Category: Games

News, reviews and thoughts on games, gaming and anything game related

We Should Worry About Anthem’s Future….

What the hell is going on in the gaming community? Over the past few months, developers and publishers have been showing the shady side of the video gaming business, with outrages micro-transactions to releasing beta stage games on release day, the video game community has really shown an ugly side. By now everyone knows about the Fallout fiasco, and how Bethesda pretty much alienate its own game and fans, something Bethesda isn’t known for. Fallout 76 is a broken mess, players are hacking their way through the game and Bethesda is handling this issue poorly, granted Bethesda did release an apology, but it fell on deaf ears. The damage is done and Bethesda will have to repair its relationship with its fans because of it.

The Latest fiasco comes by the way of BioWare’s Anthem, EA is notorious for killing great IP’s and Anthem is another casualty of that. Anthem was high, I mean highly anticipated upon its release. Fans at E3 got a glimpse of what Anthem was going to be, with its beautiful graphics and promise of rich and vibrant world fans jumped on board with BioWare’s next project despite knowing EA’s history of egregious monetization of its games. So, when the beta of Anthem was released fans were not surprised with the games instore item prices, the outrage made EA and BioWare backtrack and promise fans the item prices were subject to change before its final release.

Unfortunately, things got worse for BioWare, Anthem released in beta like state, with limited in-game content and poor customization features. Players quickly called out BioWare and EA for Anthem’s poor content and the game’s sales showed that. BioWare fans were sure EA was going to crack the whip on BioWare and shut the studio down, but Anthem producer Michael Gamble reassure fans a shutdown wasn’t in its future stating “Lots of folks are playing Anthem” also promising support of Anthem will continue over next couple months. While the reassurance was a good start, fans question whether EA was actually behind this.

As a fan I find it hard to believe anything PR related by EA, they have shown clearly, they do not care about its fans. As for BioWare, its extremely disappointing that Anthem was released in such a bad state, past games such as Dragon Age and the beloved Mass Effect franchise are some of the most popular IP’s in the industry. What BioWare does next is going to be crucial to Anthem’s future. In fact, it’s going to play a roll in BioWare’s future despite their recent reassurance.

Personally, I’m not optimistic about Anthem’s future, EA has ruined and shutdown too many developers and its IP’s as of late, put that with EA’s money hungry business tactics the future looks grim for Anthem. But who I ‘am I to say BioWare’s Anthem will fail, I’m just a regular guy giving his opinion.

Turtle Beach giving away five nights with Redbox

The holidays are a strenuous time for people, finances take on new light and finding some personal time for hobbies like gaming becomes a challenge. For those on the console front, Turtle Beach is offering a bit of temptation. From November 23, 2018 – January 31, 2019 players that pick up a new headset will also get 5 passes for one-night game rentals from Redbox. It’s a nice little partnership in a way, letting people hop on for a moment of zen or extreme inner rage with a brief 24 hour rental on their Xbox One or Playstation 4 console.

Even if that’s out of personal budget for the season, there’s always a chance to put a new set on the wish list and time to claim those even after the holidays wrap up, with almost an entire month available to redeem those codes afterward. Tired of that OEM setup? It might be time to go up to a Recon, Stealth or even an Elite series for even deeper immersion.

Green Man Gaming kicks off Black Friday early

Digital game sales are inevitable, so it’s natural that everyone wants to get the jump on the competition as best they can. Starting at 00:01 UTC on November 21, Green Man Gaming will throw their hat into the ring of chaos for PC gamers.

While some companies kind of just throw it all against the wall, GMG has taken a fresher approach to see what buyers and fans were avidly waiting for, focusing their sale from a massive catalog reduction to just over 150 franchises that stuck out the most from eager players. It’s new, it’s fresh and it’s from about 35 publishers including Bandai Namco, Ubisoft, 2K Games, and Bethesda. Fans can expect deeper discounts (usually on older titles) for up to 75% off, helping make it so most people can get in on the action.

GMG will also have vouchers available on the site giving some extra savings to really compete with the masses out there on the best deals out. They also have a personal list they feel people will want to see as their spotlight examples.

Assassins Creed Odyssey Deluxe (33% off + extra voucher saving)

Far Cry 5 (50% off + extra voucher saving)

Monster Hunter World (20% off + extra voucher saving)

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Deluxe Edition (75% off + extra voucher saving)

Dark Souls III (75% off + extra voucher saving)

The Crew 2 (60% off + extra voucher saving)

No Man’s Sky (50% off + extra voucher saving)

Warhammer Vermintide 2 (50% off + extra voucher saving)

For Honor Marching Fire (33% off + extra voucher saving)

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 3 (65% + extra voucher saving)

 

Redbox starts Spring Cleaning with a new sale

Kicking off from today through April 1, Redbox is putting pre-owned movies and games on discount. Movies kick off at $3.99 and games start at $4.99 and shoot up from there.

