"Grand Theft Auto V" Next-Gen Review

     

     Grand Theft Auto V is Rockstar Game’s latest entry in the GTA series. This time around there are two HUGE additions. You can play as three different characters and while there was online multiplayer in GTA IV, it is nowhere near extensive as it is in GTA V. First, the characters are Franklin, Trevor, and Michael. Franklin lives where CJ from GTA San Andreas lived. He is essentially a gangster, with a lot of heart just trying to get out of “the life” and work his way up in the world. Trevor is a deranged, psychopathic, drug dealer/addict-redneck who will annihilate anyone who stands in his way. Michael is a retired bank robber under “witness protection.” He has a wife and family, though they NEVER seem to get along. He’s tired of the retired life and is anxious to get back into the robbery business.

     Once all have been played as for the first time by progressing through the story mode, each character can be switched to at a moment’s notice by holding down on the d-pad and selecting one using the analog stick. This is particularly useful during combat when a character reaches critical health and is pinned down. You can switch to another character and save that other character. Each character has his own story and each is intriguing. Trevor might be the most fun to play as because of his never-ending back and forth emotional state. He either wants to kill everybody around him, or he whines about how his parents were never there for him and that he could really use some company.

     While playing as three characters is an enormously cool twist to GTA V, let’s discuss the biggest addition; GTA Online. Once you launch GTA Online for the first time, it’s time to create your character. You can select what your parents looked like altering your appearance and change a few different body characteristics before jumping into online. Other traits of your player’s appearance can be customized by visiting businesses around Los Santos. The entire game map is available to the player online. When you first start, it will seem daunting because of how little you have. However, it’s easier than you think to work your way up through the ranks. I would recommend playing missions with friends and starting a crew to earn bigger cash rewards for completing missions. With just a bit of grinding, you’ll have a luxury apartment with a ten car garage and an inventory chock-full of weapons. Online runs quite well and lag is a rare occurrence. Missions are greatly varied ranging from skydiving and dirt bike races to stealing drugs and assassinating a target, etc. Teams can even compete in death matches. When playing online though, it’s best to run around Los Santos with a friend and if not, watch your back. Other unsavory players around Los Santos will try to kill you, and some are relentless. If you get sick of it or you just don’t want to fight back, a passive mode can be enabled, disabling other players from attacking you. These unsavory players are marked with a red circle that varies in brightness based on the player’s mental state. (Effected by people they've killed, etc.) When GTA V first launched on last-gen, Rockstar had promised heists for GTA Online. It's been a while, but they are finally coming to online early 2015.

     Another big addition to GTA V on next-gen is the option to switch to first person. First person is both a joy and a curse. It creates an incredibly immersive experience during gun fights and driving, turning them into even more adrenaline fueled sequences. While turned on though, your field of view is severely impaired making it easier to be killed or crash your car. Flying a plane or helicopter is practically impossible. One of the most exciting things you can do in first person is go skydiving.

     Graphically, comparing the next-gen versions of GTA V to the last-gen, the improvements are certainly noticeable, while others are more “behind the scenes.” More radio tracks have been added, reflections can be seen in puddles and the back of cars, plus weather conditions are even more detailed. I assume that the character models have been improved, though it would take a deeper view and critique to really judge them. Lighting is more dynamic and draw distance has been increased as well.

     GTA V’s story is riveting because it weaves the three characters together while still managing excellently to keep them individualized at the same time. Side missions include “Strangers and Freaks”; missions where you meet strangers or freaks and carry out missions for them, races, and even specific side missions assigned to some of the characters. Grand Theft Auto V is a top-notch entry in the Rockstar Games’ series. With so many amazing additions, it's hard to comprehend how they could improve on a possible sequel.

PROS:

-          Three different, detailed characters

-          GTA Online

-          First person

-          Improved graphics

CONS:

-          Certain unsavory online players

Final Score: 9.5/10

"Far Cry 4" Review

     

     Far Cry 4 is a bigger, badder and better Far Cry 3. Bigger guns, bigger animals and bigger violence. You are Ajay Ghale, son of the founder of the “Golden Path”, Mohan Ghale. Set in a luscious, open world “Kyrat”, Far Cry 4 is filled with tall, green-grass mountains and even snowy mountains in the Himalayas. The world is huge and there is certainly plenty to do. You originally come to Kyrat to scatter your mother’s ashes, but you are interrupted by an eccentric, but absolutely insane warlord, Pagan Min (voiced by Troy Baker). Pagan kidnaps you and invites you to dinner. Like I said, insane warlord. You manage to escape and meet up with the “Golden Path.” They explain to you that there is a war going on and that they could really use your help to stop it.

