Hold your horses, this is not meant to be a direct attack to anyone. I’m strictly a off line person, and I really don’t care for it anyways(As you all well know if you keep up with my blog posts). I was just sitting here thinking on which service is the best.
I have both XBL and PSN. I’ve played with PSN because of the best price tag it has with gaming…..Free. Don’t call me no cheap skate either lol. There is occassions where I pay for 3 months of XBL, but I have only one game that I play on there which is Call of Duty MW3(A game of which I’m getting bored in). And honestly, the only reason I have XBL is because of a friend who wants to play me in MW3.
Now, both do have good features. And both also have pro’s and cons. Most primary use there accounts just for Netflics purposes(Will that be a case anytime soon?). I only use it to play MP or to download demos. Seeing that I don’t have a Netflics account I don’t watch movies; And I’ve been thinking of actually buying PS+. Ironic, to say the least.
I mean, the main reason I use PSN is because it’s free and more practical. I don’t feel the need of paying $70.00 a year JUST for MP. I’ll stick to my silver account, thank you. I just want to know what are you guys/ladies opinion of which one is the best and why do you consider it to be the best.
Ha, ok, laugh at the pictures all you want; but don’t be surprised when it turn out to be like that. If your a gamer, you may speculate about when the next-gen will come into play. We already know when Wii U will be out, but PS4 and Xbox 720(Or what ever number) is still thrown in the air. What I hear less about, is the rumor’s about the next generation. Recently, a rumor came out dealing with the PS4 and Xbox consoles. From what I’ve read, I see some controversial material that may/may not make it’s way into our living rooms. And of course, the gaming community will quickly hash out about it.
One of the rumor’s that came out was that there will be no backward compatibility. Now, I want to clearly state that these are just rumors; It’s not yet confirmed that it is real, but let’s speculate as if it is. Supposedly, both systems are not backward compatibility. To me, I have the 360 and PS3 so it will not effect me that much. But, I know a lot of people that may trade away their 360/PS3 so they may want to play their old games on the new ones. Some may not feel that this is a problem, but a lot will. What if your old system have a problem and you REALLY want to play it? Guess what? Too bad. Now, with the 360, that wasn’t a big deal. You were able to play majority of the first xbox games. But, PS3, this was a problem. If you were lucky to get the fat PS3(The very first models), you were able to play both ps2 and ps1 games. But, if you were a person like me and got the slim version, we are only allowed to play ps1 games. It did give me a headache, but I eventually got over it. We won’t have that option with the PS4. We won’t play it, unless they have it on PSN(Go figure). Now, if I’m lucky, my ps3 will still be in good shape so I won’t pound on the ground yet. I do have a library of games(Which is expanding) and I love to play it over and over again. My only hope is that my game systems don’t go out on me(Darn you Red Rings of Death!!!!!).
Another rumor, and probably the one that got to me the most, is the used game issue. Recently, they stuck the online pass issue with all games(Sony, did). This online pass meant if you buy a used game, you have to pay ten dollars to play online. That was a bit shocker, but developers are going out there way to get there money(Or, what they “think” they deserve). Don’t even bring up on how much money they make from the first sale of the game. I thought “Alright, the developers are wanting some money back, ok. I don’t care for online anyways. I think there are better ways, but whatever.” In the back of my mind, I was worried. Just like everyone else were thinking, this may lead up to something much worse than an online pass. Well, here it is! According to the rumor, Microsoft and Sony will implement a system where you can’t play used games. Get what I just said? Read it again. Actually, you’ll be able to play it….Just for a trial. Some parts will be blacked out. You will have to pay for the full features….Really? The used game business will take a MAJOR hit from this if this goes down. Gamestop, will have to find other ways to make money. And think if you want to sell it yourself? Yeah, you get the money; but, essentially you will be screwing the buyer because they did not get what they initially payed for. Which brings me to another point.
What if you want to borrow a friend/family game. PS4 and Xbox 720(?) don’t know that you “borrowed” the game. It will treat it like a used game, and you will have to pay for the full game. Basically, your getting a demo. Now, I rarely buy used games. But, the borrowing thing is what I do with friends and family. That will become useless because neither me or others will be able to try out a game. I really hope that this rumor don’t fall through. I know that developers work hard for their money; I know they don’t like pirating of their games. This is just taking it too far. They are not thinking things through. Maybe, they should lower prices of their games or make them better in quality.
