When I was talking about the XBLA marketplace, with it being really hard to find games that aren't featured or given a spotlight to catch buyers attention on the main page of the store, I was talking about this game. For some reason, Microsoft decided that despite it being a launch title for the Xbox One market, they weren't going to help promote it at all, burying it deep within the search pages of the store, making it almost impossible for browsers looking for new games to stumble across it. And that's a shame. Of all the non-retail downloadable titles, Powerstar Golf might be the shining star of them all. While it doesn't showcase the graphical and processing power of the new console like other games might, that shouldn't diminish the value and overall charm of this game. Apparently it was originally designed as a 360 game, but Microsoft decided to hold off on it and push it to the Xbox One, of course with some more polish to class it up a bit I;m sure. I'm glad they decided to hold on to it, because if it had been a 360 release, I wouldn't have touched it, like most other games on the 360. But being on a new new system on launch day, I made it a point to check it out. You know, once I found it in the store of course. Once you start playing the game, it's impossible not to make comparisons to the other popular arcade-style gold game that can be found on Sony platforms, most recently on the Vita. Hot Shots Golf is a great game and has dominated the market-share for this genre. But with the emergence of Powerstar Golf, now, hopefully they two competing franchises can push each other into making the best product possible. I really like arcade golf games for the simple fact of how over the top unrealistic they are. Tiger Woods golf games are fun, but almost too realistic, and are usually more stressful then they need to be. Just like real golf! With games like Powerstar Golf, however, I never feel rushed, or stressed or anxious to be perfect. I just get up to the ball and mash it and hope for the best. Sure, there is a considerable amount of skill and strategy involved with this game, just like any other golf game. But the simplicity and ease of which anyone can just jump into a round makes the game very approachable by golf fans and gamers alike. In this new franchise, there is an added RPG style element to the development of your characters, as everything you do on the course nets you XP that goes to upgrading your golfer. Throughout the round, random challenges will pop up left and right, giving you a hefty payday of XP when and if you complete them while playing. And if you don't, there is no penalty, so no worries there. The characters themselves are over the top and come with their own set of special abilities, and the option to select different caddies that have their own personalities and ways to contribute is a nice touch. Most everything in the game is interchangeable, which adds a level of depth unseen in a lot downloadable-only titles. Granted, this isn't the best launch game you will play, but you will be hard pressed to find a better one within the XBLA marketplace. Especially since you can't find anything easily anyway.
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With the release of the Xbox One, Microsoft decided to try a few new and different things in the way they market and sell games. Sure, they released a slew of full-priced retail games at launch, but they also offered up a handful of XBLA titles for their new system, as a way to draw gamers in to their marketplace and prove to skeptics that they too, like Sony, are serious about the independent and arcade game titles. Unfortunately, when you browse the XBLA store, you are shown page after page of tiles, featuring all the games that Microsoft deemed important enough to catch your eye and demand your attention - and more importantly, your money. If Microsoft didn't determine a game to be important enough or hyped enough, you can't find it on the marketplace page. They don't even have a list of all games available to download, that I have found at least. If you are looking for a game that isn't "featured," you have to use the search function. That in itself is fine and dandy, especially if you know what you are looking for specifically. But for the common Xbox One owners who aren't browsing video game news websites and such on a regular basis, who isn't in tun with the newest and coolest games, they will never find and discover games that aren't Microsoft-loved. This is a sad and scary thought for independent developers, unless they are in good with Microsoft and can get prime advertising space in the store. One of the games that is featured on the store's home page is Killer Instinct, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone considering they have been leaning on the return of this franchise to hype the launch of the console since they announced it at E3. Make no mistake about it, however, that Killer Instinct is no small, independent game, but rather a long, established franchise worthy of the Microsoft spotlight. Besides, Killer Instinct was a game they wanted to try a new type of payment plan for. You see, you can download the game for free. Just go to the store, hit download and it's all yours, free of charge. Don't get too excited, though, as while you get the whole game for free, you only get one character to play as. Essentially, you are downloading a demo, albeit an elaborate one. They want you to try out the game, hope that you like it enough to pay for more, and bet on you buying the character