     That’s about all there is to the opening of “Far Cry” and then you are thrust into the open-world of Kyrat. You don’t start out with much, but it won’t take long before you are a gun-wielding badass. Money is easily obtainable making Far Cry’s weapons and other things quickly purchasable. Available for purchase are the game’s regular weapons, signature weapons (weapons that come with attachments and better stats), and maps that reveal collectibles and unknown locations on your map. Collectibles don’t really offer much and I lacked any motivation to really go after them. Far Cry 4 is violent as all hell. Each time you are injured and you heal yourself, Ajay will most likely pick a bullet out of his arm with a twig or snap his hand back into place, etc. It’s brutal takedowns and fierce weaponry really bring the game to life. From stabbing someone through their chest from behind or slitting their throat from behind to blowing someone up with C4; Far Cry’s violence is absolutely beautiful.

     While killing everything that stands in your way is half of Far Cry 4¸the other half is hunting dangerous wildlife. There are rhinos, tigers, leopards, honey badgers (yes, honey badgers), yaks, bears, wolves, etc. Each is either easy to kill, kind of hard to kill, or damn near impossible to kill. If you’re going hunting, I would strongly advise you to use a bow and arrow, as it allows for a “clean kill” giving you two animal skins per kill making crafting much easier. Just a real quick side note here; YOU CAN RIDE AN ELEPHANT AND SHOOT WHILE RIDING IT. The most majestic creature of the game; you can walk right up to one and climb on. Elephants are one of your best options if you’re looking to take on a multitude of enemies. They’re even good for hunting if you are hunting something much bigger than you, say, a rhino. Elephants are able to charge at enemies and hit or pick them up with their trunks, followed by slamming them into the ground violently. Anyway, there are ten items to craft allowing increased capacity for each.

     There are two leaders of the Golden Path, Amita and Sabal. Both have different visions for Kyrat. Sabal wants to marry a young princess, Bhadra, and seize complete control of Kyrat. Amita wants to fund Kyrat using it’s drug trade. Throughout the story, Far Cry gives you the option to either side with Amita or Sabal. Each decision you make will put one of them ahead of the other on the path to become the Golden Path’s true leader. The game does a great job of testing your morals as you decide who to side with. Trust me; it’s a hard choice to make. Both Amita and Sabal offer compelling reasons behind their causes and it will often be hard for you to choose. Far Cry 4’s voice acting is solid for the most part, despite Ajay’s voice actor’s droll performance. Troy Baker as Pagan Min is great, but highly underutilized as he only makes a few appearances throughout the game otherwise taunting you via radio.

     Side missions consist of liberating outposts by taking out a select number of enemies, liberating belltowers by climbing to the top, assassinations, hostage rescues, stopping truck convoys, etc. There is also an arena in that offers weapon challenges, an endless mode, and your basic round by round mode. Ajay has a skill tree featuring two sections, “The Tiger” and “The Elephant.” “The Tiger” section consists of skill upgrades for combat while “The Elephant” section consists of skill upgrades to health and syringes. Syringes are crafted using plants littered throughout the environment and give temporary skills like tagging all animals and or enemies in the area or allowing you to deal double damage, but take double damage as well.

     Graphically, Far Cry 4’s environments are breathtaking. Tall trees and even taller mountains make for a wonderful sense of verticality to the game’s world. Far Cry’s mountains can be traversed a multitude of ways. Most mountains can be driven up using vehicles. Another quick side note here, driving is very awkward at first. It is done using the left stick to accelerate and reverse while the back triggers are used to aim and shoot. At first, I hated it, but I grew accustomed to it and came to appreciate the change of controls. However, if you’re not a fan though, you can change the controls to the usual setup via the start menu. There is also a small helicopter, (gyrocopter), and a grappling hook at your disposal to make your way up mountains. Character models look decent, nothing amazing.

     Oops, I almost forgot, one of Far Cry 4’s most “trippy” aspects are its multiple journeys available to you by participating in some side missions provided to you by Yogi and Reggie. They hand you a joint, followed by a surprise-syringe and off you go to the land of bright colors and evil creatures. These drug-induced adventures give a nice touch to the game adding a different bit of scenery. Far Cry’s campaign took me about twenty hours, a moderate amount of time and I enjoyed all of it. The game also features a co-op mode and the ability to create your own levels and share them with the rest of the Far Cry 4 community. Unfortunately, I have not had any experience with co-op mode as I spent the bulk of my time with the campaign. By the end of the game, you start to think to yourself, “was it really all worth it?” As you mowed down countless lives all in the name of what? The “Golden Path?” You are practically just a senseless killing machine; Ajay barely has any humanity portrayed through his few lines throughout the story. He’s just a shell, and a violent one at that. You never really even see your face besides a barely visible glimpse from a phone screen which just adds to your lack of humanity.

