Today I left civilization and my daily routine, and set out on an epic adventure for a guy's retreat for the guys in our corporate office, hosted by my bosses. They graciously invited us out to his home out on a gorgeous golf course in the high desert of Oregon, where one of them have one of the most breathtaking houses you will ever see. Currently, I am staying in a villa down near the golf course, and the while we having a shaky WiFi connection here, we have almost ZERO cell phone service anywhere around for miles, so the fact I'm even able to do this blog is an amazing feat, and one I am not taking for granted. Trust me, after this trip, I am never taking anything for granted ever again. On the three hour trip up here, I was able to get some good gaming in, thankfully. While I'm not ready to write about a few of the games, there is one I will gladly write about, only because it will be the easiest one to write about, especially since I have been drinking for almost five hours now. So without further adieu... I played Tetris Blitz on my iPad, and it was fun. Look, I am a huge fan of Tetris, in all forms. I remember playing it over at my friend's house as a kid on the original NES, despite the fact he had a SNES and cool PC games. He had one of those joystick controllers, which wouldn't seem like a big deal for Tetris, but actually made making moves quickly and efficiently far more easier. This was especially helpful as you got in to the far later levels, when the blocks would fall at a screaming pace. With Tetris Blitz, each game is played in 2-minute increments, with the idea being to score as many points as possible in that short time frame. Being able to just tap and drop blocks is actually very intuitive and works well, and almost makes me wish that feature was available in any touch-based versions of the regular Tetris. If you're not a leader board kind of gamer, though, or you don't have friends who are playing the game - or you don't have an internet connection - then the replay value of this game is diminished quite a bit. It's fun for a while, but since every game is cut short, there is no chance of going on amazing runs like you could in a regular Tetris game. There you have it. I will try to make it back tomorrow night with another blog posting, but honestly, it will be far less coherent I'm sure. Wish me luck!
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Let's face it; there are some games that a guy will buy over and over and over again, for may different reasons. These types of games don't come along very often, but when they do, they hit hard and fast, and before you know it, you have bought multiple copies of the same game, either for the same system over and over, or the same game just on many different systems. For me, the latest one to trick me into this pitfall is Plants vs. Zombies. Currently, I had owned the game for DS, iPhone, Xbox 360 and PS Vita. Well, today I discovered that it was only $.99 for the iPad, so guess what game I bought again, in all it's glory. I have literally done everything there is to do in the game over and over again, yet I continue buy the game and play it over and over again, for no real reason at all. Other than it is a super fun game, of course. For those living under a rock, this is a tower defense game, where you plant all different types of plants and flowers in order to stop the zombie hoard of each level from reaching the house. If they reach house, you lose. If you destroy all zombies, level over. Simple stuff indeed. The charm lies within the characters of the game. Everything from the plants themselves, the zombies and even Crazy Dave, the characters and charm radiate from this game. I guess that's probably why I like playing it so much. If Plants vs. Zombies 2 is anywhere near as good as this game, my wallet will be hurting severely. Last week I bought myself an iPad. It's something I have thought about doing for a while now, but never pulled the trigger on. Well, after saving up $200 in Best Buy reward zone gift certificates, I figured the time was right. Plus, with the all the podcasts and other projects I'm currently involved in, I justified getting it to help out with with everything I'm doing in further establishing my brand in this crazy space known as the Internet. Also, I'm a tech nerd and love having as many gadgets and toys as possible. I work hard, and I like to play hard. I'm also a gamer, in case you couldn't tell, and why not add another gaming device to my repertoire of systems to play games on? If there is anything this particular blog and project need, it's diversity, right? So tonight, I'll write about playing a game on my iPad for the first time in this Year of Gaming that I have embarked on. Granted, this isn't the first game I've played on my iPad (Candy Crush may end up being the death of me), but it is the best looking game I've tried out on it thus far. I'm talking about Dead Trigger, and while I think it is usually $.99 in the App Store, it just happened to be free today when I randomly stumbled upon it this morning while browsing. If all awesome games like this were free, my wallet would be really happy by the end of the year, that's for sure. And yes, this is an awesome game. Well, for the most part that is. The graphics are absolutely stunning, especially on the new retina display of the iPad. Seriously, it's hard to remember that this is an iPad game while playing it, because