Now, this is something that was not discuss in the rumor mill. This is something that I am worrying about myself….The price. I understand with technology comes with higher prices, BUUUTTTT, we don’t want another fiasco like last time. Xbox 360 was 400 dollars. That was reasonable. Then PS3 comes out, and it was priced $600 :O. I believed that drove people to 360 and Wii. I was one of those people. As matter of fact, I didn’t even buy the 360 because I was waiting for the PS3. Then it came out, and I saw the price, I said “I might as well by the 360 then.” I turned to like it but still. How high will the prices be for Next-Gen? I hope not crazy. For Sony sake, it better not be higher than xbox.
I hope that we still see some PSN and XBL. Xbox live already raised there price, but will PSN follow suite and have all there online service paid for? We have PS+ which is good. It doesn’t intrude on me playing online games. That’s one advantage that PSN has over XBL. That should stay the same. We all know that Microsoft won’t change their ways with XBL, so, there’s no need to even discuss XBL.
With all this rumor talk going around, there’s been talk about if anyone would buy the next console. On www.gamefaqs.com poll, they ask how many will feel about the no used games for PS3, and majority of the people says that it is a deal breaker for them. Now, Sony/MS may not view this poll; But the results are kind of scary. I would wait for a year or two to purchase the console. See what is happening. The “No used game” is a little disheartening. Just because consoles don’t know the definition of used. We can borrow games and the consoles will treat it as used. PSN accounts maybe allow someone to use it on another console, but that wasn’t discussed. Right now, I think one of there PR reps should come out and talk about the rumor’s. Get us comfortable into buying Next-Gen…That, or a lot of people will be skipping a generation.
Video games has made progress these past couple of years. From RPG’s, to FPS/TPS; From Sidescroller to actual 3D games. There’s a lot to offer in those separate genre. But, for as long as I’ve been playing games, I’ve been increasingly aware of side quests in games.
The first game that I’ve played that had side quests/missions was Grand Theft Auto III. Besides the main missions, you had taxi missions, vigilante’s missions(Where you a cop), ambulance missions, so on and so on. They also put random packages in different areas for you to find. Every time I go into a message board, dealing with this game, I always see people thriving to get 100% on it. The vibe that I got was that the side missions was the THING for this game. They RARELY talk about the main story, but it was all about the side quests.
Now, I hear that RPG’s do this in every game. I have never played a RPG game. Not my style of gaming. I also heard Skyrim has it. ANOTHER game that I haven’t played yet(Maybe in the near future?). I am currently playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. To anyone who played it or are currently playing it, probably knows about all of the side missions in. Like with Leonardo machines and trying to get all of your assassin recruits to assassin level(Darn you few who dies!). Even mass Effect have side quests. Before Saints Row The Third, you were force to do the side quests to unlock missions(Saints Row The Third, the side quests ARE the missions . But, that’s another argument for another blog).
The point and question that I want to know is how many of you all complete all of the side quests? Looking back at my games, I have yet gotten 100% in either GTA or Saints Row. They really haven’t interested me. Yet every time I get it, I say that I will do the quests after I’m done with the main missions, but I never get around them(I sometimes do when I want to full around in the world). With Brotherhood, I’m not sure if I will do them or not. Buuuuut, seeing that the awards in AC:BH are far greater than the awards in GTA and SR, I might have to rethink my position on that. I just think, do you all do the quests during the game, or after you complete the main story?
For me, the side missions/quests gives me something to do after I complete the game. But, would it benefit me to doing it when I’m advancing in the main story? Some people states that some rewards from doing the quests helps you in the main story. I have a friend who played Skyrim, and literally did all of the side quests so his rating will be high enough for the main missions(I think he said level, I’m not sure. Please correct me if I’m wrong). In that aspect, I understand then. Maybe I just like to complete the main story ASAP and worry about the quests later. I might have to change my mind .
Tell me what you think. Are the main quests important? Comment below.
Have you ever played a game where the jumping controls is ridiculous? Something so simple, is so hard for some developers.
The reason I’m bringing this up, I just brought Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood(Yes, I’m late, sue me). I love the game. Map is huge, and I LOVE fighting with swords. But there is one thing that bugs me the most in the game….Jumping.
With a large map, all you want to do in a game is climb to the topmost building to be undetected. Sadly, the controls are more of a hassle then making your way to the top. In one particular mission, the jumping controls gave me pain. It was half my stupidity, the other half the controls. If the controls were similar to Uncharted, I would have no problem with it.
I would rather want Uncharted jumping controls, where you have to press a button every time you jump. In AC:BH, you don’t have that ability. You can maneuver by pressing up on the joystick. Although, that is easy, it does lends itself with problems. In some spots you have to go back into using the L1 + X button. But, if you do improper, off the roof you go(Which, sadly, I experienced that quite a few times). If you don’t have to use TWO buttons just to JUMP then it would simplify things. That, and we choose to jump every time there’s a space, it will cause less confusion.