     In conclusion, Far Cry 4 is essentially “Far Cry 3 2.0.” It’s a new entry in the Far Cry series with new additions. It is not a brand new game. Most character models look similar to Far Cry 3, while the animals and environments have improved greatly. Also, comparing Far Cry 4’s framerate to Far Cry’s 3’s atrocious framerate, there is a huge improvement and I never encountered any bad framerate drops. It might not be an entirely brand new game, but the additions made to it make it a worthwhile entry in the “Far Cry” series.

PROS:

-          Huge open-world

-          Brutal violence

-          Improved hunting experience

-          Testing your morals

-          RIDING AN ELEPHANT

CONS:

-          Pointless collectibles

-          Mostly droll voice-acting

-          Inhumane protagonist

Final Score: 8.5/10

PlayStation Experience 2014

     

     So, PlayStation Experience was this past weekend and there are a few things I’d like to talk about. Some of the titles shown off were, “Severed”, “Street Fighter V” (Exclusive to PS4), “Super Time Force Ultra”, No Man’s Sky”, “Until Dawn”, “The Order: 1886” and “Uncharted 4.” “Severed” is a new game developed by Drinkbox. “Severed” is a creative looking game with using the past stylings of “Guacamelee” combined with enemies that you have to slice up. It also includes puzzles. Not much else has been revealed.

     “Street Fighter V’s” huge announcement was that it will be exclusive to PS4. Being that I have never played “Street Fighter”, there isn’t much I can say except that it looks like a cool brawler. Graphically speaking, the game doesn’t look that impressive. “Super Time Force Ultra” is a retro art style game through the “Space Time Continuum.” It features multiple playable characters and co-op. In the beginning of the video there is a funny surprise; it’s not hard to spot. The game looks pretty similar to “Broforce” coming to PS4 and PS Vita soon. “No Man’s Sky” is a game developed by Hello Games. It features mainly flight exploration, but also on-foot exploration. It is not quite clear to me what exactly the objective is in “No Man’s Sky”, but this game looks pretty damn cool considering it is being developed by a company who started out on mobile devices’ app stores. The game’s art style is breathtakingly beautiful.

     “Until Dawn” is a new survival-horror game coming to PS4. Hayden Panettiere is the star of the game. From what the teaser shows, the game looks like a run and hide type of game. Although, I am hoping that weapons of some sort are integrated. It looks pretty freaky. I have also read that if your character dies, that’s it. You move on to another character, just like in “Heavy Rain.” “The Order: 1886’s” new gameplay showcases its crisp graphics and steampunk art. The game’s weapons look intriguing and the cover-based and or run and gun bits of combat look quite entertaining. My only problem with this game from what I have seen so far is that I fear that it will just become a stick to cover while going in and out shooting at enemies type of game. I really hope that the story is engaging and the gameplay does not get old fast.

     I saved the best for last; “Uncharted 4.” WOW. As per usual, Naughty Dog has crafted an unprecedented looking game. Everything in “Uncharted” has been turned up to 11. Better graphics, crisper textures, detailed particle effects, dynamic lighting and let’s not forget, the action. Screw 11, the action in “Uncharted 4” has been turned up to 100. Take downs ranging from sliding down a mud hill, jumping and hooking an enemy right in the face to using a grappling hook to swing from a tree branch and swing right into an enemy knocking him out and grabbing his gun in mid-air. The scope of the game from what I can tell by watching the gameplay looks ginormous. A huge, lush-green tropical area. I am loving the jungle vibe and hoping that Naughty Dog sticks to it. Well, those are all my thoughts on PlayStation Experience. For more reviews and other “thoughts” stick to my blog and I’ll keep em’ coming.

Why I Started This Blog

In High School, I was in a Journalism class. Most of the writing assignments gave us free reign to do what we wanted; I chose to write about video games. I started out small, writing about Splinter Cell: Blacklist removing the longtime voice of Sam Fisher, Michael Ironside, and replacing him. Eventually I started writing about the consoles I purchased, i.e. the PS Vita and the PlayStation 4. Then I moved on to reviewing video games. After the class was over, I didn’t quite know what to do with my writings, so I decided that I would start a blog. Considering that I had no idea how to create a website, I used Google’s “Blogger” service to get me started.

     The first game I ever reviewed was Injustice: Gods Among Us. I had written the review for a class assignment. Once the school year was over, I started my blog. My first few posts were leftover from the assignments in class. After that, I began buying games that I was into and reviewing them. Soon after my first official publish on my blog, I realized that I had an extreme passion for this. I would publish a new review for almost every game I purchased. A new review would be published about every month or two. I was really getting into the swing of things.

     It is so simple for anyone out there to start their own blog and begin publishing. There are many blog services. Two of the most popular are “WordPress” and “Blogger.” What really makes it so easy is that even these two most popular blog services are free and easy to use. Anyone can start their own blog and publish as much content as they want, whenever they want. People can voice their opinions, their views about anything. They do not need to keep everything to themselves. Or, if they’ve been looking for someone to talk to about the things they think about, they can do that now! Anybody can visit your blog, read your ideas and respond to what you write.