pack, which gives you the other five characters and the promise of two more to come. Yes, this game only features eight characters. A stark difference from most fighting games, although when you think about it, the fewer amount of characters might give the player more of an opportunity to try and master each character. The balance for all characters could be awesome as well, as each one could have different traits and abilities, instead of a huge roster having several similar characters. Of course, I haven't actually gave them any money yet. While I have enjoyed what I played so far, I simply have way too many games to play and enjoy before I spend time and money on, of all things, a fighting game. We all know how I feel about fighting games. Anyway, I like the idea that Microsoft has for this payment system for this game, and it's intriguing to speculate what else they can do with ideas similar to this one. My only concern at this point is how they plan on marketing the independent games to grace their new platform. Will they continue to allow smaller games fall into the cracks of their marketplace? Let's hope not. When I made the decision to buy both of the new consoles that were launching within a week of each other, I really had to do some soul searching about why I wanted both systems, and more specifically, if I could justify getting an Xbox One. Considering how far removed I have been from Microsoft consoles, it seemed hard for me to explain at first why I wouldn't just go the PS4 route. If anything, it seemed like, if anything, I wanted the new Xbox because it was new and shiny, and no other reason. Thankfully, the only person I really had to justify my purchase to was myself. Unfortunately, I am my own worse critic and deterrent from doing foolish things in life, which means the only person I had to convince was also the hardest person as well. My biggest issue I was debating with myself was what games I would play on the Xbox One, other than the Microsoft exclusives, of course. Because I had completely turned to Sony to play all the multi-platform games, I would need to make a compromise with myself, change my habits or just admit that the Xbox One would be a system to play exclusives on, and that's it. After some serious soul searching, I decided that I would give up sports games on PlayStation, and use the Xbox One for them. The only real reason for that decision is that the way I figure it, if I am using my PS4 for all the big, really cool games, I'm not going to have time to use the same machine to play the random sports games that I pick up from here on out. Granted, the PS4 will still be my baseball console, thanks to the Sony exclusive The Show being so awesome, but other than that, sports was a genre I was willing to give up and hand over to the Xbox One. Initially, I also thought first person shooters, like the Call of Duty franchise, but that idea fizzled when I decided to go with Ghosts on the PS4. So with that, one of my day one purchases for the glorious Xbox One was NBA 2K14. Simply put, I love this franchise, all the way back to the Dreamcast days when I played it over at my friends house. Back then, gamers had a legitimate dilemma on their hands, however, since NBA Live was another great basketball franchise. Over the years, however, the 2K franchise started to pull away from its competition, which eventually led to two big moments in the arms race for basketball video game supremacy. The NBA Live franchise fell on its face, as EA all but conceited victory to 2K Sports. A scheduled Live game was delayed, delayed again and then flat out cancelled, and despite the constant rumors, just kept absent. Around the same time as the NBA Live franchise flop, 2K managed to do the unthinkable and secure Michael Jordan's likeness for their newest game. This was huge because MJ was extremely resistant to being featured in NBA licensed video games. With the inclusion of His Airness and the disappearance of the competition, NBA 2K was set to be king of the mountain. Well, with the new systems came the rebirth of the NBA Live franchise, but from everything I hear and have seen from the game, it is a sub-par return the dance. As far as the 2K franchise is concerned, however, they moved on from Jordan and finally let The King sit atop their throne. Lebron James is the cover athlete, and despite my personal dislike for him, I have to admit it is well deserved. Anyway, the game is awesome. The players look amazing, with the graphical power of the new system showing off how awesome it is. You can see individual drops of sweat, muscle definition and skin tones are spot on, and even facial hair is astonishing, as you can see all the different hairs in beards. It't quite amazing. The controls of the game feel a lot more realistic as well, as there is a lot of resistance and a solid weight behind the movements of the players you are controlling. Everything else is great as well, from the commentary pulling real-life stats from the internet to interject to the teams playing, to the coaches animations and even the reactions of the players are fun to watch. Never before has a basketball game felt so realistic to the point of almost forgetting you are playing and not just watching. If this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what these new systems are capable, it's going to be a great generation. Well, I did it. I made it through my first week with my PlayStation 4, and oh, what a marvelous week it was. It should be quite clear to everyone reading this blog that the PS3 was my system of