Highlight titles include the following:

  • Spider-Man: Homecoming DVD or Blu-ray $5.99
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 DVD or Blu-ray $4.99
  • The Hitman’s Body Guard DVD or Blu-ray $5.99
  • Wonder Woman DVD or Blu-ray $4.99
  • Cars 3 DVD or Blu-ray $4.99
  • The Boss Baby DVD or Blu-ray $3.99
  • Dishonored 2 PS4/XBO $9.99
  • Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare PS4/XBO $14.99

The games sale includes PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles, for the most part, there’s some decent variety for titles from 2016-2017 minus the Xbox 360 which is just 3 Call of Duty titles.

Check out Redbox for more and hopefully, the kiosks in your area have the titles you want in stock.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite News and details

Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced a Hulk-sized helping of new information for MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE, the highly-anticipated return of the revered action-fighting game series. Imagined and created through a shared vision between the two companies, the game will feature free-form 2v2 team battles integrated into a wide variety of exciting and accessible single player modes and rich multiplayer content for new players and longtime fans alike. MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE will simultaneously release on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One®, and Windows PC across North America on September 19, 2017.

For the first time in franchise history, the Marvel and Capcom universes collide in a visually stunning and immersive cinematic Story Mode, as heroes and villains battle together to save their merged worlds from a sinister new threat, Ultron Sigma. A combination of the robotic foes known as Ultron from the Marvel Universe and Sigma from the Capcom Universe, this psychotic villain is obsessed with infecting all organic life with a cybernetic virus. History’s greatest gathering of warriors must now unite to fight back against Ultron Sigma and save their newly formed world.

Announced today, more new characters have joined the battle for survival against the forces of evil in MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE including:

  • Ultron
  • Hulk
  • Thor
  • Hawkeye
  • Rocket Raccoon
  • Chun-Li
  • Strider Hiryu
  • Chris Redfield

Each newly-added character will feature unique abilities, iconic special moves and will join other previously-announced characters, including Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Captain America from the Marvel side, and Ryu, Mega Man X and Morrigan from Capcom. The use of powerful, game-changing Infinity Stones further deepens the customized gameplay and allows players to equip and unleash elemental in-game powers, such as Time, Power and Space.

In addition to the compelling cinematic story experience, single player Arcade, Training and Mission modes and vast multiplayer offerings will provide memorable experiences and infinite gameplay possibilities for players of all skill levels. More characters, stages, game features and story mode details will be revealed in the coming months.

Pre-orders for MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE are available beginning today on all platforms for the $59.99 MSRP Standard Edition and $89.99 MSRP Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes the main game on PS4 or Xbox One and a 2017 Character Pass, which contains access to six all-new additional post-launch characters including Sigma, the main antagonist from the Mega Man® X series. Pre-order bonuses for all versions in North America include Warrior Thor and Evil Ryu costumes. Check with individual retailers for details in Europe and Australia as some offers may vary. The pre-order bonus for the Deluxe Edition is the same as the Standard Edition, but also includes two additional costumes: Gladiator Hulk and Mega Man Command Mission X. For specific details, please check with individual retailers.

Capcom also confirmed today that a limited MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE Collector’s Edition, brought to you by TriForce, is available now for pre-order on PS4 and Xbox One. It will include four premium character dioramas of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Mega Man X and Chun-Li, a case filled with six Infinity Stone replicas, as well as SteelBook packaging that contains the Deluxe Edition of the game, all for only $199.99 MSRP. Contents may vary depending on region and for European pricing please check with retailers. All editions and versions of MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE will simultaneously release on September 19, 2017.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi & Battlefront 2 Teasers released!!!

This past weekend at Star Wars Celebration 2017, fans were given a few treats. The first one being ths Star Wars Battlefront 2 teaser, and the second one being Star Wars: The Last Jedi teaser. The Event turned out to be a huge success, while I wasn’t able to attend the event I did however was able to catch some of it on stream. Both trailers feature some cool cameos from popular characters, however the movie teaser was the most anticipated.

The trailer features Luke Skywalker, who appears to be training Rey in the ways of the jedi. We also get a cool shot of the Knights of Ren walking on a battlefield, but then scene that got most people going was Luke Skywalkers statement about the time of the Jedi’s is over.

What We’re Playing at BAMFAS (February Closeout)

What are we doing when we’re not posting news, reviews or grappling with the untamed beast that is our newswire? Watching things, playing things and since sharing what we watch didn’t come to mind as I wrote this introduction we’re just going to stick to what we’re doing in gaming right now. With that said let’s get started.