     The message “hidden” inside blog services is that we were meant to tell/show the world what we are thinking about all the time and not worry about what other people might think. Blogs are not forceful. People can view them if and when they want to. So far, I have 1,905 page views in total. It’s not necessarily a lot, but I’m getting there. I have added non-intrusive advertisements on the blog and whenever somebody clicks on one, I make a very small amount of money. So far, I’ve made $0.12. But who cares, I’m doing what I love.
     The type of people who would view my blog would pretty much be anyone who plays video games and enjoys reading opinions on them. Why? Well, because I write about video games and I give my opinion on them when reviewing them. I started my blog over a year ago and I did not think that I will still be posting today, but I am and I love it.

Assassin's Creed Unity Review

“Assassin’s Creed Unity”

     Assassin’s Creed Unity is a worthy entry to the series, albeit it has its problems. You are Arno Dorian. Arno joins the Assassin brotherhood as part of a personal vendetta, and it’s quite evident that his personal issues get in the way of what is morally right. For God’s sake, at a certain point in the story he murders several people over some wine and to get his pocket watch back. Simply put, he’s a bit of an a-hole, but still manages to pull off a considerable amount of charm, reminding me of Ezio. Unity manages to establish a solid relationship between Arno and his childhood love, Elise. The two play off of each other well and you can really feel the chemistry.

     Taking place during the French Revolution in 18^th century Paris, Unity’s Environments are breath-taking. I grew excited each time I was about to synchronize a viewpoint. As the camera pans out and the music adheres to the gorgeous view of Paris, you really get this sense of a living, breathing world. Story-wise, Unity stumbles to establish solid ground, bouncing around from the modern world and something about finding the “sage-being” to stopping the Templars. It’s all very confusing sometimes, but Arno’s journey is still a lot of fun. An important high-point of Unity’s story are its “open-ended” assassination missions. These give you the opportunity to plan out your kill; go through underground tunnels, set off fireworks as a distraction or maybe poison your target’s drink. Each “open-ended” mission has a different set of routes so choose wisely. I found myself constantly reloading a checkpoint due to being detected just so I could achieve that perfect kill.

     Paris is grand, the streets littered with thousands of NPC’s milling about their business. An unfortunate side-effect of these thousands of NPC’s is the frame rate. According to Ubisoft, Unity is supposed to run at a locked 30 fps, but when the screen is filled with pedestrians, the game can dip to about 20. In a couple rare circumstances where there are no pedestrians present, the frame rate has literally dropped to the point where it looks like I’m playing a slide-show. While not game-breaking by any means, it really grinds my gears when developers fail to live up their promises. Ubisoft doesn’t exactly have the best track record right now (Watch Dogs = meh). Other mechanical problems occurred such as NPC’s floating in mid-air, or at weird angles, clipping, Arno getting stuck in certain objects and enemies spotting me, but then immediately acting like I was never even there even if I was standing directly in front of them and Arno falling through the map.

     Oh, and did I mention the practically broken cover system? Ubisoft thought that they were doing the game a favor by adding a cover-system, but it turns out that was a mistake. Cover is initiated by holding down the left trigger to crouch and then pressing “x” or “a” to stick to a wall, etc. Why is it broken? Because, half the time, even if something clearly has room to take cover behind, Arno does not take cover. It becomes difficult to even identify whether you are even in cover or not. Be mindful, Ubisoft is releasing patches, (they’ve already released two), planning to fix any issues. At least they care. The good thing is though, unless you’re a cynical, nitpicking nut-job like me sometimes, these issues won’t ruin the game for you.

     Don’t you just hate when you run out of stuff to do in a video game? Well, Unity solves that by filling your entire map with icons for side missions, treasure chest locations, Income revenue properties, journal locations, collectible locations, etc. Honestly, it can be very overwhelming. Your map becoming just a sea of icons can make it very easy to get lost. The filter option to make it less overwhelming isn’t very specific so you are still bound to get lost one way or another. I never thought the day would come where I would say that a game had too much extra content.

     Speaking of treasure chest locations, Unity has a companion app that is used to unlock additional content in game. The app is a game in itself packed with little mini games, assassination targets, and puzzles. While it is always cool to see developers making good use of other technology for incorporation with their games, Unity’s companion app is more trouble than its worth, and it’s free; not counting the optional $1.99 you can pay for “heat-maps” or something. In addition to the treasure chests, there are “Nomad” chests scattered throughout Paris. To open these chests though, you must use the companion app. I bought the game on a console, not my iPhone, so just let me play it on my console! It feels like too much of a chore. Speaking of game-immersion breakers, Ubisoft decided to add micro-transactions to Unity ranging from $5.00 to $100.00. Are you serious? Last time I checked, I paid $60 for this game, I don't want to see micro-transactions. While playing the game without them is fully achievable, no need to panic, it is still sickening to see Ubisoft insert this blatant cash grab into an already $60 game.

