Happy Fourth of July, the holiday where we celebrate our great country's independence (that's America, for any of my international readers), because without it, we wouldn't have become the land of opportunity, where dreams come true. A lot of people complain about this holiday, mainly because of all the drinking, fireworks being obtained and used by the general public, and the overall tomfoolery that is associated with it. Sure, over-indulgence of the freedoms we have as a country can always sour the things we should be celebrating, but that goes without saying for many things in our lives. The thing is, by complaining and sweating the small stuff, it essentially implies that our freedoms are taken for granted. Sometimes you just need to sit back and realize just how lucky we are to be able to live the lives we do, the way we choose. By playing The Walking Dead: 400 Days, the (essentially but not quite) stand-alone DLC "chapter" in the original game's episodic story, it made me think that when push comes to shove, and when everything is ripped away from your world as you know it, then and only then is it easy to realize just how trivial it was in the first place to worry about the little things in life. It's only when you lose everything that you can truly appreciate anything ... or something like that. Like I said, this game is essentially a stand-alone next chapter in the story, only because it is required you at least have chapter one of the The Walking Dead episodic game. It doesn't directly involved any characters or story lines that took place through the five chapters of TWD, though there are a few subtle nods at the game. In this one chapter, you play the role of five different people, experiencing their stories, all individually. TellTale games, the developer of this game franchise, has said that this is meant to be a stop-gap between the end of season 1 and the upcoming season 2, but it is unclear if these stories or characters will actually have anything to do with season 2 as it stands now. There seems to be some indication that it's possible, but we will just have to wait and see. It almost feels like a prequel to season 2, rather than any sort of continuation to season 1, but I'm sure all unanswered questions will be solved in due time. 400 Days plays just like season 1, and it is littered with tough choices and heartbreaking moments. Sure, the character development is brief and rushed, but I still feel like they did a good enough job making you attach yourself to characters and the moral and ethical choices you have to make for them - and even the ones you have no control over. Overall, it is grim. By the end of the chapter, you have reached 400 days since the outbreak begun. Society as it once was has completely crumbled to dust, and only shreds of humanity remain. Everything we enjoy now, both as privileges and rights, are mere memories. In this bleak and meager world that they have created and showcase in 400 Days, there are no little things to complain. Nothing is taken for granted and there are no freedoms left. Think about that next time you want to complain about your neighbors firing off fireworks one night of the year. It could also be worse. Much, much worse.
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As the ring entrance music for Chris Jericho says... Break the walls down!!! And when I say walls, I'm more specifically referring the fourth wall, the imaginary barrier between the entertainment product and the viewer of said entertainment. the term "fourth wall" was originally coined in the 19th century for the theater to define the imaginary boundary between the fictional work on stage and the audience. In present day, when someone "breaks the fourth wall," it is describing the act of a fictional character openly and directly acknowledging the fact that they are a fictional character in front of an audience. It can happen in TV shows or movies, usually when an actor or character directly looks at the camera and makes a comment, referencing the fact they are being watched as an entertainment product. It's not a frequent thing that happens, but when it does, it's always a nice touch, no matter how subtle it is. There is one character in pop culture that not only exploits the impact of breaking the fourth wall, but actually has made a name for himself by doing so. Of course, I am talking about the Marvel character Deadpool, who notoriously breaks the fourth in every media form he is presented in, whether it be in comic books, movies and yes, even video games. Deadpool the video game the first stand-along game featuring The Merc with a Mouth as the main character, and despite its short-comings as a legit "triple A" game, it makes up for it in charm, wit and character. The best thing it does to legitimize it and the Deadpool character himself is being fully conscious of itself as a video gaming, breaking the fourth wall immediately. The premise is as simple as it is complicated. You are Deadpool, and you have a "big game idea" for a video game that you think should be made staring you. You pitch the idea, it gets picked up after some persuasion, and then you get the script of the game they studio thinks should be made. The actual game that you, the player, plays is the game that you, Deadpool, is living through the script of the game you pitched originally. Confused? Yeah, that's the point. Nolan North, the voice actor most famously known for his work as Nathan Drake, does voice acting for Deadpool. In the beginning of the game, Deadpool