Update

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Craig M

Apologies I haven’t posted anything lately. Firstly I’ve been busy trying to catch up with a multitude of work in my job after having some time off (more out of using up my holiday entitlement for the financial year than actually wanting holiday…), and this week I’ve felt a bit under the weather, health-wise. It’s nothing major but has meant my usual enthusiasm for stuff has been a bit low.

That’s not to say I haven’t been doing stuff. I finally got my hands on the much anticipated Quantum Break and am enjoying it even if its a bit tougher than I realised (I read a review that suggested putting it on Hard difficulty as the game is supposedly too easy on Normal – I’m starting to regret that a bit…but will stick with it for now). Expect an impressions at some stage. I’ve also chosen to get back into popular TV series House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey – which I’d given a go a while back and for one reason or another only watched a few episodes of. I’ve now decided to stick with it and am enjoying it so far. Also on the TV side of things, just started watching Daredevil Season 2 which I am enjoying, and also continuing with Better Call Saul Season 2, oh and the current run of The Walking Dead is about to wrap up so we’ll see how this season concludes.

On the movies horizon I’m hoping to catch The Huntsman at the cinema as a couple of friends in work have shown interest, and I also intend to see The Conjuring 2 on cinema having really liked the first one and am currently getting a friend to catch up with that by lending him the first movie on Blu-ray. ‘Movie night with Pops’ continues also with a couple of breaks here and there and the last movie I watched but didn’t bother doing a review on was the underrated Red Dragon, that Hannibal Lecter prequel people seem to forget about – and it was a good night’s viewing. I also hope to see Tom Hanks / Steven Spielberg thriller Bridge of Spies soon, perhaps as a rental.

Well that’s all from me for now. Like I said a bit run down right now but plenty of things on the horizon so watch this space for more content soon!

Craig.

Will The Division be good?

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Craig M

I have the game coming next Tuesday and to be honest I’m a little apprehensive. The two Betas that we had were ok, and the gameplay and combat seemed good…but I’m still not entirely sure how interesting the final game will end up being. Will it be a game that only really comes alive when playing co-operatively, or will it work just as well (or well enough) in single player? The world it depicts that of a post-virus outbreak near-future New York is certainly compelling and developer Massive Games has done a great job of bringing New York to gritty life, but the wow-factor of the first reveal and the final graphical downgrade still stings me.

I have been playing a lot of Destiny lately and enjoy it on an exploration and character developing basis, and the various missions whilst a bit samey are still fun with solid gunplay mechanics and an interesting world. Yet that has several large planet environments to explore and therefore gives some variety to the surroundings. The Division on the other hand just has New York and as well realised as the city environment may be, for a game that is meant to last for a long time, several years in fact … one admittedly huge environment is still that – one environment. I’m sure the various areas and districts will have their own flavour, but at this stage I’m wondering about the game’s lasting appeal for months to come. It also niggles me the developer’s focus on The Dark Zone, a multiplayer PVP environment that for me, was never the big pull of this game and turns it into basically another multiplayer shooter but with loot and a few NPC characters to shoot. It’s interesting but the developer seems way too focused on it and less focused on the game’s narrative or single player / co-operative experience outside the ‘dark zone’.

I’ll offer a more rounded opinion on the game once I have played a fair bit of the final product. At the moment though I’m a little less excited than I should be. I’ll leave you with the launch trailer…

The Division beta – impressions

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Craig M

One of the most hyped games for this year has to be Tom Clancy’s The Division, an open-world MMORPG set in a locked down New York after a pandemic outbreak. I got access to the beta of the game over the weekend after pre-ordering, and I must admit it’s very good indeed. I haven’t actually managed to partake in some of the much talked about co-op gameplay or the PVP dark zone sections, but just exploring the disaster-stricken New York streets, taking on scavenger gangs and completing side missions as well as the beta’s main mission … has been a lot of fun.