choice over the last year, and has been since I first got it almost two years ago. Before then, I was strictly Xbox 360 when it came to the big, multi-platform games. Of course, my first love will always Nintendo platforms, but in the battle of supremacy for everything else not Nintendo related, Xbox 360 was my go-to console until the PS3 came into my life. After that happened, I all but forgot about the 360, except when it was needed for this blog or games with my kids. That wasn't to say anything negative about the 360, but I think because I spent so much time with it for so long, the PS3 was the new, shiny toy in my life. So naturally, I wanted to play with it the most. Besides, I thought trophies were way cooler than achievement points, so that's a thing I guess. Anyway, with both new systems coming out back to back, it would seem obvious that I would gravitate towards the PS4, right? Well, thankfully I wasn't in a position where I would have to decide between either one of the "next-gen" consoles, as I was able to get both new systems on launch day. And of course, in the interest of fairness, since I did a full week of PS4 games to commemorate the launch of the PS4, it was only fitting that I do a full week dedicated to the launch of the Xbox One. So where shall we start? How about we start from the beginning, about 12 years ago. In 2001, the original Xbox was released. Before it came out, I was unsure about the new system, as Microsoft was new to the world of console gaming. I was skeptical about how it would preform and if it would even have a chance standing next to gaming titans Nintendo and Sony. Of course, I had only read about the Xbox, and while some things seemed interesting about it, I was having a hard time figuring out what about the system would make it worth my attention, and at the time, worth my precious money. You see, I was turning 18 just a week after the launch of the Xbox, and while I had graduated high school, I wasn't exactly walking around with an admirable bank account balance. On a whim, pretty much the day before, I decided that I was going to spoil myself and pick up an Xbox on the release day. So my buddy from across the street and I left first thing in the morning, before we headed off to school, in hopes of picking up an Xbox. We went to three or four stores and saw nothing but lines outside them, all full of people waiting for the launch of the Xbox. For some reason, I was caught off guard by this, as I didn't expect the excitement for this unproven gaming system to be so high. Eventually, we took a chance and drove to the mall, where they had three different gaming stores. We walked right in to the closest game store to the entrance of the mall, and low and behold, there was an entire display of newly released Xbox's. I bought one, and also got three free games with the purchase of it, one of which was Halo. From that point forward, I was all about the Xbox. Skip ahead to the launch of the Xbox One, and this time around, 12 years later, things went a little bit different. For one, I was buying two new consoles a week apart, and fortunately, they weren't breaking the bank. Secondly, I knew better than to think I could to just walk in to a store on launch day and pick up an Xbox One, so of course, I pre-ordered it the very first chance I got to do so. A few things were very similar though as well. A buddy of mine came over first thing in the morning, and we got the store right after it opened, so we wouldn't have to wait longer than needed. I also bought three games while I was picking up the system, although they weren't free this time, as Microsoft has enough notoriety in the industry to not have to give away games for free to early adopters. After we got our systems, we went back to my place, where he had brought over his TV, and we set up a two-man LAN party. While we weren't linked directly to each other systems, we were using the same Internet network, so it counts. After we unboxed our systems, downloaded the mandatory system update and installed the game we wanted to co-op first, it was time to game. And game we did. All day. And it was awesome. The first game we played together was Dead Rising 3. Before we could co-op, though, we each had to get through the first chapters individually, which was fun and weird at the same time, watching two separate games take place at the same time, showing the same thing on a few seconds apart. Once we finally got into a co-op game, however, it was on. We had a blast running around, destroying hoards of zombies with every kind of weapon, tool and random object imaginable. At one point, when I found a clothing store, I dressed my character in daisy dukes shorts and a cut-off shirt. He didn't see what I had done until I walked out of the store, and he just burst into laughter. Talk about comedic relief. The best part of our gaming session happened later on, however. On the screen popped up a prompt to clear all the zombies away from a survivor nearby. My friend was closer and immediately ran over to start hacking and slashing away at the undead. Me, not knowing where he was in his quest to clear out the zombies, hopped in a muscle car and sped over to the location. Once I saw the survivor was up on a roof of a house and the zombies were just gathered around the yard, I made the decision to just plow my way through the flesh-eating crowd. I took out every zombie with one pass before crashing into a wall. The best part? My friend had no idea what was going on, and from his perspective, all he saw was his character slashing