(Veeex2 / Gabriel Vega)

My time varies so I tend to invest myself in games I know or can sit down for quick doses of. Currently my time falls in the world of driving sims on the PC with GRID 2, American Truck Simulator and Dirt 3 leading the pack as classics that just feel really easy to get into and bail out of while enjoying myself in the process.

Highlights from GRID 2 mostly center around my obsession with the Touge battles in the game and my R32 GT-R, I usually end up playing Hard and Very Hard for my races to keep it interesting as I also use a Logitech G27 when I play.

GT-R vs Jaguar XKR-S

GT-R vs Viper GTS

American Truck Simulator is an exercise in patience, control, sanity and so much more. Given playing by the rules can often result in some rough spells for concentration (driving 55mph for 120 mile trips with nothing else) there comes a time when you need a side account to just bring a little bit of release from it all.

When your brain slips and you get a random speed trap ticket, there’s little else to care about during your run.

Deadbolt makes a trucker go wild, and not in a remotely safe way, swing trailer swing!

Dirt 3 wasn’t a favorite of mine at launch, the amount of DLC and add-ons just made it feel different. Given it’s been out ages, it goes on sale all the time and there’s the Steam Edition with basically everything included though that has changed as you get all the goodies with it and given the eras of cars included that’s important. Check out some fast travels through the forests.

February Conclusion? I play way too many racing titles right now, it’s probably time to dig back into something with at least some basic substance or add some variety in but that four wheel drift is so fun and I have yet to hit massive semi truck drifting.

(Teck2k / Anthony Davis)

Since getting a PS4 I’ve been pretty much gaming hardcore on and off with a 3-game rotation, but as of late my time has been spend playing Sword of Online Hollow Realization. Being a fan of the anime I figure I’ll give the game a try, and for the most part I’m glad I did. While the game is enjoyable it does have a big negative for me, and that’s is dialogue heavy.

Seriously there’s scenes of dialogue that last for like 10 mins over nothing, if I was reviewing this game it would be a pain dealing with that but since I’m not I can skip over some the scenes and get to the meat of the game and that’s the game play. Sword Art Online Hollow Realization reminds me a lot of PSO, a game I still play too this day, while the controls aren’t as smooth as pso the class customization is what really most the two so similar, down below I put to vids, one of PSO and the other SAO, and you tell if you see the any similarities between the two.

PS4: SAO

PC PSO2 : Warning quality is not good, was my first time streaming

That’s it for now, not sure if we’re doing these weekly yet or if we’re just doing them as we actually dive into new titles. We’ll get back to you on that, in the meantime enjoy our footage and we’ll catch up soon!

Monolith Productions releases Middle-earth Shadow of War Trailer! UPDATE: !!!

2 days ago Monolith Productions release an unannounced trailer for sequel to Shadow of Mordor titled Shadow of War, the sequel takes place between The Hobble and The Lord of the Rings books, the trailer shows the main protagonist Talion creating a ring of power while Sauron begins to gather his Nazgul forces. Shadow of War promises to expanded on the Nemesis system while also introducing a new system called Followers which guides the player-character interaction during the game.

Shadow of War is a for sure pickup if you’re a fan of the first game, and it will be released August 22, 2017 in North American and August 25th for Europe. Playstation 4, Xbox One/ Microsoft Windows and Steam.

Update: Turn to their word Monolith Productions and Sony have released a 16 min game-play trailer, in the trailer we get a glimpse of Nemesis Fortresses system. Players must utilize different strategies to conquer dynamic strongholds and forge their personalized Orc army.

WEBZEN & MU Legend blow out Valentines Day with beta key giveaway

Eager to boost some social interactions, WEBZEN the developer and publisher for MU Legend have decided to kick off Valentines with a beta key giveaway on their Facebook page. The second closed beta period opens the next week so they decided to make the twist on it a little interesting.

Unfortunately that does leave those with an interest to play wonder what exactly to do today but at least they’ve got you covered in a week. The upcoming beta focuses on localization, primarily for German, French, Polish, Spanish and Brazilian-Portuguese players. If you don’t speak any of those you can always play in English of course.

The announcement also includes a new teaser from WEBZEN that  you can catch below.

GOG shows some love this Valentines Day

It’s Valentines Day and there’s certainly some love in the air already with GOG. They know there are many out there who love to come home after a long day and sit and bask in the warm glow of the thing that brings them so much joy… their PC.

From Wishlists, With Love is their 6-day sale that knocks up to 90% off over 70 of the top wishlisted titles on GOG.  Top games on sale include The Witcher 3 GOTY, Dying Light, Arcanum, Psychonauts, Darkest Dungeon and more.

For more info and the full list, check out GOG