it looks like it could easily be a console game. There is lighting and shading effects, great textures and rendering - pretty much everything you would expect for a retail game. The zombies themselves look fantastic and realistic as well, except for those glowing eyes of theirs. Unless of course real zombies have glowing yellow eyes, in which case, they nailed it. Depth wise, it's pretty shallow and not much to it. Just go level to level, mowing down all zombies in your path until you reach the end or the hoard stops coming at you, using a wide variety of weapons that you can upgrade as you so choose. Some levels are move from point A to point B type of game play, and others are defend your position type, allowing you to set up turrets to assist. The zombies move pretty quickly and efficiently, and remind me a lot of the House of the Dead games in that aspect. Only a few good seconds to get clean shots off, so you better use your time wisely. One major thing that did bug me - and this might be because I'm not used to gaming on an iPad - is the controls, or lack thereof. It's a FPS, so the left "joystick" on the screen moves you forward and backwards, and the right "joystick" swivels your point of view. But you also have the trigger and zoom-in and reload buttons on the right side as well, which makes looking around and shooting at the same time quite tricky. I've seen those arcade cabinets and peripherals that you can drop your iPad in to in order to add true joysticks to your gaming experiences. A game like this really makes me interested in one of those, to be totally honest. Dead Trigger really made me appreciate what the iPad is capable of, and I look forward to finding more diamonds in the rough like this one. But honestly, as much fun as I had with it, all it ultimately did was make me want to play some console games, if only for the controllers. I hate getting derailed throughout my day. I like to plan my day out as much as possible (not taking in to consideration the stuff that pops up for work, however), and I like to stick to my daily plans as much as possible. With this blog and the project that I decided to take on, I have really tried to coordinate my game playing time. Not necessarily what game to play (although I do put some thought into it), but when to fit my gaming in. Today, like many other days this year, was one of those days. I stumbled upon a new iOS game out that is set to take America by storm. Now, it might be out for Android too, but I don't know for sure and frankly, don't care. This game shouldn't exist in the first place, if only because it is bound to derail me many more times in the future, along with anyone else unlucky enough to download this new, free hotness of the mobile gaming universe. Dots is as straight forward as it gets. There is a screen full of different colored dots, there is a timer set and your only goal is to connect two or more dots of the same color by tracing a line with your finger. You want to connect as many dots as possible in the given time limit. Once your time is up, it gives you your score and you compare it with your previous high scores and other friends' scores that might be playing it as well. Then, you do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And ... you get the point. I have tried to stay away from mobile gaming. I have so many great, amazing games on consoles sitting there on my shelf, waiting for me to play and enjoy them. But no, I keep getting sucked in by these stupid, annoyingly addicting mobile games that are keeping me from the actual game playing I want to do. Today was one of those days. Stupid Dots. I hope you all go out and download it and get sucked in as well. Maybe then I won't feel as bad. Just don't try to beat my high score, because I don't have any more time to spend with this game. I have real games to play. Hopefully. Maybe tomorrow. Well, after a week long adventure through the Zelda universe, exploring every nook and cranny of the franchise and and the amazing games that it's made up of, I can honestly say that I had no idea where to go from there as far playing a game today. I've said it before many times, and I will keep saying it all year most likely, that I don't usually plan too far ahead, but I have a general idea for the most part. And then something like Candy Crush Saga comes along and shakes the whole foundation of any resemblance of a plan I may have had. Candy Crush Saga. Where do I even begin? Well, let me start off by saying that I usually don't get caught up in internet-hyped mobile games. Well, except for Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Space, Angry Birds Star Wars, Cut The Rope, Tiny Wings, Plague Inc, and of course Ridiculous Fishing. Aside from those (and probably a lot of others that I can't think of off the top of my head), I hate mobile gaming. And I hate when the internet hypes up mobile games. But then, I browse the store, see a game like Candy Crush Saga is free, remember that people all over the internet and podcasts insist it's the most addicting thing ever - and well, we set off on a journey. Destination: The Noyse Blog. This game is stupid addictive. It's a matching game, a lot like Bejeweled, with individual levels with certain goals and different game play mechanics in each. There is a storyline too, I think, but honestly I didn't even pay attention to it. I just wanted more and more puzzles. Oh, and it has my