One Take: Games: 2016

Saturday, August 13, 2016

No Man's Sky || Review

The Hype

Well Damn.. It is finally out on PC! No Man's Sky has finally been released yesterday (August 12, 2016) and guess what, I'm one of the hundreds of thousands to buy it on it's release date. Not impressed? Well, okay. Who cares if you're not impressed huh?!

It's only less than 3GB of download so it took me no more than an hour to install it on my PC. And within that hour all I did was assemble my freakin' bed that shipped in that day. Let's get back to the topic. Let's talk about the hype. A lot of people were restless waiting for this game to come out. And I was one of them. My colleagues say that this game is very massive in its own sense because it is not just "open world" it's freaking Open Universe!

Start up

Game starts up with the company's splash screen and all their partners and stuff. After that you get dumped straight into the game. You wake up all doozy and confused, and you seemed to have lost your memory AND your ship is all wrecked and ruined. I won't spoil you any further than that.

You get no bootcamp missions, nor a training simulation run - None of that! Yes, like I said, you get dumped straight into the action. If you want to watch how I started it, here's the video:

Specifics of the Game

Okay so let's talk about the specifics of the game. So far I haven't played around the graphic settings when I played, I just left it as it is. And in my honestly, I got dizzy right from the get-go. The environment looks a little bit "cartoony". It's not that I don't like it, I actually love it!

Gameplay

From what I picked up in 3 hours of straight gaming, you basically have to gather materials to fix your ship. It's a little bit too slow on the start, you get the option to follow an "Atlas" and I do think this orb-like thing will give you the tutorial that you seek. Or you can roam "freely" and I'm assuming this is equivalent to "yes, I would like to write my own story please" option.

So yeah, you gather resources and in the process you destroy the planet's environment. Within the planet they have these "Sentinel" things that roam around basically patrolling the vicinity. And if they catch you destroying their environment - well, they become hostile.|

Aside from the Sentinels, the planets also have countless creatures that roam around. Some are friendly, and others are very very hostile. You have the option to feed them and make them an ally who helps you find stuff on the ground. Or you can zap them with your multi-tool and harvest their bodies. Either or, they will never help you on their own accord.

The Story of the Game

I honestly don't get the story of the game YET. So far what I picked up is that, there's the "Atlas" that should guide you through out the game but I decided not to select that option. And during my play time, I've encountered only a handful of intelligent life form in the entire freaking galaxy! And during some of my encounters with these life forms, they send me messages and letters that come from another person who they don't even know. So from that, I can make up that someone is trying to contact me. Another "Greater" intelligent life form is either trying to help me because they care, or they're helping me because they are trying to get me to do something in return.

My take

As I have shown above, I can say that No Man's Sky is a very interesting game. The concept is unique and it's a first of its kind. Should you buy it? Well that's a yes and a no depending on some certain aspects. If you don't like slow starting games that do not give you that BIG quest right from the get-go then don't get it. If you like to explore and create and gather, and if you like the slow but sure pace that eventually leans you towards a bigger goal, then yes, you absolutely must buy it!

My take on this game is that it is a great game. No the ultimate game YET, but this one has potential. I'm looking forward to patches and updates from the developers - see if they unleash some kick-ass contents and events soon.

Dota 2 || Review

Roots

Strategy games have gone through so much evolution in the years passed. New Genres are constantly being developed and the old ones just keep getting better and better. While more and more genres and variations are created, one genre is getting so much attention in the world of competitive gaming. Real Time Strategy gaming, or better known as RTS, has gotten so famous to the point that the prize pool in the big league tournaments amount to millions of dollars. Only a handful of games within this genre can pull this off - in comes Dota 2.

Dota 2 is not your regular RTS though, it belongs to a subgenre of RTS called Action Real-Time Strategy (ARTS) or more famously known as Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. To put it in simple english, it basically has the same concept as RTS but instead of using multiple units at a time, you just stick to, and roll with, a single unit equipped with multiple abilities at your disposal.

The World of the Ancients

Dota 2 has a very unique history in fact, you can trace it all the way back to the famous Warcraft III: Frozen Throne mod called DotA Allstars. This is one of the few games where I followed all of the patch notes night in and night out. I learned all the glitches of the game, I read how-to guides, I even wrote my own hero guides. I grew up with it. You can check out my blog about DotA.

As a kid who grew up in the 90's and who got into gaming in the 20's, all I ever played on PC were games such as Counter-Strike, Age of Empires and Unreal Tournament. I played a little bit of StarCraft but that's about it. I didn't even know that StarCraft belonged to RTS genre back in the day. Heck, I didn't even know about RTS until recently. I knew about the games, how to play them, but I never really knew what genre they belonged to. To me, games were just games - that's it.