gets a call from Nolan North, telling him that he would be honored to play the Deadpool character in the game being developed, explaining how he thinks the character should be played. Breaking the fourth wall? More like dropping a nuclear bomb on it. The actual game is a hack-and-slash third-person action game, based around crazy combos, upgrading abilities and weapons and exploring the crazy world that Deadpool and his insanity lives in. The graphics aren't amazing, the game play is a little frustrating at times especially when trying to do a counter move but you do the teleportation move instead because they are mapped to the same button - but other than that, the game is just down right fun. It doesn't have a deep, emotional storyline, it is graphically superior to everything else ever made, but at its roots, it's an fun ride meant to do nothing more than entertain. And entertain it does. If this game was just your run of the mill third-person action hack-and-slash game, it would be just another game. But because it is Deadpool and he brings with him everything that has made him one of the most fan-friendly and popular Marvel characters, the game is brilliant. It doesn't take itself too seriously, ever, and if you're looking for an escape from the mind-melting seriousness of games like The Last of Us or other critically acclaimed games like it, Deadpool is the way to go. Just be prepared to have every wall in existence broken down. ThatGameCompany is responsible for one of my favorite games of 2012, Journey. That romp through the mysterious desert, playing as the cloaked, nameless, mute protagonist was awe-inspiring, inspirational and flat-out breathtaking. Truth be told, that was not the first game from ThatGameCompany, but for me, it was. And it was the only one I needed to play to fully understand what they are about as a development company. Tonight, I changed that perspective, and tried out their first game that they brought to the PS3 via the PSN, which started out as a Flash game - Flow. Flow is a unique game that starts as soon as you push the start button, giving you no menus, no tutorials and no guides. You are simply an organism, floating around, with your only goal being to hunt down and consume smaller, red organisms. You can swim around and consume any of the other floating organisms, and even attack the hostile ones and devouring their particles as they break apart, while also jumping from level to level. This game is pretty straight forward, and is as simple as I make it sound, save for one key feature. Flow uses the Sixaxis controls of the PS3 controller perfectly, as your creature swims to the direction the controller is tilted towards. Now that I think about it, I can't remember if I ever even tried to use any other controls (joystick, d-pad, etc.) other than the Sixaxis control scheme, if only because it seemed to work so well. I guess I really didn't do my due-diligence on this assignment, did I? To be honest, I was just completely immersed in the game, the atmosphere and the mood that the game was setting. It didn't even feel like a game after a while, but rather a glorified art project/science project - which was awesome. Somehow I even made a few trophies pop, unbeknownst to me on what I did to activate them. Either way, it was a bonus treat to get trophies for such a pleasurable experience. And that's exactly what this "game" is - an experience, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. What a great way to start off a nice, long, hopefully relaxing vacation. Ok, to finish off my week of Resident Evil, I am going to play Resident Evil 6, for the first time. I have had this game sitting on my shelf for months now, and have been waiting for this Week Of... to finally give it a go. Much like I did with God of War, I am going to try and "live blog" my through as best as possible, for the sake of creating an interesting read for you, the readers. We'll see how this goes. 5:00 - Put the disc in. Playing the fun game of "wait while we update and blah blah blah" that comes free with every PS3 game. Seriously, if they manage to just eliminate this with the new generation of consoles, it will be well worth the price of admission. 5:12 - Starting it up (no, it didn't take that long to download the update, I was busy writing about the waiting I was doing). Let's do this. 5:14 - I can't remember where I saw it, but back when this game came out, someone on the internet (where else?) pointed out that the logo for this game looks like a giraffe getting oral sex from a slug. Sorry, I know that's not what you wanted to read, but it has forever ruined the logo for me, so I thought I would share with you. Thank me later. 5:16 - Boom, explosions. Yes, this is the new Resident Evil direction. I'm *OK* with it. 5:19 - I like the way the controls tutorial is mixed in with an opening cut scene almost. Doesn't feel forced or unnecessary. 5:24 - Doesn't appear that I can run ... yet. This better change, or it will be a long night. Also, Voice acting isn't bad. I'm not sure what to think about this. Are we sure this is a Resident Evil game? I'm not convinced yet. 5:25 - Green herb found. Cancel my last thought. This is totally a Resident Evil game. Whew! 5:29 - OK, that was a legit zombie. Man, it feels like forever since we've had those in a Resident Evil game. New combat controls, especially when grappling, will take some getting used to, but I think I like them. Makes me feel more apart of the action I suppose. 