The design of the game is GREAT. It’s just that the controls on the game is really a bad fit for it
Okay, let me get a quick game in. Puts disc in tray. Alright. Presses button for it to come up. Ahhh loading. Waits. Let me use this time wisely by getting me a snack. Gets a snack, and comes back to still see the game loading. Come on now. Well, I have to use the rest room. Goes to the bathroom, comes back and still loading. WHAT?!?!?! This sucks…Wait, finally, the welcome screen comes on. Yep, I want to start the game! Presses the start button Uh oh Load screen. Wow, this is almost as bad as the red rings of death! After a short while, the game finally comes to the menu screen.
Well, that may be over-exaggerating(Or under, depending on whomever read this) but it seems that this is a prevailing problem in the gaming world. In my own little fantasy world(Oh, don’t gasp. You have one too) I foolishly believed, that the new generation of gaming wouldn’t have us wait so long for so little.
I’ve recently purchased UFC Undisputed 3 for PS3. It seems that the loading screen is longer than the ACTUAL fight. Going from one menu to the next, the dreaded “Loading Screen of Death”(Yeah, I said it) comes on. I didn’t expect this type of wait for this type of game but I did. I experienced this in NBA 2k11, too. Now, I don’t know if it’s isolated to just sports games. But, it does look like an isolated activity. Loading times for both of the games, is crazy. Mind you, this is just getting into the game. Not the main thing you want. I’ll save that for another review .
I just think that loading times should decrease by now. Don’t think that I’m super impatient, no. I’m just super annoyed by it. You would think that they would have this figured out by now, but they don’t. Another thing to note, I don’t sign in anymore unless I KNOW that I will play online. UFC and NBA 2K11 have it bad for spending nearly a minute and half connecting on the internet. Game companies should step this up. How big can a MENU screen be just to load? Sorry for this rant, but I think a lot of gamers feel the same way I feel too.
Ugh! Darn these loading times!!!
Tell me what you think. Do you like loading times in games?
Disclaimer: This may lead into a DLC discussion. If your sick of it, don’t read lol
I had a conversation with one of my friends about Madden game. Now, mind you, the last Madden game I have is 2010(No, I’m not a fossil). He wanted to face me in the game(Xbox Live). So, I was like I have ’10. I also told him that they don’t have the current roster now. And that’s when the convo took off…..
Okay, some may disagree. But, I think they should release a big roster update every year as a dlc. Give it a good price, and let us just pay for it instead of paying 60 dollars for the SAME game with different roster. That’s why I quit buying the game; because every year, the only thing that change is the roster(Or it may seems). It would be one thing to make it every other year, but when it comes out every year, I can’t see more of a reason to spend $60 dollars every year for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Madden series(Although, NFL 2K gave them the run for their money; but that’s a different topic), it just get stale. Heck, even my friends don’t play madden like we use to. Is it because we are getting older? Now, it’s going a little off topic…
What I want is just a simple roster update. It will be a lot cheaper and more of a money booster for everyone! I guess this won’t be heard, because there’s a lot of people who would pay $60 dollars each year for the same thing Sighs…
The Game that keeps churning! Ok, that may or may not be a good term to use, but I thought of it on the top of my head. Yes, Modern Warfare 3. The third game in the series. Is it true that the third game in the series is always the best? Does MW3 get that title? Let’s go through my review to see what I think.
Story
Let’s get this out the way. The last two Modern Warfare games wasn’t that great. You can CLEARLY tell that they made all of the levels first, then they work on the story. This game, is a little better in the series. This game starts off where the last one ends. But this time, the battleground is in the U.S itself(Scary, huh). Your fighting near your monuments. The story doesn’t do to well for me. It’s like it’s other games in the series, but it is slightly better. What I did like about it, is that your able to go to different areas: Like fighting in a submarine.
Graphics
I hate to say it, but if you have played the other COD‘s game in the series, you will see that the graphics are just like they was. Not like it’s a bad thing, but that may turn some people off of the game. My one favorite thing about COD is the work that the level designers put into the game. You can clearly feel like you are in a war. At times I wish this was a open world game so I can move as I please through it. Every detail that was in the game screamed out “War”. If I have to say a negative thing about the graphics/level of the game, it is a handicap for the story. Which is why majority users don’t play this game for the campaign.