away at a zombie, and the next moment, I'm speeding by, narrowly avoiding him and clearing out the pack. It was awesome. It wasn't just the moment that was awesome though, but rather the whole day. It was fun playing games with someone else, which as you should know, I try to avoid as much as possible. Maybe it was just the excitement in the air, but I genuinely had a good time playing. What a great way to start the week of Xbox One. To round out my first week with my PS4, I decided to play one of my newest favorites franchises, which I only recently discovered about a year ago. As I was talking about with my Killzone write-up, sometimes it is hard to dive in to a franchise after missing several games before your plunge, but it's then that you have to decide whether to start from the beginning and catch up first, or just start with the newest. Well, last year when the ridiculously hyped Assassin's Creed III came out, I had to check it out and see what the series was all about. I knew about the previous Assassin's Creed games, as many people had tried to get me in to them before, but nothing about the games ever grabbed me. As bad and narrow-minded as it may sound or come across, the setting for the Assassin's Creed games turned me off, as Europe just didn't do anything for me in context with what the game series was all about. But once AC III was shown to feature American History around the time of the revolution, coupled with the Native American folklore and perspective of the main character, I knew AC III was a game for me. I didn't know at the time whether or not the series would be up my alley or not, but I didn't care or worry about the franchise as a whole. But after playing the game to near 100% completion, and even buying in to the added DLC stories that I actually wrote about for this blog way back in the second month of this year long project, I knew I was hooked on the series forever. Actually, forever is a long time. Let's just say, until they do me wrong, I'm all in. So when Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was initially released, I was so tempted to pick it up. Naturally, PS3 was my go-to system for all the biggest and best games, which is what I was considering getting the game for. But with only a few weeks wait until the PS4 launch and subsequently, AC IV along with it on launch day, I decided to hold off for a couple of weeks. It was a hard decision, because I was overly anxious to get back into the franchise and play what appeared to be an awesome pirate game, but alas, I held out. At one point I even considered the upgrade program, where you buy the game for the PS3, and then when you get your PS4, you can digitally upgrade to the PS4 for ten bucks more. Ultimately, though, I knew I wouldn't get enough playtime in with AC IV before the new console came out to justify the extra money for the upgrade plan. So I waited. I'm glad I did, because while I would have enjoyed it on the PS3 I'm sure, it is quite clear that this game was built for the new consoles. It is breathtakingly gorgeous, in every aspect. It's almost scary how beautiful this game is, and I can easily say the wait was worth it. Unfortunately, this is the type of game that demands your full attention in order to fully enjoy the experience, so I question how much time I will put in to this game for the time being, at least with all the other games I have to play and this blog to maintain. I can not wait for what's to come with this game, however, and see how this new franchise to me will continue to strengthen it's bond with me. For now, however, I need to step away from the PS4 for a brief moment, as another console is on the horizon to grace this year long blog project of mine. Overall, my first week with the PS4 was a magical one, as I feel it delivered everything promised to me as a Day One adopter of the system. It has it's quirks and kinks to work out, but overall, the first week with it was a smooth transition into the next-gen for Sony consoles. If this is the lowest point for this system, as is the case for launches with every new system, then we as gamers and owners of PS4s have a lot to look forward to in the years ahead. But first, the Xbox One launch is upon us. It's really hard to jump into a brand new game without much, if any, knowledge of the franchise, previous stories and plots, or even the basics as to what makes the particular franchise different than others. I have encountered this dilemma several times over the last year, both with individual games I played randomly, but also in some of the "Week Of..." series that happened throughout the project. While it is fun to learn about franchises that I didn't know much about, I also found it somewhat difficult to just jump into the newest games right off the bat, as I always felt like there was just something I was always missing or not picking up on that I should know going in. Realistically, however, there just isn't enough time to go back and start all the franchises you've missed out on, so it's usually just best to jump into the cold water head first as opposed to dipping your toes in. When Killzone Mercenary came out a few months ago for the PS Vita, I had no reservations at all about jumping in, as it would be my first Killzone game I've ever played. Being a late adopter of the PS3. and not caring about it back on the PS2, i just never put much thought into the franchise. But when Mercenary came out, I didn't hesitate as I normally would, for one reason. It was a handheld version of the series, and if we learned anything from