5:34 - I seriously cannot remember when killing zombies in a Resident Evil game ever felt as satisfying as the first scene down on the streets with the hoard coming after you in between all the cars. For some reason, it just felt right. Hard to explain, but the mechanics are on-point with this game so far. 5:37 - So I just died in an unexpected QTE while typing the last entry. Note to self: pay better attention. The helicopter scene was nice, though. Overall, well done. 5:39 - Can a brother get a flashlight? Seriously. I feel like I'm at a disadvantage by not being able to see. 5:41 - After seeing so many "dead bodies" rise up as zombies, you would think Leon would stop running up to every dead body to check the pulse. You would think. 5:42 - Ummmm, boss battle already? Big monster foot, followed by, "Are you back for more?" muttered by Leon. Gun drawn, monster purposefully not shown. fade out to game logo, iconic "Resident Evil" is spoken by creepy narrator who only gets work once every few years. Those words, spoken that way, still gives me chills. 5:45 - Laundry time. Not in the game, but in real life. Hey, this is a live blog, right? This is what you get. I'm a total package. And yes, ladies, I do my own laundry. Because I'm an adult. Add another awesome quality to my resume. 6:00 - On top of laundry, I also do dishes. Ladies, send in your requests for a date to thenoyse@gmail.com. 6:01 - Trying to decide which campaign to start out with. I think I will stick with Leon, if only because his is the first one listed. Nothing says OCD like staying in sequential order just for the fun of it. 6:02 - Forced with a difficulty selection. "No Hope" = "A mode that will quickly rob you of any hope for survival." I don't think so. How about we just roll through on Normal and call it good, eh? 6:03 - Choose to play as Leon or Helena? Well, considering I just saved Helena as Leon, I'm going to assume he is probably better equipped for this fight. I doubt my choice matters though. 6:06 - Online settings? Allow anyone to jump in and play with me? Not a chance. Apparently my own consoles hasn't figured out my play style yet. Maybe the PS4 will be smart enough to. 6:08 - I just shot the President. Well, in a cut scene. On a related note, this might be my last blog post once big brother reads "I shot the President." It's been fun, friends. 6:14 - Remember what I said about the decent voice acting? Scratch that from the records. We're full blown back into the Resident Evil universe, 100%. 6:17 - A NPC has a flashlight and I'm still stumbling around in the dark? Really? 6:19 - NOW I have a flashlight. It's attached to my head. Apparently Leon is too cool to use the classic flashlight-over-gun tactical police stance. Oh well, it's something. 6:22 - I'm not liking how it switches from "being able to run" to "forced to walk slow" back and forth, with no warning or explanation why. Really throwing off the pacing of this game. 6:25 - Has a bloody hand print on a door EVER led to anything good? Ever? 6:26 - Classic Resident Evil jump scare. Game =1, Noyse = 0. Well played. 6: 28 - Pro tip: If a zombie victim dies, they will probably turn into a zombie. Leon has dealt with this truth for over a decade now. Why is so naive to the rules of a zombie outbreak? 6:32 - Running out of bullets probably wasn't ideal Then again, Leon seems to have learned Kung-Fu over the years, so crisis adverted. For now. Also, the hunting knife is still useless. And my head light is missing in action. Great. 6:36 - Oh, staircases. Thank you for not being like the staircases of Resident Evil heydays. 6:37 - I know this is a beautiful game. A flashlight would help me know for sure. 6:39 - Hunting knife does make for impressive kills, though. It's just a bad idea to rely on it as your primary weapon. 6:41 - Zombie in a hoodie? I don't know why, but that made me smile. Also, Leon just did a flying bulldog on said hoodie-wearing zombie, crushing his skull like a water balloon. Wrestling fans, you know what I'm talking about. 6:47 - A zombie just fell over and "died" before he got to his feet, and before I got anywhere near him. I don't trust this scenario. Years of conditioning won't allow me to trust what I just saw. But alas, Leon runs right by it like it's normal. 6:48 - There is literally nothing worse than hearing zombies that you can't see. Literally. It's the worse. Take my word for it. 6:55 - A small, tight corridor with windows up and down both sides - I should have known this was a bad idea. 6:59 - Had to *ahem* try that again. Realized I had a couple of incendiary grenades in my pockets that turned out to be more useful than I would have thought. Also, I'm really enjoying all the cool ways to finish off zombies. Pretty sure I just impaled one with a broken object. 7:15 - I'm really starting to get annoyed with Leon's half-jumps over corpses. Why are they still there when others I kill disintegrate? Oh, Resident Evil - how I love you and your little quirks so. 7:19 - Oh, I get it now. It's because they are going to rise up as zombies once I come back through here! Duh! 7:25 - I keep picking up "Skill Points" but have no idea how to use them. I'm assuming it will make sense eventually, right? 7:29 - A zombie just through a beer bottle at me. We are definitely on a college campus, no doubt about it. 7: 36 - Pro tip: When in doubt, run to your objective. Cue cut scene. Anxiety, lifted. 7:37 - Leon, why are you so over-dramatic? You flipped the car because a zombie was on the roof? Really? 