The bread and butter of this game series….The Multiplayer. Just like all the others, you fight online. I have to say this. In my opinion, it seems like this is just Black Ops with new maps and features. But, it’s a little bit better. Although, the maps seems a lot smaller. It’s not predator or plane friendly. I wouldn’t waste my time in trying to get that perk. I haven’t spend as much time on this like I have with Black Ops, but I can tell that they made some progress. Like, campers will have an EXTREMELY hard time to camp. You also have a point streak instead of a kill streak(Which is better). You get the same features as you did in the other COD games: Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Domination, etc. With all this you can go wild!
Survival Mode
Features
Now, this is what I have been spending my countless sleepless hours on. There’s one mode, Special Ops, that makes a return in MW3. This is supremely fun. And a lot better than the last one. What makes it great, when have a good friend/online buddy to play with. It has a lot of levels from the start. And you will blow your mind trying to get a 3 star. The next mode that is new, is survival mode. I have probably spend over 4-5 hours on this alone with my friend. In this mode you fight off waves of enemies. You have normal A.I, then dogs then Juggernauts. It can get INTENSE if you don’t find the sweet spot. Luckily enough, they let you buy weapons and equipments to combat these enemies. My favorite yet, is calling in the delta squad to help us out. I have been using the sentry gun in the hardest levels so far, which in most waves is more useful than the delta(Just because there is a wave or two, a Jugg or a Apache can take it out in a second). This mode is the best mode ever in the series. I love to play it(Especially in the hard rounds). Even if you think you have the enemies timed down to where they drop, you will be surprised when they are not in that position. I would tell you to buy the game just for this mode.
Re-playability
This game has tons of features. Maybe in the future you want to beat the campaign again. On another difficulty or just to see the story again. The multiplayer mode will bring you back time and time again. But, I believe that Survival mode and Special Ops will have people eagerly breaking their controller’s to play it. If you are like me, this mode will be the reason you pop this game in your console! Why you still reading? Go play…..
One year gone, and another year here. I know, you might here this sad story every year but I usually don’t tell anyone about my New Years Resolution. In any case, do any of us truly keep up with our resolution? It seems that for three months we do, but then we drop it after that….Never to be remembered…..*Sighs*. Well enough about you, let’s get back to the important topic……Which is me.
Yes, every year I try to set goals for myself. And every year I forget them. But this year, it’s gonna be different! Ok, I know I see some eyes drift after this, but it will be. Though, my list may seem different from yours. Dramatically. I actually want to put new resolution on my gaming habits. When I mean by gaming habits, I mean I need to broaden my scope of the games that I should play. I just recently had the feeling to get the new UFC Undisputed 3. Yes, a MMA game. I’ve wanted to get the Undisputed 2009, but I opted to get something else.
What I’m trying to say? Is I need more other genre’s in my life again. I have been succumbed to FPS and Third Person Shooters. You can come to my house and have your mouth drop at my gaming collection as of lately. I either stick with one company(My eyes look at you Rockstar and Epic) or just one particular genre(Damn you Call of Duty!!!). Talking with friends, I realized how much I missing from games. I have a friend who has Skyrim. And from the way he talks about it, you swear he is actually in the game. I’ve looked at the game, and figured it’s not to my liking. But is that hindering me?
I need to at least try stuff outside FPS genre. Last year, I played the heck out of L.A Noire. Awesome game to say the least. But, then again, Sandbox games are my favorite. I’m also looking into that new Fall out game. Looks good. It will still fit my craving. It’s a FPS with a RPG element. It can break my mold! Either way it’s different, so I should give it a shot. I want to get back into sports games too. If there is any good one’s out, please comment below.
This year, is looking bright. I’m learning development things. Which will look good on my resume. I’m completing games on a good schedule. All I need now, is more games to play. So this year, I will defiantly do my best to play more varied games! What an easy solution….Okay, you can stop looking at me like that. I won’t forget my resolution.
Leave me comments. What is your resolution? Post games that I should play.
I was playing my games today, and this question just pop into my head: How long does it take to go from noob to pro?
I always hear it in the game forums. “Your a noob!” “You need to play some more games, noob” “That was a noob move”. Some people have been playing for MONTHS and yet are called noobs at the game. Some people have different definitions of ‘noob’. Maybe, some moves they do are considered “Noobish“. Or, they are new players to the game. Either way, “Noob” sticks to them for awhile. But, for how long?
I have a poll up here, so please tell me what you think.