     Historically, I can’t really say much because I don’t know much about 18^th century Paris or the French Revolution besides Napoleon Bonaparte or guillotines and heads in baskets. Although, Napoleon Bonaparte does happen to make an appearance in Unity, though his presence is so lacking that it makes me wonder, did he really even need to be in the game in the first place? Fortunately, this is not totally a bad thing, because even if the game’s story isn’t perfect, Ubisoft has chosen to focus the story on Arno, and this is good. Seeing Arno hone his skills and become a master assassin. On a side note, Unity has these intriguing side missions called “Helix-Rifts.” These “rifts”, transport Arno to other times in history and task him with different objectives. An example; I was transported into a rift as part of main story mission and to get out of the rift I had to CLIMB, yes, CLIMB, the Eiffel Tower. SUPER COOL. It really was, and the weird part was, for it being such a small part in Unity’s campaign, it was one of my favorites. I got to man a gattling gun, shoot at war planes and scale a blimp. It was amazing.

     Multiplayer works well for the most part, allowing players to form assassination “clubs” and take on missions together, including heists. I would advise against playing with people you don’t know. A better option would be to play with your own friends on your console. It makes communication and taking out your target much easier. Multiplayer has a few glitches as well, but none that can’t be fixed in the near future. Combat in Unity is much different in comparison to past games, it can be quite unforgiving if you don't practice at it. You cannot just charge into a group of enemies and expect it to be an easy fight. Especially because at times in combat, surrounding enemies will pull out their guns and try to shoot you while you are in the middle of a sword-fight. Ubisoft has added a parry system and the ability to perform a dodge-roll.

     Graphically, as I stated before, Unity is beautiful. Buildings are detailed gorgeously; even interiors shine bright with excellent textures. Thanks to the power of Next-Gen, most random buildings can even be entered now. Lighting is impressive as well. The cut scenes in this game, MY GOD, some of the best facial animations I have ever seen. It’s odd to say how impressive facial animations can really make you feel closer to a character, but it’s the small things that can end up really mattering the most. The blood-spatter effects that occur when fighting enemies or being damaged are spot on. Stabbing an enemy, his clothes becoming soaked with blood or his blood spattering all over a wall that’s behind him; it looks awesome. Traversing Paris works well, most of the time. Ubisoft has simplified Assassin Creed’s free-running mechanics by adding the ability to scale and descend buildings just by holding down two buttons. It does wonders for traversing Paris and is a welcome addition to the series. Watching Arno walk, run, and scale buildings is astonishing. Depending on how you are dressed, seeing his hair flutter in the wind or the back of his outfit sway as he scales a building looks excellent.

     Unity also has a brand-new customization system available in its campaign and multiplayer. In multiplayer, everyone is still Arno, just with their own color outfits and gear. There are a decent number of colors for your gear and tons of upgradeable weapons. Outfits from the past Assassin’s Creed’s games can also be worn, but most of them must be unlocked using an online service, “Assassin’s Creed Initiates”, which you guessed it, isn’t currently running. Weapons range from, swords, pistols, rifles, long and heavy. If you want some good gear, you better get to upgrading your property in the game to obtain more revenue. Arno is basically customizable from head to toe. You can change his hood, chest, his forearms, waist and legs. Plus, the amount of options Unity gives you to change once you choose what area you’re looking to upgrade is enormous. Each piece of gear has different attributes; some improving stealth or melee, while others could improve range. Arno also has a skill tree consisting of upgrades for stealth, melee, ranged and health.

      Assassin’s Creed Unity could have been a great game, but due to its “broken” launch with a host of bugs/glitches, there is no excuse. Paris is a beautiful playground for the entry’s newest assassin, Arno. Now that we’ve seen what Ubisoft can do with the power of new hardware, even if there are problems, it is still absolutely mesmerizing.

Final Score: 7.8/10

PROS:

-          Charming lead character

-          Paris is GORGEOUS

-          Open-ended assassinations

-          Updated free-running

-          Helix Rifts

-          Character Customization

CONS:

-          Story fails to establish solid ground

-          Host of current mechanical problems

-          Map is a “sea” of icons

-          Frustrating companion app

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review

The Double Jump: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

     Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare still looks, feels, and plays like Call of Duty… except for one thing. By double tapping “x” or “a” the player can jet high into the air with ease. Also, if you aim it right, you can slam down onto someone from mid-air. This one feature changes the multiplayer game. The guns are all still there, some even looking close to the same as in the previous games. The only differences are the futuristic looks the weapons have along with their attachments. Different abilities for your “exo suit” can be picked to use in combat ranging from cloaking yourself to a speed boost, etc. Killstreaks are pretty much all the same, just different looks. You can also enable a fourth killstreak using a “wildcard.” Modifiers can be added to all killstreaks, but the killstreaks will then cost you extra kill points. Something I honestly praise the developer, Sledgehammer Games for is not just letting the player chuck a care package anywhere. In other words, the care package will not drop unless you trigger it in an open area of the map with no ceilings.