7:38 - Surrounded by burning cars in the street. Looks familiar. Have I played this game before? Feels an awful lot like a game I've played before. And now we're going to travel through the sewers? This should be a walk in the park, right? What can possibly go wrong? 7:41 - NOW I have my flashlight back? 7:45 - Running past zombies? Great idea. Dodging out of the way of an incoming zombie train? Better idea. Letting said train demolition all the zombies behind me? Fantastic idea. Thinking I could handle a pack of Cerberus' with my Kung-Fu kicks because I'm low on ammo? HORRIBLE idea. Needless to say, I just mauled, ripped apart and my lifeless corpse dragged away. *sigh* 7:54 - Never trust zombies engulfed inflames. Especially if they have electricity coursing through them. 7:55 - Just found another one of the BSAA symbols. Found one earlier, forgot you had to shoot it. Tried picking it up to no success. This time I totally got it. Makes me want to start over now. 8:00 - What is scarier than a hoard of zombies coming your way? Seeing their giant shadows well before the actual zombies get to you. Also, I just got derailed by the train, which apparently, is going the other direction now? Awesome. 8:07 - If there is one thing I have learned from the Resident Evil franchise, it is to never trust trains. Or mansions. 8:13 - Mad dash time through the city. Leon needs to learn that being a hero isn't conducive to surviving the zombie outbreak. Not every civilian needs saved. I appreciate his goodwill, nonetheless. 8:14 - Killing a zombie firefighter with his own ax is oddly more gratifying than you would think. 8:16 - Leon just mentioned this felt like deja vu. Nice touch, writers. 8:21 - Daddy just got himself a shotgun. Uh-oh! 8:23 - And I died. Apparently I overestimated the power of the shotgun against a large group. Well, lesson learned. I think I am calling it a night, though. This has gone long enough. I can't wait to finish this game, as I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. I just hope the other campaigns are equally as entertaining. We shall see. Reinvent the wheel. It's a concept, that in the video game development industry, sounds good on paper. But when it comes down to actually applying it to the game being developed, it can either be the best idea ever, a complete disaster, or completely avoided altogether in favor of the tried and true blueprint for success. In the case of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, they decided to pull the trigger on their attempt to reinvent the wheel, which ultimately would change the direction of the franchise forever. The first two Resident Evil games followed certain styles, which was almost unique to the genre aptly named Survival Horror. They were slightly slower in pace, they focused on puzzle-solving and, obviously, surviving in methodical ways. Also, they were filled with quick, pop-up, "cheap" scares that were designed to work perfectly with the tension filled scare tactics that was fueled by suspense and fear of the unknown. With this game, however, they introduce a new enemy called "Nemesis," who pretty much stalks you throughout the game. Sometimes he is just a lurking presence, other times he pushes you into rushing decisions and making you play careless, but either way, he is pushing the action of the game the entire way. It's subtle, but looking back on it tonight made me realize how the developers really are trying to eliminate the "survival horror" label - or at least change the definition of it. The game also introduced a few new aspects of the series, which I had completely forgotten about. This was first game where you can craft ammunition, which was cool back then, and still feels necessary yet enjoyable. Also, you can run up stairs without having watch a boring, lengthy cut scene, which is fantastic in its own right. The 180 degree turn that we all know and love? Yup, that started here, as well. It was a cool idea to have the first half of the game be a prequel to Resident Evil 2, while the second half happened after the events of that movie. I had honestly completely forgotten about it until I started playing. So yeah, all these new ideas to improve on the game would eventually be the building blocks for the series going forward, even if it wasn't blatantly obvious when it was released. Did these changes and the inevitable evolution of the genre make the series better? I'll leave that one up for debate. Resident Evil 2 was a crucial game in the franchise's series. It was almost a make it or break it type of game, since the first one wasn't exactly a crazy mainstream success. Sure, it was popular and got a lot of people's attention, but the questions were persistent: could they make another relevant zombie game in this relatively untouched genre of survival-horror? Well, Resident Evil 2 happened, and quickly all the doubts were erased. The game took everything that the first one did so well, polished it, expanded it and cemented the namesake as a force of nature in the video game industry for years to come. The first game did a remarkable job of creating the foundation for one of the most popular and best-selling franchises, but this second one is not only the first story of the beautiful house, but the amazing landscaping as well. When people point to what game brought them into the series, this is the most common answer. And for good reason. Playing this game tonight, I was quickly reminded of the graphical upgrade of the game. It looks FANTASTIC, far better than the original game, as it is clear that the developers put a lot of love and dedication