different and possibly slightly better (depends on what you like).  This is the only part of the game that bothers me and it has everything to do with how it looks compared to the open world feel of the other areas.  After being out in the open, where everything feels very realistic, this place feels patently false.  I could actually feel a difference in how I perceived this area from the others, and that, to me, is not a good thing for a game meant to be so immersive.

Gameplay - At its heart, this thing is an RPG and a pretty good one at that.  Now obviously this is the beta, and I have no idea if the same pacing or leveling will apply with the final release, but I hope so.  I made level 8 after about half a day of playing and that was the cap for the beta, so I could just kind of run around and explore the open area, or get into the ‘Crucible’ (PVP) area for team deathmatches if I wanted to.  I did a little of that, but if you read my Titanfall review, you know it’s not really my forte.  I leave that to others for the most part, but I will say this.  It was fun.  I got frustrated with people killing me as usual so I didn’t stick around very long, but I enjoyed the time I was there for the most part.  What that tells me is that at least the game is balanced.  I didn’t feel like anyone was overpowered or had a weapon that broke the game.  It’s very well done, and it shows in the execution (small pun intended).

What they have accomplished by capping the levels at 8 is encouraged me to try the other classes, and I certainly will.  I want to know what it’s like to play all of them.  At this time I played a female “AWOKEN (RACE) HUNTER (CLASS), and man, is that woman deadly.  Hunters are basically the snipers, but I felt comfortable with every gun I got, including shotgunning enemies in the face at close range.  Not very sniperish, but fun nonetheless.  What they also accomplished was frustrating the shit out of me, because even though the level is capped at 8, I actually got some drops that were only available at level 10, and were substantially better than my best gear.  I felt as though the carrot was being dangled in front of me – but to be honest, I have no idea if they even intend to let people keep the characters from the beta, so not even sure if that’s the case, just how it felt.

Overall (and only so far) I think this is a really good game.  I hesitate at great, because it could certainly get repetitive if not done correctly.  It’s too early to say at this point.  I initially started the game by myself, and my friends later joined in, so we had our 3 man fireteam for the remainder of the evening.  Once the three of us got together, we were pretty much unstoppable.  If that’s what they were going for, I’d say they nailed it, and damn did we have fun once we all got together.

The game also has a ton of stars doing the voice work, and that is immediately evident so with the already impressive graphics it SHOULD be an amazing game at least story/presentation wise, but it lacks something and I can’t put my finger on what.  It might be because it’s the beta and things will be improved with the final release, it might not.  I’m honestly not sure yet on that one.

Someone else already mentioned HALO and the comparison is a fair one.  This game is very HALOesque, in visual, gameplay and style.  But it’s also distinctly not HALO in some ways as well; the biggest point of comparison being that I actually enjoy playing Destiny.  I never really liked HALO.  I just never got into it the way some people did (some very good friends included) and I really like what I’m playing with Destiny so far.   Destiny is also not HALO in that it doesn’t ever feel restrictive to me.  HALO always felt like I was being funneled towards the point they wanted me to reach to (obviously) finish the story.  If Skyrim taught us anything, it was that a story doesn’t have to be constricting or so linear that you can’t have exploration.  This game has exploration in spades, and I’m a sucker for that, so take it for what it’s worth.

When did we get so cynical?

Maybe a better title would have included something about online trolls, but I think that would have come across as too negative.  Trolls aren't that bad... online trolls are a fucking epidemic.

There's this whole new generation of people that live to argue, and in doing so, they discover the internet and something (wholly predictable) happens to their brains.  They LOSE THEIR FUCKING MINDS with the power of being able to infinitely argue (even if they don't actually have an opinion on a subject) and to remain anonymous to the world at large.

I watch a lot of forums and the fans therein, and without fail, every few months or so, there is at least one new fan that signs up, and immediately wants to tell everyone there why they are wrong for what they think.  Not that they're wrong because they've misinterpreted something, or taken something out of context, or because they have created a set of events in their mind that never happened.  No, they're wrong because they have an opinion that doesn't agree with whatever this Argument Person thinks.  And of course, THEY could NEVER be wrong for what they think...  That's just unfathomable.

I've watched everything from people trying to say that the way we played games in the past was wrong because it was more difficult (I'd absolutely LOVE to know their opinions on Zombiiu and its controls that actually take your eyes off the screen in an attempt to create false difficulty) right on up to someone saying that genres don't actually exist because people have differing opinions as to what makes up said genre...  because that's logic.  [/sarcasm]

It's something of a pet peeve of mine to dismiss the opinions of others.  Their opinions are valuable to them, and when you dismiss and demean them, you are often dismissing and demeaning the person that believes them.  It's rude, childish, and immature to say the very least.  It's completely assholish (not really a word, I know, but you get what I'm saying) at its worst, and it needs to go away.  Unfortunately, the only way to do it is to ignore them.  It truly is a case of the only way to win is to not play the game, because these people don't need a reason to argue or even an actual point.  All they require is a response.