     Advanced Warfare’s class creation system is revamped with a “pick 13” system giving the player 13 customization slots for each of their weapons, attachments, killstreaks, perks, wildcards and exo abilities. This new system makes class creation simple. Multiplayer is still probably going to make you rage-quit at times, yell at your TV screen because of occasional crap-spawning, or someone killing you even though you put 6 shots into them. As said before, “double jumping” puts a whole new spin on multiplayer. Say you’re being chased, “double jump” and hop along the rooftops running for cover. The melee attack has been changed to knocking someone back 50 feet with a powerful swing of your arm. Trust me, it’s way cooler than just slashing someone with a knife.

     Supply drops are earned randomly playing through multiplayer and other modes. These “supply drops” contain weapons, new gear, and care package drops containing high or low-level scorestreaks. You can even get double xp for a set amount of time from them. Advanced Warfare’s campaign is like all the rest of the other Call of Duty games. You shoot a lot of bad guys, drive a few vehicles, and the good guy turns out to be not so good. We’ve seen it all before, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Explosions, car chases, gun fights; these are all the things that make the campaign so awesome. You play as Jack Mitchell, voiced by the ever so talented, Troy Baker. The game begins with the United States in a war with the North Koreans trying to repel their forces. Long story short, you lose your arm, you get an advanced prosthetic one and Johnathan Irons (Kevin Spacey) offers you a job in his private military corporation “Atlas”… blah, blah, blah.

     The game’s graphics look crisp and the cut scenes are easily the best out of every Call of Duty. You’re going to want to pick this game up on Next-Gen. Kevin Spacey’s face looks like it’s straight out of the movies. The game runs at sixty fps, but dips below sixty when the action on screen gets “too hot.” Multiplayer maps are designed well and work accordingly with the “double jump” mechanic. The guns looks great as well.

     Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is basically still Call of Duty and it completely erases the horror that was "Ghosts." You are not going to play the game and barely recognize it. But, the changes that Sledgehammer Games did make to the formula do make the game a hell of a lot more fun than any of its predecessors.

Final Score: 8/10

Pros:

-          Double Jump

-          Pick 13 System

-          Crisp Graphics

-          Multiplayer Customization

-          Getting old, but Explosive Campaign

      Cons:

-          Occasional bad spawning

-          Damage calculations

-          Campaign getting old

Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor Review

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor Review

     Monolith Games who? Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a game that surprised a lot of people, including me. You play as Talion, a ranger of Gondor whose job is guarding the Black Gate of Mordor. You, along with your wife and son are murdered in cold blood by Sauron’s army. But, Talion is resurrected by a wraith, Celebrimbor and his spirit becomes one with that of a wraith. Together, Talion and Celebrimbor are an unstoppable force as you mow down countless Uruks with an array of weapons.

     “Middle Earth” is heavily infliuenced by the Assassin’s Creed and Batman Arkham series and it translates well. I would even go to the length of saying that certain mechanics are implemented better here than they have ever been in those games. The game features two styles of play. You can stick to stealth or you can just walk into the middle of an Uruk stronghold with your sword out ready to slice and dice. A core mechanic in the game allows you to build up your hit streak, unleashing an execution, triggering some satisfyingly gruesome attacks.  Stealth plays well allowing for aerial attacks, sneaking behind enemies or pulling enemies off ledges. If you really want an advantage, taking control over a Caragor or a Graug will level the playing field.

      The game features a simple upgrade system. Some will help with your main weapons and others will improve your wraith abilities. You have a variety of skills, each assisting in a certain department. Runes are essentially “buffs” for your weapons. Each weapon has rune slots. The more runes you add, the more powerful your weapons become. I defeated a very high level Uruk and gained a rune that added a 50% increase to all sword damage. To level up Talion, you need ability points, which can be earned through fighting Uruks, or by doing missions. Your other skill tree is leveled up using an in-game currency that is obtained doing missions. Missions range from freeing slaves, combat challenges, taking on Uruk camps, etc.

     There are more powerful enemies than just low-level Uruks though. There are captains and warchiefs. The captains are the people below the warchiefs. The warchiefs are the almighty, powerful leaders. Both enemies have unique strengths and weaknesses that can be exploited to your advantage. No two enemies are the same; each has completely different looks, different strengths and weaknesses, and buckle up because here’s the motherload, the Nemesis System. Here’s an example, you kill an Uruk by shooting him in the eye, or at least you think you killed him. If he comes back he will have a metal plate over his eye and blame you for it. If an enemy kills you, he will rise up through the ranks gaining power. Being the most defining feature of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, the Nemesis System is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It screams innovation.