Resistance: Burning Skies, handheld versions of established console franchises usually don't hold much weight. Not to say Mercenary was on the same level as Burning Skies at all, because that's a very unfair comparison. I pushed through Burning Skies for the trophies but didn't overly enjoy the experience very much, where as Mercenary I thoroughly enjoyed what I played of it. (Yes, I still need to go back and finish the game. Trust me, it's looming over my head like a black cloud.) Regardless, I had to jump in to Killzone: Shadow Fall, as it was one of the highly touted launch games for the PS4 launch. Despite only knowing a little bit of the franchise from Mercenary, I had not choice but to pick it up. While I didn't feel comfortable starting the campaign yet, as I want to give my full attention to something like that, I tried out the multiplayer. In comparison to Call of Duty: Ghosts, I noticed that hardly anyone was actually talking to the matches. Also, the Warzones are really cool in the way that they are much longer, timed matches, with smaller, individual matches within it, all of which are different. You seamlessly transition from Team Deathmatch to a Search and Destroy type of mission, and so on and so forth. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the norm, which is fantastic. Sometimes that's all you need. Now don't get me wrong, I completely sucked while playing, as the motions and movements of the game and controls felt differently as well, which are probably normal for Killzone, but nothing I was terribly familiar with. That's not a bad thing, though, it just means I need to play some more, right? The Killzone franchise is ready for me to join. I'm up on the diving board already, ready to jump in. All it takes is one...more...step. Once again, leave it to me to go against the overall consensus and do things my way, the way I want to, for myself and no one else. You've read about it a lot over the course of this year, without question, so it should come to no surprise that I am at it again. Before the launch of the PS4, reviewers rolled out their reviews of all the launch games before hand, in different intervals, according to the review embargoes they were held to. All the reviews did in fact come out before the launch of the system, which was reassuring to consumers who were chomping at the bit to get their hands on some next-gen games. Sure, everyone probably had some sort of idea of what games they wanted Day 1, or at least were interested in, but with a lot of uncertainty of launch titles, many gamers that I know personally were waiting to see reviews for the titles they had their eyes on in hopes of making firm decisions on what games to buy. Trust me, I understand the logic. I read every review I can get my hands on for games I want, am interested in or even remotely curious about. I'm just a sponge and want all the information possible. Rarely does a review sway me from a decision I've already made, but I'm always curious to see what other people thing of games. Largely reviews are filled with nitpicking and overly critical opinions, and usually have less about all the good things the game does and more about the negatives. They usually bum me out, which is why I always try to find the best in games when I am playing them, which I have tried to convey on this blog. Like I said, I reviews for the thoughts and discussions they evoke, I just rarely let them guide my purchasing decisions. I knew I wanted Knack from the first time I saw it. An action-platformer that revolved around combat, unique animation style and an overall whimsical charm to the whole package. Sony also decided from the get-go that they were going to lean on Knack as not only a launch game, but as a mascot for the brand to carry the Sony flag into the next console generation. The notion of of this game being a flagship for the PS4 right off the bat fell flat for the most part, but that didn't keep Sony from pushing the character into the forefront of it's marketing campaign. For me, however, they didn't need to do a thing. Like I said, I knew this was a game I wanted from the start. The more I saw from it, and even when I got to demo it, there was no question in my mind I wanted the game. It was actually at the top of my must-buy list for the launch. But then, the reviews came out, a couple of days before launch. One after another, reviewers kept labeling Knack as okay, decent and not bad. No one really seemed to like it a lot, however, which disheartened me. But did it change my mind from buying it on day one? What do you think. I've heard everyone share their opinions on why they wouldn't be buying this game. Some say it looked like a kids game. Others said it just looked boring or uninteresting. A few people said it didn't look like it belonged on the PS4 at all, noting the graphics being sub-par for what they expected. And a select few even questioned why they should buy the game now when they could just get it for free from PS Plus in a couple of months (hypothetically, of course). Well, for all those gamers out there who decided to pass on Knack, let me just say this: You are all missing out, greatly. This game is ridiculously fun. I have spent far more with Knack then I have any other title on the PS4 this far. I just can't stop playing. There isn't any puzzle solving, but the game is still a lot harder than you could even imagine. It looks like a cute little kids game, but the difficulty is crazy at points, even on a medium-difficulty setting. Playing through, I can't help but think that this