number one weakness in games - three star goals. If there is a game that ranks your performance of each level with a star-system, consider me all in. So I flew through the entire first area of levels, nabbing three stars in each along the way. The couple of levels that I didn't three star the first time, I forced myself to replay them until I got them. I hate advancing to the next level knowing I left the previous one "unfinished." The perfectionist, OCD gamer in me refuses to accept mediocrity. On twitter, I had to brag about it a little bit, but was quickly put in my place when I was told that once the levels start getting hard, that I would slow down. Well, know one told me why I would slow down. Sure the levels got much harder, but I kept plugging away. Then I realized why I would have to slow down. After you fail enough times, apparently there are "lives" that you use to keep playing. Once you run out of lives, you have to stop playing and let the lives "recharge." That, or you can buy more lives, for those who can't bother to wait. And that my friends is why this game is free. It solely revolves around being funded and supported through micro-transactions. Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with that business model, as long as the developers don't try to deceive the player or make is necessary to play what was otherwise thought to be a free game. With Candy Crush, you can play as much as you want for free, no payment needed at all, ever. But if you suck at it, you better either learn to wait, get better at it - or pull out your wallet. I waited. I played again, plowed through a bunch more levels, failed a lot at one particular level - and now I wait again. Just waiting. Like a crackhead waiting for his next hit. I've tried to keep myself occupied with other things, but I end up checking back with game to see if I can play again. Oh Candy Crush Saga. You got me. You got me good. But you aren't getting a dime from me. There is a new game sweeping the Internet, and I'm actually probably late to the party already with it. It seems like everyone is playing Ridiculous Fishing, so I figured I might as well too. I'm not much into iOS games anymore, as it seems like I just don't have the time I'd like to put into three-staring every Angry Birds level like I used to. So the fact that I paid $2.99 for an iOS game is remarkable in its own right. Thankfully, it was worth the price of admission. The game lives up to its name. It is straight up ridiculous. The object is simple: drop your hook as far down into the ocean as possible before you bump into a fish, causing your hook to be quickly reeled up to the surface, at which time you try hit every fish possible on the way up to your boat. Once to the surface, all the fish go flying in the air, allowing you to pull out your firearm of choice and blast them all to score points, which are used to buy upgrades. I don't know if it's the pretty graphics or the addictive style of game play, but Ridiculous Fishing is awesomely addictive. And I'm glad I believed the hype and tries out this game. As good as it is, though, it's not even in the same ballpark as Disneyland's firework show. Now that is Ridiculously Awesome. Free games. Who doesn't like free games, right? I even had a discussion on Twitter today about the difference between liking a free game because it's a good game, or liking a good game because it's a free game. Some games aren't good, even though they are free. You have to sit back and ask yourself if the free game is something you would pay for had it not been free, or if you are just finding enjoyment in it simply because you didn't spend any of your hard earned cash for it. Well today, The Walking Dead: Assault game for the iOS was being given away from free, thanks to the awesome IGN.com. When this game first came out last year, I chose not to buy it, despite how big of a Walking Dead fan I am. Why? Because I was pretty much burnt out and uninterested in mobile gaming that didn't involve my Vita or my 3DS. A guy can only play so much Angry Birds before he doesn't see his phone as a viable gaming platform any longer. So, The Walking Dead: Assault ... well, it's a top down shooter that plays out over 11 missions. The controls are super basic, as all you have to do is move your group of characters around the map, pick up supplies and getting in range to take out the surrounding walkers. The pace is fast and frantic, with patience and skill getting pushed to the back burner for the most part. There isn't much strategy while playing the game, but before each level, you get to chose which four characters you will use in your squad. Why is that important, you ask? That's because each character has a different weapon (pistol, shotgun, riffle, etc.) and special moves. Does it effect the game play dramatically? Not especially, but each level does play a little differently, so your choice can effect how easy or hard the mission is. The best thing about this game, hands down, is that it is based off the comic book series directly. The 11 chapters takes place over the first few books of the comic series, with characters and senescence ripped right out of the universe that Robert Kirkman created. It's all in black and white, with blood in red and ammo/supplies highlighted in yellow, and objects you can interact with in green. The limited amount of color looks gorgeous when dropped cautiously on the B&W backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. This game does stay very true to the foundation of the comics and the universe, which is phenomenal. They could have easily slapped the Walking Dead moniker on any old top-down shooter game and made some money just on the name itself. And while it does feature a small microtransaction option for leveling up your characters, it's not forced down your throat, either. It's a nice addition to the Walking Dead universe, which is refreshing (as I have my doubts about The Walking Dead: Survivor Instinct game coming out next month). Again, it was free, and is all month, apparently. Is it a good free game, or a game that's good because it's free? Well... You tell me. I know this blog is about to be about my quest to play a game a day, every day, for an entire year. And while this entry still satisfies my project requirements, I intend to use it for a little more meaning tonight - a slightly politically-fueled rant. I apologize in advance if you came here just to read about my latest gaming adventure, but I feel fairly strongly about this topic. I didn't think I would ever have to highjack my own blog, but some things just need to happen. Today I played NRA Practice Range, a game that was just released for the iTunes App store last night, for free. It's not that I really wanted to play the game, but I felt necessary to do so in order to cement my point of view. You see, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings one month ago, when the Nation was in an uproar over gun control, the NRA (National Rifle Association) was surprisingly tight-lipped. That was, of course, until they came out and publicly blamed violent video games and movies for fueling our society full of violence, ultimately leading to tragedies such as the elementary school shooting. While no evidence even suggested that video games or movies had anything to do with motivating the sick fuck to walk into a school and shoot dozens of kids, or any of the other recent random shootings, the NRA attempted to deflect negativity towards guns back onto easy targets like the video game industry. This fueled towns to threaten "game burnings," asking town members to turn in violent video games for a good old fashion bonfire of violent media. They cancelled the burning a week after suggesting it, stating they made their point by grabbing headlines and bringing focus to the issue of violent video games. The NRA was smiling all the way. Their plan had worked. And then, out of no where, they grabbed their own foot, turned it sideways and promptly shoved it in their own mouth. Last night, like I said before, they released a free first-person shooter game for the iTunes App store, where gamers can use a variety of weapons to practice their shooting, both inside indoor ranges, outside target shooting and skeet shooting. Players can also purchase new weapons, such as AK-47, if they feel so inclined to upgrade their weapon. The best part about it all? They rated the game for people ages 4 and up. Sure, you aren't shooting people, but rather targets, but the message is still the same. You get cool guns to shoot things. Isn't that what all the "violent" video games do, in one sense or another? The game isn't meant to be an instructional app for gun safety and has no significant "guns are bad" message like they want the rest of the video game industry to do. And to rate it 4+ after telling the nation that guns in video games are harming our kids, on the heels of a school shooting, is flat out a slap in the face to everyone who took them seriously. For the video game industry to be forced to defend themselves over and over again, and then get brutally thrown under the bus by this hypocritical organization is a damn shame. The NRA is a joke, and this just proves they shouldn't ever be allowed to make public statements regarding serious issues ever again. I'm pissed that I even downloaded this piece of shit game, giving them another download to boost their numbers. Thank god it was free, or I would be demanding any money spent on this pile of garbage. The game itself sucks, is horribly built and feel like more of a joke than anything. And it is a joke ... a joke to even call it a game. It's a slap in the face to every single person who makes a living in the video game industry. And for Apple to support this bullshit is even worse. They should make a statement and remove it from their store. The positives far outweigh negatives for making such a drastic, bold statement. But we all know Apple won't do a damn thing about it. They will sit back and collect whatever pennies are generated from this abomination of a "game." Fuck you NRA. How dare you try to rip down the culture I and millions of others love, just to deflect any blame and hard questions that come your way in the face of tragedy. How dare you turn around and do the most hypocritically heinous act you could think of. How dare you even attempt to slide your way in to the realm of video games, where bullheaded bureaucracy has no place being. If you excuse me, I'm going to go play a shitload of Far Cry 3 and shoot every god damn gun I can find nonstop, just because. Or I'll go play New Super Mario Bros. Wii U. Either way, I need to clear my head and regroup. Hopefully I'm not the only one who feels this way... |
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February 2014
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