I saw an interesting graphic recently:

This perfectly describes the situation that these people create.  You can't beat them, you can't win, you can only leave them to their game and go play something else, preferably with a new chessboard, because who wants a playing field covered in shit?

What happened to zombie games?

I grew up loving zombies.  They were the perfect movie villains.  They were the enemies that you could kill without feeling bad about it -and one of my favorite games was Resident Evil - very zombiecentric.

But something has happened in the last 10-20 years in regards to zombies...  Something I'm none too comfortable with.

So, I've been at the research again.  Some of you that know me will likely roll your eyes, and think, "oh no, not again..."  and I totally understand that.  When I get on a tangent, I'm like a puppy with a sock, and tend not to let go until I'm missing a tooth...

Well, maybe not that bad.

At any rate, I've been working on zombies, and the idea that something that was once scary and unknown is now cannon fodder and mundane.  How did we get to the point that we are no longer afraid of zombies?  Well, I would argue that the introduction of zombies was likely something to create fear in people and that everything since then, in some way or another was to fight that fear, and get past it.

First, let’s look at what made us afraid of zombies in the first place.  I'm talking about the original concept of the 'zombie' and not the popular shuffling construct that we are seeing in mainstream media today, of course - the idea that a man was killed by a Bokor, then revived, enslaved and used primarily for manual labor.  This goes back to Haiti, and roots there in voodoo and other (I hesitate at 'mythology') religions and was a way to take away free will.  Notice that there is no mention of cannibalism, or trying to eat brains.  It was as simple as removing your ability to resist.  The idea that your corpse could get up and work without your consent WAS terrifying to people.  I suspect it is less so today, but it's still a disturbing concept, to say the least.  Something that actually led to me starting this research was from the book, "This Book is Full of Spiders (seriously dude, don't touch it), and I'll quote the excerpt here:

 “The zombie looks like a man, walks like a man, eats and otherwise functions fully, yet is devoid of the spark. It represents the nagging doubt that lays deep in the heart of even the most zealous believer: behind all of your pretty songs and stained glass, this is what you really are. Shambling meat. Our true fear of the zombie was never that its bite would turn us into one of them. Our fear is that we are already zombies.” 
― David Wong


Now, that's obviously taking from the modern zombies, that the idea that the bite could spread the infection, or disease, and change YOU to a zombie as well, and I think that deviation was only because the original idea wasn't frightening enough.  If you think about it, someone had to be willing to commit murder to create a zombie.  They had to kill you, then bring you back to life, then maintain you in some way, even if it was just standing you in the closet at night.  The point is, there are only so many people that another person can kill and bring back to life, even if they worked at it every day and night for as long as they lived.  But MASS zombification, now that's terrifying...  at least, it was.  The idea that an infection or disease could cause dead flesh to rise is relatively new, and it has a purpose as well, to insulate us to the fear of the world around us.  We do this often, by the way.  When everyone was scared to death of nuclear power, there were movies and books and comic books about people getting radioactive powers (Spiderman, anyone?)  I'd be willing to bet that if a poll was taken today, most people are not all that worried about radiation, or nuclear power - and that's AFTER Chernobyl happened.

In the earliest of zombie movies, it was the Bokor, and it was limited to a small amount of people.  In the next phase, we had George Romero, and the idea that it could be spread - but in his case, and I believe he did this consciously, there was no explanation for what caused spread.  Not knowing, after all, definitely makes something more frightening.  It's only in the later years that we've sought a REASON for the start of the 'end of the world'.  That's part of the process as well, trying to explain what caused the problem.  It's part of solving the riddle, and if we can just figure out what happened, we can save everyone - in some cases, even the infected themselves.  At one point, there was no cure for zombiism, you were DEAD.  Now, we've gone to the idea that you are not only still alive somehow, but that you can be saved.  Never mind that physically, this would be all but impossible.  It's that spark of hope, that the process can be reversed.

At one point, not only could the spread not be determined to have a starting point, but it had no weaknesses either.  It was unstoppable, and for all practical reasons, it was unavoidable.  In the scenarios presented, you were almost certainly going to die horribly, and then come back and likely kill someone else - in all likelihood, someone you loved.  If that doesn't frighten you, you might be a sociopath.  NOW, we have zombie love stories, and after a little while (and eating the right brains to spark memories apparently) you can become human again.  While I liked the movie - it was entertaining - I just sit and sigh when I see it because it is such a disconnect from reality.    Then again, zombies are disconnects from reality as well, so far...

Back to the point - we've made zombies less frightening, and it was done by my generation most likely.  We grew up watching Romero zombies, and conversations with my friends about the zombies was generally centered around how WE would handle it - that WE wouldn't be so afraid, and that the idiots in the movies had to be the dumbest people on the earth to lose to ZOMBIES of all things.  They're slow, they're stupid, and they're weak.  That's the trifecta of losers in the horror universe.  To lose to zombies would be embarrassingly ridiculous.  And then we grew up.  Some of us became writers...  And now we have lovable zombies that only eat brains because they want to still feel human.  And they feel bad about killing people.  And they can be cured. And get girlfriends.