game is deserving of at least a second play through, for sure. And remember that iOS game I played a little while ago, the companion app for Knack called Knack's Quest? It works flawlessly, and it is such a pleasure to instantly import all the unlocked treasures from the iOS game directly in Knack. It's a great addition to my experience with Knack, and I couldn't be happier with both. Overall, this game is shaping up to be my favorite PS4 game of the launch line-up for sure. Granted, I haven't wrote about a few other notably impressive games yet, but as it stands now, Knack has stolen my heart. Just like I knew it would from the beginning. I already wrote about Resogun, a free game offered by Sony for PS Plus members that was available day one of the PS4 launch. For non-PS+ owners of the new console (which is ridiculous to even think about), the game can be purchased for $15, which all but proves how much of a value the service is. And they aren't just garbage, throwaway or older games either, as Resogun clearly shows off that Sony isn't afraid to give away GREAT games. Sure, members would have be perfect;y content with such an awesome game like Resogun, as I would assume most day one adopters of the new console probably picked up at least one PS4 game to play on the new system. I can't imagine someone spending that much money, time and effort into getting a brand new system and not getting a game to play on it, especially considering games just don't come packed in with new consoles like they used to be. Actually, was that just a Nintendo thing? Has any other console ever packaged in a game to a new console, that wasn't a package deal of some sorts? I honestly don't know the answer to it, and if I wasn't writing this blog, I would go research it. And by the time I'm done here, I will forget to look it up, so alas, I turn to you dear readers. If you know, let me know! Educate me! I dare you! Anyway, before I veer too far off the beaten path, let's get back to the matter at hand. Day 322, game 322. I played Contrast, which amazingly enough, is another free game for PS+ members to enjoy on their new PS4 systems. Contrast is a breath of fresh air, especially for gamers who may not like the hyper-frantic pacing and visuals of a game like Resogun. It's not a shooter, it doesn't have a leaderboard to stress and obsess over, it doesn't take place in space, and definitely won't come close to giving you a seizure after a few minutes of gameplay. You see, Contrast is a puzzle-platformer that is oozing with a noir feel, as it takes place in the 1920's in Paris. It tells the story of a little girl and her imaginary friend, on an adventure together. The thing that makes this game unique, however, is the clever use of lighting, and more specifically, shadows. You switch from 3D adventuring around the world to 2D platforming, all with the push of a button. You play as the imaginary friend, and she is capable of turning herself into shadows which allows her to use every other shadow in the game as platforms in order to make it to previously unreachable parts of the map.. Switching between 3D and 2D is the key to traversing the city, as mastering the light sources and manipulating them to your advantage is your only hope of survival. Thankfully, the game doesn't punish you for dying, which makes it feel encouraging to go off and explore at your will. I understand this game won't be for everyone, just like Resogun isn't. But the fact that these are two excellent games for gamers to enjoy for free on day one of the new PS4 is something you can't shake a stick at, as they say. You don't have to download them if you don't want to, and you don't have to risk your hard earned money for something you might not like. Kudos to Sony, for reaffirming the dominance of the PS Plus service as an industry leader. I've talked before about how Sony got it absolutely right with their PlayStation Plus service. It took a little while for them to get their feet under them with it, but once they did, they hit the ground running and never looked back. At the time, they didn't have any competition for what they were offering from either Microsoft or Nintendo, but they didn't want to leave any doors open for either of them to try to swoop in on their game. Recently, Microsoft joined in on the reindeer games, but ultimately, it doesn't even come close to PS+. While the services are somewhat different as far as what they offer the customers, they both now offer free games to subscribers. Sony has offered several amazing games for free for quite some time now, while Microsoft has delivered sub-par and dated games since they started offering free game to their Gold members. With the release of the PS4, the PS Plus membership is now required for online play, which never was the case before. While most Sony fans should have been PS Plus members already because of all the free games and discounts, now it's a necessity. But fear not, because they aren't changing how they go about business and what they actually offer their members. As of day one for the PS4, all PS Plus members received not one, but two free games to download for their newly acquired PS4s: the unique puzzle-platformer utilizing shadows and light called Contrast, and the insanely hyperactive arcade shooter called Resogun. Resogun is from the developers of the Stardust games that have graced a few of the Sony platforms. When the Vita was released, Super Stardust Delta was at the top of the list for must-have games for the system, despite the fact that it was merely a downloadable