Gameplay and Skins

As a huge fan of DotA Allstars I can testify that Dota 2 really impressed me. While Dota 2 is behind with the total number heroes live that are available to play compared to the OG DotA, that is probably the only issue I have. I was saddened when valve developers took out my favorite bug exploits such as Mirana's legendary "back-arrow" move and that mythical "Forcestaff-Blink" instant transmission technique. These game glitches were so fun and so difficult to execute in-game that if you were able to pull it off during multiplayer match it'll give you a lifetime's worth of bragging rights.

Aside from that, the overall gameplay on Dota 2 is very smooth and it gives you a different yet welcoming feel to both new players and veteran players alike. Valve implemented Skins that allow players to give a custom feel to their hero pool. My personal favorites are Phantom Assassin's Manifold Paradox Bundle, Pudge's Murder of Crows, Legion Commander's Blades of Voth Domosh, and Sven's Forge of Ironwill set.

Community and Updates

Dota 2 has a huge fan base. And like every game, the community is divided between the good and the bad. Luckily for us, majority of the population are pretty chill while the rest are either douchebags or trolls. But fear not, I have never cued in a matchmaking where all 9 players playing with me are the bad boys of the league. Update-wise, valve releases patches available to be downloaded in steam every often. Especially when The International tournament is approaching. Hero nerfs and item changes gets released when Icefrog decides to, which now happens every month. And just a month ago, they unleashed a huge map change. I will put up a blog to show the difference between the map then and the map now. Good thing about Dota 2 is if you're new to the game, you'll pick up pretty fast because of all of the guides available online now compared to 10 years ago. If you're a veteran and you stopped playing for a very long, long time - things might be a little bit on the downside for you. But fear not, like I said, there's a huge pool out there to guide you through all the changes.

My Take

Dota 2 is a VERY competitive game. People will come at you tooth and nail just to win, whether you are a friend or foe. Despite this, Dota 2 has a huge amount of fan base out there. Majority of the community is friendlier than you think. Updates and patches come out often, and Valve's support team is very active. All in all, I will put it out there that Dota is a great game, and I am not saying it because I'm biased or anything, I am saying it because I've known the game pretty much my entire life. And all I could say through out the years that I've watched Dota grow is that I have never seen a sequel to a game I've loved so much as good as this one. That's everything. I hope you guys picked up useful information from this. Peace out!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt || Review

A Game Well Done!

To start this off I have to say that I got nothing else for this game but love and praise. From the intro cutscene to the actual gameplay - all the way to my first boss fight, there was nothing but perfection. I got blown away by the overall experience.

Dialogue to Perfection

The first thing I loved about this game is its comical dialogue between characters. Every conversation presents a story. Some are more serious than others, while there are modest amounts of interesting yet funny conversations. Our protagonist is very witty. But some personalities you encounter during the game are - well, very intriguing. Skip to minute mark @1:40 of this video and see for yourself. It is a dialogue between the protagonist and, I would say, THE best butler that I've seen in my life.

Brains vs Brawns

^{You will never believe the amount of torture I went through just to figure out how to properly maneuver within combat situations.}

I've fought ghouls in this game that are waaay tougher to beat than Metal Gear Rex from Metal Gear Solid 2. I got tired of dying to the point that I did not play the game for 2 days. Wait I think I got the game difficulty set to Savage mode. That said, this game encourages you to actually prepare for a hunt before you depart to engage the monster. I completely ignored that part of the game and as a result my head got served for dinner.

While it is possible to dodge attacks, it requires perfect execution in order to successfully avoid the damage dealt by enemies. Of course, that requires practice. You are able to perform combos by, yeah, mashing the LMB(Left Mouse Button). You have a set amount of spells that you can cast, which are called signs: Aard, Igni, Yrden, Quen, Axii. All these signs are acquired when you start the game and can be leveled up as you progress.

Worlds and Quests

While the game boasts a nice plot and setting, the side quests are as equally interesting as its main story. This picture is a screenshot that I took as I was acquiring the infamous "Pan Quest." Yes, you heard me, a quest involving pans. This is just one in a vast number of quest that will make you scratch your head as soon as you get them.

And like I mentioned back in my Witcher 3 Expectation article, this game is openworld. I have not played more than half of the entire story yet so I am not sure if there's more of the world that you can explore, but damn - I sure hope it's not as huge as the world of Skyrim.