Video Games and Violence has been a hot topic lately. Video games have evolved through the years. You can do so much in games than you can do watching a movie. It’s an interactive environment. From Pong, Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, all the way to Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War. Of course, as games evolve, content in them evolves also. Not every game is a “Donkey Kong” adventure. We now have games like Grand Theft Auto that the players can practically do anything: Rob cars, kill pedestrians, gamble and the works. These types of games are rated M for Mature, which means that 17 and older can buy the game. But, even with a rating system(ESRB), Government still tries to intervene. The Government wants to intervene by banning or putting people in jail for selling mature rated games to minors. Although there has been crimes committed by people that blame it on video games, it has yet to been proven that games are the main culprit of violence.
Through the years, there has been a lot of talk that violence is the main reason that people commit crimes. In the Virginia Tech shooting, one author I read stated that there were a lot of “finger pointing” to violent video games (Ferguson 1). It seems that these people went out the way to blame mature rated video games. The shooter couldn’t just had a bad day, or something was wrong with his family; they automatically blamed the video games as the source of the problem. He also says “The difficulty is that this often leads to a witch hunt or moral panic, wherein explanations rely on weak social science or what is politically expedient” because they made a rash opinion about the games instead of finding other solutions to the problem(Ferguson 1). They needed to find a problem, and the quickest solution they have is video games. They are going as far as making new bill into effect.
Video games and their mature content has been given a lot of flak from parent groups (Or Soccer moms). They have pressured the Government, and in some states they have been succeeding. In Illinois the then Governor, Rod Blagojevich, tried to pass a bill to ban the sale of video games. In one article that I read about him, the bill would “punished retailers with a $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail for selling games containing excessive violent or sexual content to minors” but the judges in that state dismissed it calling it “Unconstitutional” (Video Games 4). Another bill, in the same premise, was being passed in California, but just like the Illinois case, the judges found it unconstitutional. In most cases, passing a bill like that would increase the demand of minors wanting to get their hands on the game.
Most of these Senator’s, have tried to come with a conclusion based on science. None of which have been proven. Playing violent video games does not get someone wild up to go out and start a killing spree. I always believe that the kid is in some mental state of mind, where he wants to act on it, and so happily plays a game like Grand Theft Auto that pushes him/her over the edge. There was a case a couple of years ago where a couple of kids had stolen his mom’s car and had some friends and was driving it around in New Jersey. He then got pulled over by the cops, and presented to tell them that he wanted to mimic a video game called GTA. After that, now the media tries to jump on the bandwagon of games becoming more and more violent that it may influence minors.
The main reason video games are getting talk about is because it’s interactive. When I go to different gaming message boards and different communities, one of the things that are brought up is that movies that are Rated R shows more violence as gaming does. Be it as that may, I can do more things in a video game then I can do in a movie. Gaming is interactive, and movies are not. And relatively, a minor under seventeen are not permitted into the theater unless he is with a person who is 17. While in video game, a parent can buy a mature rated game for their kid. As a parent, it is their responsibility to know what the kid is buying, not the government.
The government is going to the extreme to try to prove their point. They have some group of people to prove their stance in the situation. The author of “Violent Video Games Are Linked to Real World” talked about two people, Anderson and Karen Dill, that conducted an experiment to prove their point (Schaffer 2). In the study, they have one group play with Wolfeinstein 3-D and another group playing Myst. The group that was playing Wolfeinstein, they found that “players were more likely to behave aggressively toward losing opponents” they were more aggressive than the Myst players (Schaffer 2). But, as a quick counterargument to the author’s argument, she stated that games have not been proven to “Cause aggressiveness” expressing a flaw in the study by stating “The first kind of correlational study can never prove that video-game playing causes physical aggression” (Schaffer 2). One article that I was reading claimed that none of this science has been proven. He bluntly stated that “The difficulty is that this often leads to a witch hunt or moral panic, wherein explanations rely on weak social science or what is politically expedient” the relying on “weak social science” is a belief in many(Ferguson 1-2). If you are a grand theft auto fan, then you know about Jack Thompson. He tries his best to get the game banned because of its violence. Like Ferguson stated, there’s nothing to prove that it does.
The major issue is that some activists that are against video games do not understand why some play video games. Some play to get out of the “real world.” It’s a fantasy. It’s something we can’t do in real life. There are some games that give a bad impression, like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty series. Each of these game series depicts violence; but it is an escape from the real world. Kids are influenced by a mixture of things: movies, games, music friends, families, the list goes on. To say that games are violent and need to be banned is unconstitutional. I can give examples in each of those lists in reasoning to kill people. So, my plea to the world is that a kid can pick up violence anywhere. Majority of the time, the kid has a thought of violence. That mature rated game, just gives them an excuse to commit it. But, the rest of us shouldn’t be punishing for what a minority does. It’s not the games that’s hurting people. It’s people that is hurting people.
. But, that’s another argument for another blog).
.
.