title from the PSN. Well, that same development team is back with a new spin on the classic formula they had perfected already, delivering another exceptional launch title for a new Sony platform. This time, however, they offered it up for free for PS Plus members. Sony knows what they are doing, folks. No one is allowed to question that at this point. The game itself is fun. It's really hard, but a lot of fun, and thankfully, it's perfect for picking up and playing for a minute and not being forced to invest a lot of time into it. The graphics are insane, and with so much movement and chaos on the screen at once, it's obvious immediately how the upgraded processing power of the new console will be able to propel gaming to heights never before dreamed of. Having two free, complete games right off the bat thanks to Sony was just another reason why the launch of the PS4 made me smile. Even if Resogun quickly turns that smile into sheer frustration and hallucinogenic visions of space particles everywhere. "[BLEEP] you and your stupid dog, [BLEEP]!!!" This is how my thirteen year old son and I were welcomed to the fabulous online community after our first match we played together. Oh, Call of Duty ... how I missed you and your ignorant, childish, bigoted and bullying ways. Or not. One of the several games I picked up for my PlayStation 4 on launch was Call of Duty: Ghosts. I was going back and forth on which system to pick it up for, either the PS4 or the upcoming Xbox One, or whether I was even going to get it at all. For some reason, however, I really wanted to play it, after skipping out on the last couple of Call of Duty games. Yeah, I had bought them for my son, but I have't spent very much time at all with the series in a few years, and quite frankly, that itch was back. So on a whim, and because my buddy James was getting it for the PS4, I decided to pull the trigger and go for it. Did I want to play it for the single player campaign, the new extinction mode, or for online multiplayer? Well, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find out that I actually did get the game for the multiplayer mode, because it's Call of Duty - why else would I want to play it? Okay, to be fair, I actually do want to play the single player campaign, mainly so I can play the mission in space. But for the most part, the multiplayer mode was calling me. And with my son over for the weekend, who has been playing Ghosts on the 360 since I bought it for him when it first came out a few weeks ago, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to jump in and experience the definitive version of the game first hand. Sorry, Microsoft fans, but the PS4 does boast true 1080p for Ghosts, while the X1 only has 720 scaled up to 1080. In reality, this doesn't really matter that much at all, and you could only really tell if you had both versions running side-by-side simultaneously, or so I here. For the normal gamer who isn't looking to find minor flaws in things, it's all the same. Playing the game, I ran into the same problems I always do when I jump into a new Call of Duty, or any multiplayer FPS for that matter. I have no knowledge of the maps when I start, and I spend most of the match running around like a maniac, spending more time trying to figure out the lay of the land and my way around then actually killing people and participating in the team activity. For what it's worth, I'm just not that good at these types of games, and usually end up on the losing team because my kill/death ratio is horrendous. Every once in a while I'll accidentally have a good match, but it's more of a fluke than anything. I always have fun playing though, despite my shortcomings on the battlefield, and that's what's important. My boy, on the other hand, is awesome. Of course, these are the only type of games he really plays, but still, he is good at them. He knows all the weapons, all the maps and best places to rack up the kills, and best load outs for the maps. Watching him play is really cool, but playing along side him is fun and frustrating at the same time. I mean, he's 13 and I'm almost 30, and have been playing video games for twice as long as he has been alive. I shouldn't be relying on him to give me advice on playing a game! Well, long story short, during our first match, he was talking about the guard dogs in the game, and how much he liked using them. He was talking with excitement and youthful joy in his voice. I didn't think about it before hand, but with my PS4 Camera that I had set up, it was acting as a microphone as well, thus picking up our conversation the whole match. My daughter was even singing the song "Radioactive" throughout the apartment, as she listened to it on my iPad, so I'm assuming everyone heard that as well. And honestly, I don't care, because that's why they include the option to mute people you don't want to listen to. So because of my son going on about the dogs, it apparently rubbed someone else in the game the wrong way, and he felt the need to go on a profanity-laced tirade after the match. Was he mad we lost? Was he mad that a 13 year old was the top scorer of the team anyway? Was he just annoyed by the talk of how cool the guard dogs are coupled with a five year old girl singing "Radioactive" in the background? Who knows, and I certainly never will find out. But one thing's for certain. I didn't really miss the online multiplayer community of Call of Duty at all. |
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February 2014
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