Zombies were once terrifying.  They were an idea that was the reminder that death was inescapable, but that what came after could be worse.  Zombies now are no longer frightening, they're victims.  We treat victims differently in our minds than we treat villains.  We feel sorry for victims.  We empathize.  It's difficult to be afraid of something like that.  It's easier to feel pity for them.

So in answer to my own question - Yes, zombies used to be more frightening, and it's by design that they are not now.

Let's get ready to RUMBLE...!

No, not really.

WWE 2K14.  Bought it for my kids - and to be honest, I'm finding myself getting drawn in, but not necessarily in the way you might expect.

The gameplay is what you probably expect - because it hasn't changed much in the past several years.  This is the first game that 2K took over, and aside from some controversy with their cover art contest, they've handled it pretty well.

My kids enjoy playing - but for me, the character creator is where it's at.

I was able to create a mockup of the Winter Soldier from the new Captain America movie, and the game enabled me to use enough layers on his arm to actually make it look like a mechanical arm from the movie.  I had a great deal more freedom than they've given in the past, and I can see some serious potential there for creating some really cool characters.  I haven't even checked to see if they could be uploaded the way some previous games did, but if so, I could spend hours doing that alone.

Of course, I'm a graphic artist, so that explains that.

As far as the game itself - there's no Road to Wrestlemania this time, instead they have offered 30 years of Wrestlemania - and it's kind of a refreshing change.  Not a huge thing, but a nice break I think.  My son has been completing the challenges of Wrestlemania past, and he's having a blast, and I'm having fun watching.  The challenge curve gets pretty demanding at times, and the new counter and kick-out mechanics definitely take some getting used to.  It's definitely all about the timing now, rather than just button mashing.

All in all, it's entertaining, and it's another WWE game.

So, Titanfall...

Anyone that knows me very well at all, knows that I refuse to give certain game companies my money anymore.  As a consumer, I feel it's not only my right, but a responsibility to speak to these companies in the only language they seem to understand - money.  I don't part my wallet for several companies, and one of them is EA.

I was a little interested in Titanfall, so I did what I usually do and waited until I could purchase it used at Gamestop, and so I finally got to play what EA would have you believe is the game of the fucking century.  It's fun.  Period.  Full stop.

The first thing that happened was an expected one - server glitches.  Seems every new game that comes out kills the ever loving shit out of servers in the first few weeks - and this was no exception.  After a few hours of playing Enemy Within, I checked the servers again, and hey, look at that, back online.

Anyway, the campaign (if you can accurately call it that) is basically playing as both sides of whatever space conflict we are a part of (I honestly have no idea what most of the story is, because they literally do all of the plot points as recorded voices over your headset as you play)  and they have 10 missions each - which will give you a feel for the game itself pretty well.  So, the campaign is the tutorial albeit an extended one.

Once the campaign is over, Titanfall is just deathmatch with mechs.  Now to some, that is game nirvana, and hey, if you like it, this is probably the game for you.  There are some truly exciting moments and some pretty cool gameplay to be had.  Me, not so much.  I'm not a team deathmatch kind of guy.  I kind of want to do it every now and then - and I usually get my fix in GTA online, where I can also do a shit ton of other things in between that occasional desire to team deathmatch.

If your ultimate online gaming experience is killing the other humans online with you in a virtual capacity, Titanfall is your huckleberry.  If you're too young to get that reference, fuck you. If you want more plot or story, I'd skip this one.  It's truly a case of whatever floats your boat.

Three little letters, that mean so much.

DLC

Did three letters (aside from something as obvious as SEX) ever hold so much promise?

Why then have publishers turned it into something that is almost reviled among anyone with a brain?  Don't the developers realize just how much people hate being nickel and dimed to death?  No, they don't?  Apparently not.

With a few exceptions (and I'll get to them shortly) DLC is no longer holding up to what it could be, what it should be, and it's all about the almighty dollar.  So many companies today are selling you product that they have already sold you, while others are selling you what SHOULD have been included with your original purchase, and it absolutely kills me to see how many people buy these things.

When I initially heard about the idea of DLC for games, I was actually pretty stoked.  I was playing a lot of wrestling games and I could imagine how many more storylines could be so easily added to existing games to make them more valuable for a longer time.  Of course, I'm thinking like a gamer, and not like a finance major.

DLC basically represents what you should have gotten with your initial purchase, but that the developers know you will pay to add.  Everything from characters and color palettes for fighting games to unlocking content that is already on the disc you've purchased, is available for DLC, for a price of course.

The exceptions to this rule (the Shadowbroker mission for Mass Effect 2 jumps immediately to mind) are the ones that are starting to stand out, because they actually ARE using DLC for what it was intended: a way to make good games better and some games great.  Valve is notorious for offering free DLC for their games - when others charge for the same thing - whereas Capcom wants to make me pay for characters in the Street Fighter X Tekken game that should have been included.

At the end of the day, I think DLC will get to where I was hoping it would be initially - but I think we're in for a long painful wait - and as long as some of the customers perpetuate the behavior by purchasing the content, it'll be even longer.