My Take

As can be seen above, this game is phenomenal. If I were to rate it from 1 to 10 - 1 being bad and 10 being awesome - then I would give this a perfect 10. It is one of a kind. The conversations alone are enough to keep you entertained. The drama and story is very captivating. The combat makes you work for your money. And the graphics is unreal. Overall, this game is a must-have! I highly recommend it. That's all for this article. Peace!

Friday, June 24, 2016

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt || Expectations

Joining the Big Boys

I've been eyeing this game ever since it got announced back in the year 2013 and I would say, basing on the overwhelmingly positive reviews it received, my expectations for this game is VERY high. I bought this game on September of last year(2015) and I have to admit, I can't wait to try it out on my newly built gaming rig this week. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has garnered multiple awards before and after it's release that it felt like it caught the entire gaming world's attention. And that's probably everything we need to care about at this point.

Stunning Graphics

From the looks of it, the graphics on this game is VERY detailed. I see nothing but high quality textures and particles. And apparently, it is also an open world game which means you can do all kinds of sh*t - I've seen people ride horseback, ride a boat and even ride people. Yea, you read that right. The weather and environment looks very realistic. And the armour designs, character models and all other graphical elements work perfectly together to create an absolutely stunning picture.

Story-telling

I have not played any of the The Witcher series so I cannot speak on behalf of everybody about how the story of TW3 will unfold. I am, however, glad to say that I have watched my fair share of Trailers regarding this particular game so I can say there's a bunch of hunting and nakedness involved. *Yea I don't know, stop asking me. This trailer is my favorite, and also the first one I saw so...

My Take

All in all, I do think this game will blow my head off out of the window once I start playing it. I'm expecting to play 20 plus hours of gaming with this specific title - goodbye social life. I have huge expectations from this game, I just hope it lives up to the hype. Happy Gaming! Peace out! *Mic Drop*

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Final Fantasy XV || Expectations & Release Date

The Long-Awaited game is finally coming out!

After a decade of waiting, stalking(yes stalking), and going in and out of google in search of news about this game I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Scheduled to officially release on

September 30, 2016

, this game is riding the hype train. A lot of people, including myself, are expecting big things from this game and I hope it'll live up to it. But with all honesty, I really don't care if it does live up to the hype or not. I just want to fulfill my childhood dreams and play it! *Cough* Boasting some kick-ass, free-roam combat system and a vast open world operating within the latest gen console, this game has pulled my long lost RPG fanatic soul back on track. I can feel the excitement burning in my belly!

10 years in the making

Eh- not really.

I heard about this game back in 2006. That was waaay back when I was in friggin grade school! I've watched the first trailer from E3 and I fell in love with the game ever since. Back then, the title was

Final Fantasy Versus XIII

and I remember reading that Versus was supposed to be a spin-off from the main gun Final Fantasy 13. FFXIII? Isn't that the one where the leading character is a cutie with a pink hair named Lightning? YES, that's the one! Yeah, okay. I have a crush on her too. Big deal.

Alongside FF Versus XIII was Final Fantasy XIII: Agito. Now I don't know what exactly happened to Agito but I'm sure of one thing, it was meant for mobile devices operating under iOS and Android, and of course PSP. Duh, everyone knows that. But seriously, my friend says it's a really good game - I trust him, so I ask you guys to trust me in trusting him. And I need to get my hands on that game fast. Now back to Versus, after it's appearance in 2006 all the news following that year were about delays, technical difficulties and everything an eager beaver like myself don't want to hear.

Ghostly PS3-Exclusive

Like the sub-header suggests, it was meant to be a PS3-exclusive. Square Enix said it was only PS3 so yea, I bought the console JUST TO PLAY THE GAME. Well I didn't buy a PS3, I begged for it. And the people of earth were actually very kind to me that they bought me one. So you can imagine how frustrated I am after hearing that they were porting Versus to PS4 back in March of 2013. I was so disappointed that I stopped playing PS3 and left it in the hands of my good siblings.So much for waiting 7 years huh.

Kick-ass Gameplay

Have you guys seen the 2016 trailer of this game? If you haven't, here's a link Watch Now. Fortunately for me I don't have a PS4 yet - I'm waiting for Square Enix to drop the news that Final Fantasy XV will be released for PS5 and all resources will be ported to the next gen console. *grins* Seriously.

Jokes aside, the gameplay for Final Fantasy XV is pretty good. For me at least. I'm a person who grew up to pixelated games, with cartoonish cutscenes and turn-based combat system. Man, those were the days. And now that I look at this game, I can only say one thing: this game is going to be big. I mean, it has everything a die hard Final Fantasy fan is looking for. Well, everything except for job change.. And adding more party members. And gender change(Not that I personally WANT a gender change). At least give the free people of Bravos some choice. I'm not quite sure yet if you can add more people to your party, but from what I heard and from what I've seen thus far, I don't think you can do either of the two.