in to making this the ultimate experience visually. The storyline itself is good, and it's fun to have new characters introduced to the universe I was already slightly familiar with. The voice acting is still horrible, but without it, I'm not sure I would be able to think of this franchise in any other way. The game play and puzzles are far more advanced and flushed out than the first game, but the controls are still something to be desired. It's always fun to go back and find/play the games of popular franchises that set them into the orbit of mainstream popularity. Having context for a series that you are extremely fond of is great to help you understand how that series is where it is today. This kind of stuff is called hindsight, friends. Inversion is a game I've had on my radar for a couple months now, but never got around to trying it out. It came to me via a recommendation from a wonderful reader (whom I completely forgot who it was at this point, which I apologize for, sincerely), who said that while it isn't the best game, it's a fun one to play nonetheless. I'm always down for a fun gaming experience, regardless of how "good" the game is or what the critics scored it as when it was released. Fun is fun, regardless of the review score attached to it. The game is a third-person shooter, but it was billed as having "a twist" to it that hadn't been seen in any shooter like it before. The twist, of course, is the gravity physics within the game, as you are given the ability to control gravity both directions. This means you can eliminate gravity in front of you, raising up objects in your path, which gives you the opportunity to "lasso" them and essentially take control of the floating object and fling it as a projectile weapon. You can also add gravity to a situation, pulling down things to crash in front of you. The idea of using these game play mechanics in battle as well as to solve problems is interesting and an intriguing concept, but it's just not executed very well. It's hard to fully control what you are tying to pull off, and it's never exactly clear what you can use the gravity tools on or when you should consider doing so. You do get actual weapons as well, which look and feel like guns from the Gears of War series. Actually, that was this game reminds me of a lot, is Gears of War. It relies heavily on cover-based combat, ducking and diving behind barriers and walls. The enemies even slightly remind me of ones you might find in GoW. It's honestly like they took the entire concept of GoW, tried to make it as similar as possible due to it's overall success, and then threw in the gravity mechanic to mix it up a bit and make it its own game. Unfortunately, it just never feels as fun as it should be. It's great in concept, but the execution isn't perfect. It's still fun for what it does, though, overall. Granted, I also feel like this game is built 100% to be played with a buddy, not the semi-crappy AI partner. But hey, when you don't like playing games with other people, online or otherwise, sometimes you have to settle for mediocre single player experiences. I have grown used to that over the years, and I try not to hold that against any game that really does try to encourage social gaming experiences. Looking at the scores this game got, they were all pretty average, at least from the professional reviewers stance. The general public seemed to like it a lot more, oddly enough, probably because most people have no problem just enjoying games instead of always being critical and cynical. But that always has been the difference between writing about games for a profession and playing them for fun. Oh, and by the way - if whoever recommended this game to me is reading this now, please let me know. I want to at least give you credit for inspiring this blog post. Platforming games might be the crux of my gaming habits, and the bane of my existence in this digital world, yet the genre remains to be my absolute favorite, hands down. I've always had an affinity for platformers, as far back as I can remember. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that a good majority of games out when I was a kid were some sort of platform game. Unlike many other gamers who grew up playing platformers who eventually grew out of the genre and moved on to more complicated of different genres, I didn't. I guess I just never grew up as a gamer. And that's OK with me. So tonight, I played Jak and Daxter, the first of a major series and exclusive franchise to the Sony platforms, originally released on the PS2. Tonight, however, I played it on my PS3, which I have had downloaded forever now and just haven't bother to play it. Until tonight, that is. Mainly, I think I have been cautious about starting an awesome platformer like this game because of all the other games I need to get through. My whole life, I gave passed on several games for the sake of a platformer. They are more than just a gaming love of mine, but also a huge distraction as well. Jak and Daxter holds up well, even if it is over 12 years old. Of course, the HD remake of it that I played makes it look a whole lot better than I'm sure the original one does after all these years, but that's neither here nor there. The point is it is still a really, really fun game. Am I biased towards it? Of course I am, and that's the joy of it all. Also, it has trophies. So what else could I possibly have to complain about? I won't be dumping significant time into this game going forward, with all the other newer, more awesome