     Graphically, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a quality game built on all systems. The environments are lush with green fields and rotting, but still beautiful architecture. Character models are impressive, but some are lacking in detail. Collectibles are all over the place, and the amount of lore Monolith has jammed into their game is tremendous. You’re even guaranteed to see some classic characters from the Lord of The Rings universe along the way. All collectibles are detailed beautifully and each even has its own “memory” listed.

     “Middle Earth’s” story isn’t anything special and the narration isn’t going to enthrall you, however, with everything else the game has going on, it’s the first time in a long time I can say that you should pay $60 bucks for a game. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is the surprise hit of the year, and in my book, the number one contender for Game of The Year right now. I give it a 9/10.

PROS:
- Excellent Copy-Catting
- Nemesis System
- Next-Gen Graphics
- Lord of The Rings Lore

CONS:
- Weak Story/Narration

"Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare" Review

     "P.V.Z. Garden Warfare"
 

     When you think "Plants Vs. Zombies", the first thing that comes to mind is the 2D tower defense made by Popcap and EA, but you would never expect the company, DICE, to be thrown into the mix and help create a 3rd person shooter out of the game... Well, that's exactly what happened, and props to Popcap and everyone involved, because this was definitely a success.
     "Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare" lets you play as both the plants and the zombies in a small variety of maps and modes. Each team has 4 different classes as you would expect, considering DICE helped out in the game's development. The plants have the Peashooter, the Chomper, the Sunflower, and the Cactus. The zombies have the Foot Soldier, the Engineer, the Scientist, and the All-Star. Each class has its own special abilities ranging from power and brute force, to fast and nimble, to slow moving, but stealthy. These different classes offer lots of variety and the chance for players to try out all the classes to hone their skills. An ability example would be the Chomper, which can burrow itself underground and travel until its under a zombie, emerge from the ground and swallow the zombie right up in one gulp.
     All of the characters are still plenty delightful and charming, even while they are shooting at each other. I noticed that some classes feel a bit more overpowered than being equal as all the rest. Another thing that could use some work are the maps. While well designed, there just aren't enough, but no need to fret, all maps due to come out as DLC will be FREE; thank the Gods. There is an in game "Sticker Shop" where card packs can be opened for varying amounts of coins to unlock new characters and buy consumables to help in combat. Yes, there are micro-transactions, but NO, they do not burden the game-experience at all. They are simply there if you want to get a few better characters or consumables to better yourself in combat. There are 8 multiplayer modes, some are more fun than others. Essentially, they are relatable to some modes in Battlefield or Call of Duty games. There is not a campaign mode, which wouldn't make much sense if there was anyway; there is however, "Garden ops", where you can play solo, or with friends and take on waves of zombies. While fun, your coin earnings will be nowhere near as high as playing a mutiplayer mode such as Team Vanquish(Team Deathmatch) or Gardens and Graveyards(Conquest). Also, kudos to Popcap for still making this feel like the original game in more ways than one.
     "Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare" feels right. It doesn't feel like skins were just slapped onto soldiers from Battlefield. It has a sense of art, its wonderful to look at all of the plants and zombies, to see how much design went into making them, and to see that Popcap really went the extra mile to not only design abilities, extra character costumes, well-designed maps, but is also releasing maps for free. You can tell that a lot of love was put into this game, and that more is on the way.

PROS:
- Creative as all hell
- Player Variety
- Delightful characters
- FREE DLC
- Fair coin earnings

CONS:
- Some overpowered classes
- Not enough maps at time of release
Final Score: 8/10

Counterspy Review

“Counterspy” Review

     “Counterspy” sets you in the Cold War era, sporting a 60’s aesthetic. Your job is to stop the Imperialists and Socialists from launching rockets at the moon and blowing it up. Each level is randomly generated giving a fresh change of pace for each mission you go on. There are no specific characters. It’s never really clear who you are or what side you are on. Only that you are a “counterspy.” The only thing that distinguishes everybody is their uniforms. The gameplay consists of 2D side scrolling and 3D, usually when you are in cover. The different dimensions allow for some interesting gameplay styles. The art style is my absolute favorite part of the game. It’s a real accomplishment. It looks so basic, but at the same time, it’s so visually salivating. Littered throughout the levels are stashes of money, weapon blueprints; containing separate parts to each new weapon, and “dossiers”, (basically just gives you more money).