If you're looking for explosions, and lightning-quick movements, and Titans, and rhinos then this is your game! I'm not sure how the magic system works, I mean if you consume MP to cast a spell, or if you're using magic per unit, or if you can keeping casting to your hearts content. Oh but I'm sure of one thing, magic changes the environment! When you cast blizzard, the game invokes an actual blizzard to the scene. That's the coolest s**t I've seen! *cough* Excuse me. Weapons? What about weapons? Noctis wields multiple weapons in the game. You can assign a weapon to any button you so choose, this allows Noctis(Yes, it allows Noctis not you) to swap weapons during a combo. Meaning you can execute countless combinations of attack patterns. And don't forget the warping abilities! You can target a specific location in-game, Noctis throws a dagger at it and poof! You warp towards it. Pretty cool huh?

Photo-realistic

The graphics in this game is damn amazing. The city looks VERY realistic, the Guardian Forces you can summon is super awesome and the characters - the characters look like a bunch of boyband dudes who are out seeking for world domination. For real though. Anyway, back to the main topic. Everything in-game looks very realistic and I'm VERY impressed. I think I'm starting to love the next Gen gaming.

My Take

Taking into account all the pretty graphics, and explosions, and Titans, and the kick-ass combat system, the boyband, and the fact that it's open world - my take on this game is it's a MUST HAVE game. I'm getting it. I don't have a PS4, that means I'm buying a PS4, which means this game is making me buy a PS4. The logic isn't there but hey, it's me. I mean why not? This could be the NEXT BIG THING from Square Enix after a very long while.
_{credits to the owners of the pictures}

State of Decay: Year-One || Review

Locked Luster

Impressive, shocking, and fun is how I would describe this game on the get-go. I had the chance to try this out the night after I posted my "Expectations" in my previous blog, and man, it actually met my expectations. The script is filled with humour, it encourages you to build from scratch, and the zombie AI keeps you on your toes.

Hordes and Horror

Fighting zombies can be fun. Smashing through hordes of zombies is a lot more enjoyable, especially if you have military-grade guns and some backup buddies to fight with. You also have the choice to run them over with a 4x4 truck if you're feeling the urge to do so. Headshot kills takes a little bit of practice, but melee combat is just a matter of mashing your attack button on your mouse or your dual shock. Also, beware of other human beings. Some of them aren't that welcoming. There are also a number of upper classes of zombies. You better watch your back for these bad boys.

Scavenger Hunt

I love looting and searching for items that I want. And I certainly welcome the challenge to scavenge for materials that I need. This game caters to both of these concepts, and for the most part, I do think the game revolves around securing items and materials to fortify your security. Guns and other weapons can be found around town. And the game also encourages you to upgrade your base, your upgrade choices include adding a mini farm land, workbench and some sleeping areas. These building upgrades can sometimes avert issues within your group. You can also tell them to chill the f**k out.

My Take

All in all, I think this game is really good. Aside from the graphic quality, the game as a whole has a lot of potential. You can play countless hours just to keep your base afloat, or you can spend your time smashing zombie heads or collecting perforated zombie bodies. Whatever you decide to do, watch out for uniformed military dudes. They aren't as friendly as you think.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition || Expectations

Living with the Dead

There's nothing more enjoyable that an open world, post apocalyptic zombie game. Let's leave it at that. I'm getting good vibes from this game - my brother has been showering it with lots and lots of praise enough to make a king grow horns. Although it garnered "Mixed Reviews" from the Steam Community, IGN gave it a humble score of 8.9, that's rated as "Great" in simple English. And the YouTube videos about this game - eh.. I haven't really watched any YouTube videos about it still. But I'm expecting big things from this game nonetheless.

Rags and Riches

Although the game looks "a little bit old and clunky", as all reviews would say, I think the script and story line will make up for it. I heard you fight hordes of zombies, use towers to scout, and use vehicles to make your supply runs. You can get friendly NPCs to join your squad. And there's some defend-your-base action too. That's sounds like the type of game for me eh.

Loot and Loiter

The game is open-world (and I really hope we can swim too), seems like you can loot any house, and loot anything from the look of things. I hope we can loot dead friends too? The game has a wide variety of gun selections but you have to fight through hordes and crowds to get them. Not a bad thing! I want that kind of action.

My Take

With everything put side by side, I think this game will keep me up late at night for weeks to come. I feel like fighting my way through wave after wave of zombie hordes already. I'm gonna buy this game and have a go at it. Peace!