games I need to play, but it's nice to know I have a good old fashion platformer to fall back on if that itch becomes impossible to scratch else wise. Oh, Dead Island. Where do I even begin? Yes, I played the original Dead Island game today, and with good reason to. Well, I like to think it's with good reason, but in all honesty, it just proves further that I have a serious habit that is only growing by the day. You see, this isn't my first time playing this game. But it is my first time playing it on the PS3. I bought the game on release day back when it came out, but on the Xbox 360. I remember I even got a Blu-ray copy of the movie Zombieland from Best Buy for buying the game, which I thought was awesome, despite the fact I didn't have a Blu-ray player (or my PS3 for that matter) at that time. But hey, free is free, and free is awesome! Anyway, so I had it on the 360 and it was awesome. I thoroughly loved every minute of that game, start to finish. A few friends of mine even bought it, and despite my disdain for multiplayer or co-op games, I actually had a lot of fun playing this with my buddies. It was even better when all of us were on the same page as far as how we approached the game and in which way we wanted to play it and the missions. One game in particular, with a friend I won't name, was especially frustrating because all he had it in his mind to do was to run as fast as he could from mission to mission, point to point and complete the game as fast as possible. He wasn't looting, crafting weapons or taking on side missions for the sake of leveling up. He just wanted to blitz through it like there was a time limit or something. Like I said, I loved this game. I realize it didn't win over the hearts of many in the game review industry, but it never set out to be a defining moment for video games. It's entire goal was to be a fun, not-so-serious zombie-smashing game, and I think it accomplished it well. Where it went wrong (aside from the many bugs in the game that needed worked out), was the level of hype if put itself up to the challenge of trying to live up to. When the very first trailer came out, it sent the internet and the entire video game universe into a frenzy. It was the coolest, most well-done trailer for a game like this probably ever, and has since set the gold standard for video game trailers. Don't remember which trailer I'm referring to? Well, you're in luck: Yeah, that trailer. Because of this cinematic, everyone thought the game would be deep, meaningful, emotionally gripping and powerful. Hats off to Deep Silver for drumming up amazing hype with a fantastic video, but they did themselves a disservice by it as well.
So why am I playing it again, on a different platform you ask? Well, for one, I bought Dead Island Riptide (the sequel to Dead Island), and got it for the PS3. Because you can use your save file from the original game to start with your beefed up character in Riptide, I wanted to go back and complete the game on the PS3 so I have that option, In truth, however, I just want the trophies. It's all about the trophies for me at this point. Playing the game today, I realized that a lot of the initial bugs in the game have since been patched, and the overall experience seems less choppy and more fluid than I remember it being before. And that is awesome. I can't wait to plow though this game so I can finally get to Riptide. I'll be sure to keep you all posted when that time comes. Until then, I have some zombies to brutally murder with an electrified machete that I so eloquently crafted for this special occasion. Sometimes you can't avoid things all around you, no matter how hard you try. For me recently, that has been the NHL playoffs. You see, as big of a sports fan as I am, I'm not exactly a hockey fan. I honestly couldn't care less about who wins, loses and all that jazz. Because of my general interest in sports as a whole, I find it impossible to not paying a little attention to it, just so that I can feel apart of the conversation, not an outsider looking in. It seems like my Twitter feed recently has been dominated by NHL playoff chatter, my local sports radio has spent more time than usual discussing it and everyone around me seems to have the playoff hockey fever. Because of that, I decided to give NHL '13 a shot tonight, on the PS3. I can't remember the last time I played a hockey game was. I'm guessing it was probably around the Super Nintendo era, but I could be wrong. Without being a fan of the sport, there has been little motivation for me to play a game about the said sport. Because of my lack of knowledge in this genre of games, I was tempted to play the tutorial, but I instead chose not to. I just jumped into a game, expecting to be able to wing it and figure it out as I went. Well, I was plenty wrong on that front. A few minutes into the game, I had to pause it check what the controls were, since they weren't even remotely easy to figure out. I actually had to do it a couple more times after that, because that's how confusing they were. I'm sure anyone familiar with the franchise could pick it up easily and get going without any problems. For rookies, however, the tutorial is probably necessary. The game was fun, but by the end of it, I felt like I do with regular hockey. I got bored by the end. For hockey fans everywhere, this is probably an awesome game for them. For me, however? Not so much. |
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February 2014
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