screenshot captured directly from my PS4

Visually the game has had a bit of a downgrade since the initial E3 reveal but that was to be expected considering the game was first shown before the Xbox One and PS4 were even released. But with that in mind, how do the visuals stack up in this near-finished version? Very good indeed actually. There are a ton of effects at work, impressive weather such as wind & snow considering the game is set at Christmas, and a wealth of detail on buildings, the road, and cars (yes you can still close that car door, folks!). The lighting is very atmospheric and with what appears to be a dynamic weather and day / night cycle the game shows off it’s true beauty the more you play it.

screenshot captured directly from my PS4

Gameplay-wise (with similarities to Destiny) you create your character (well, their face and gender but I didn’t do much with this aspect when first booting up the game), and then are introduced to the world, following the storyline of an agent flown into the crisis and having to make his (or her) way to the base of operation – a hub environment that you enhance and develop as you go on missions and complete tasks. It’s a good idea and one that will mean there’s more than just a develop character / stats excuse to keep on playing. I wonder if this is the only base of operation or if there will be others in different areas the player can develop? The core shooting feels good too, with an excellent cover-based mechanic that enables the player to run to various areas of cover very easily, making for some exciting encounters. The character / NPC designs are very detailed and slickly animated making this game feel very next-gen overall. I think it will be a game that could become quite addictive also as more missions become available and various quests are discovered. The enemy characters at this stage seem quite samey (all violent hoodies it seems) but that could change once the game is out and we could get boss fights. It’s too early to be sure though.

For now The Division is looking to be a solid game to invest a ton of time in so I can’t wait till March 8th!

Xbox @ E3 2015

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Craig M

Not long finished watching Microsoft’s E3 briefing and have come away rather impressed. We got to see a new Gears of War being demonstrated in-game and hell, it looked bad-ass. Only a glimpse but the next-gen graphics and a new somewhat Chris Pratt inspired protagonist certainly peaked my interest for one of my favourite franchises. It was also good news to hear a fully remade version of the original Gears Of War would be out this year the wet our appetites for the next instalment.

It was also good to finally see some in-game footage of Rise of the Tomb Raider even if the footage shown was a bit heavy on cinematics and less on the actual gameplay – but the snow and weather and ice effects shown were very nice … and considering the game is out in November, I’d say what we saw was pretty much as it will be to play.

I was mildly intrigued with the announced Rare Replay Collection. The famed studio that made a big splash in the Nintendo days hasn’t exactly wowed audiences since it got acquired by Microsoft back in the early days of Xbox (can we forgive the abomination that was Perfect Dark Zero?) but the chance to rediscover countless Rare gems such as Banjo Kazooie and Conkers Bad Fur Day was mouth-watering. No word on if said games would be spruced up in next-gen clothing, but considering it’s a compilation, I doubt it. Rare also revealed a new I.P. in the name of Sea of Thieves, a multi-player open world what looks like pirate sea fairing-thing. Certainly interesting and the cell-shaded, cartoon visuals definitely appeal. Excuse me though if I haven’t got massive faith in Rare as a developer these days.

One of the real big announcements was that Xbox One was going to be backwards compatible with Xbox 360. Now considering the vast library of games for the 360, that’s a big coop for the new console even if backwards compatibility has always seemed silly to me on a new console. Can’t people movie on? But considering Microsoft’s struggles with their console this generation compared to the PS4, I think it’s a very wise move to get the former fan base back on board.

There was the expected Forza 6 and Halo 5 Guardians presentations (…wow!), and another glimpse of The Division with what has to be said slightly pared back graphics?? Add to this the recently announced Fallout 4 on Microsoft’s stage along with Rainbow Six Siege. Then we also came to Holo Lens and the recently announced partnership with Oculus Rift (owned by Valve??) to get excited about, but no word on a price point for either, and surprisingly Oculus Rift had very little being said about it.

So for day one, this was a good showing for Microsoft and Xbox One. There was still plenty of talk of Indie games and Windows 10 which I’m cautiously optimistic about … yet overall, I was suitably excited. No shows for the hyped exclusives Quantum Break and Crackdown, but you could say we still got more than a bumper show this year.

Over to you Sony.