     Enemies aren’t as varied as they should be; their differences consist of weapons and their uniforms. I also wish that Dynamighty had put more effort into the weapons system, perhaps including some gadgets to go along with the guns. It would be nice if Counterspy had more of a story then just take cover, then shoot the bad guys. Weapons can be selected quickly using the directional pad. Melee attacks consist of karate chops to the neck and shoulders, and stealth attacks consisting of neck snaps. Aiming your gun is very interesting and works quite well. On your screen when you are in cover, there is an orange circle; you can center the orange circle on an enemy, then, once you peek out from cover, your reticle will be aimed directly at wherever you centered the circle. It helps tremendously with your accuracy if you want to keep a stealthy approach instead of just going in guns blazing.

     Counterspy’s main problems lie in the AI and objectives. The AI is painfully flawed and glitchy and will spot you even if you've taken every careful precaution to not be spotted. Objectives are well, nonexistent. This is a problem because every mission you go on doesn’t really have anything that drives you to complete it. Missions are divided into two sides, the Imperialists and Socialists. It doesn’t necessarily matter which side you choose to take on. The only difference between each side is certain missions offer weapon blueprints, while others offer Intel, which leads to money. One thing I did appreciate, was looking for all the collectibles, which can sometimes be hard to find, presenting a nice challenge for the player. It would have been nice to see some puzzles in Counterspy also. Each side has defcon levels consisting from 1 to 5. Basically, you NEVER want to be anything past 1. Once you pass defcon 1, a one minute countdown is initiated. Essentially, you have 60 seconds to reach the end of the level and shut down the defcon or you lose the mission. If only Dynamighty had expanded on the defcon levels more. For instance, throwing more difficult enemy types at you the higher your defcon level went. Once you lose, you have the option to continue or not. If you click “yes” to continue, you restart the mission. If you click “no”, the words “Game Over” pop up in the middle of your screen. When I clicked “no”, I didn't think anything of it; just that the game would take me back to the main menu, allowing me to continue right where I left off. But in actuality, you lose all previous mission progress. This is obviously a glaring mistake that needs to be adjusted in my opinion. There just isn’t enough challenge here that anyone would normally expect from a stealth game. However, Counterspy offers a decent enough stealth experience with a wonderfully pleasing art style that will have you coming back for more. Counterspy is a good game from a new developer. Dynamighty made some excellent strides with this one, and I expect to see good things from them in the future.

PROS:

-          Randomly generated levels

-          2D and 3D offer different gameplay perspectives

-          Art Style

-          Gunplay

-          Decent stealth

CONS:

-          AI is moronic

-          Lack of objectives

-          Different sides have no real impact on the game’s experience

-          Feels like its missing something

-          “Game Over”

-          Not enough challenge

Final Score= 7/10

The Last Of Us Remastered Review

     Considering that I already reviewed the game when it was released on PS3, I will be giving a summary on the improvements made to the game on the PS4 version. First off, the graphics. The Last Of Us Remastered boasts improved visuals, better lighting and shadows, and more detailed character models, with a host of other behind the scenes improvements as well. It's not just called "Remastered" for no reason though; the game also adds all previously released multiplayer maps and the "Left Behind" DLC, featuring Ellie and her best friend, Riley. I promise to put up a review of "Left Behind" once completed. Another major game changer in the "Remastered" edition is the fact that the game runs at 1080, 60 frames per second; a huge step up from the previous generation game. An available option allows players to switch back and forth from 30 fps to 60 fps to see the difference in gameplay, or for those who are just used to the 30 fps on PS3. 

   
     Another feature only available on PS4 is "Photo Mode." "Photo Mode" allows players to pause the game wherever and whenever, except for cut scenes, to take screen shots of the gameplay. If you're feeling photogenic, take a picture of Joel or Ellie, hell, add a color filter, dim or increase the brightness; the choice is yours. You may also adjust the depth of field and add vignettes. Frames are also an option, ranging from silly "photo booth" frames to black bars, black bars with the "Last Of Us" logo, a Polaroid frame, etc. If you want a more cinema like quality, the game also allows you to dolly the camera. For some really AWESOME shots, I recommend that you pause the screen during a melee brawl or a gun fight. Once you have finished crafting the perfect shot, hold the share button down, screenshot it, then upload it to Twitter or Facebook for others to see your masterpiece. You would be astonished by the excruciating detail you'll see once you pause the game at the right moments. For some cool shots I took, look below. Naughty Dog has also taken advantage of the new and improved PS4 dualshock by mapping the aim and shoot buttons to the new L2 and R2 triggers and mapping the backpack in "The Last Of Us" to the touch pad. Sounds like your flashlight turning on and off are also projected from the speaker on the controller. Commentary by Neil Druckmann may also be turned on during cinematics for extra enjoyment if you are into that sort of thing. Including all of it's improvements, I rate The Last Of Us Remastered, a 10/10.

PROS:

- Improved Visuals

- Previously released DLC

- 60 FPS

- Photo Mode

- Integration of the PS4 controller's features

- Commentary from Neil Druckmann

CONS:
- NONE