It is definitely looking like a great week for PS5 owners. Between the release of Destruction Allstars and several free PS5 upgrades dropping today, It’s not just going to be a busy week, but a bust month, by the time most of us are done. PS Plus drops today! As I mentioned above, Destruction Allstars releases exclusively on the PS5 today. The vehicular combat game was intended to release alongside the PS5 back in November, but was delayed to February 2nd, as a PS Plus title instead. Not only did this give the devs a little more time to polish things up, but it also gives PS5 owners a brand spankin new game on plus and we can’t really complain about that, can we? Along with Destruction Allstars, PS4 and PS5 owners will get a copy of Control Ultimate Edition. This is great for anyone that doesn’t own the game and the ultimate edition is the only way to get the PS5 upgrade, so it seems like a win, unless of course you already have the ultimate edition, but sadly, we can’t exchange Plus games that we already have for another title we don’t. That would be pretty sweet, actually. PS4 owners will also be getting their hands on Concrete Genie, so I personally think this month’s PS Plus drop is pretty good all the way around. On top of the Plus drop, today we are seeing some free PS4 to PS5 upgrades and one in particular has got many of us excited. God of War is getting the 4k/60 FPS today. Whether you have the PS Plus version or a personally purchased copy, you’ll be able to play GoW in 4k checkerboard resolution, 2160p, synced at 60 FPS and it won’t cost a thing. The Division 2 is also getting the next/current gen treatment with the 12.1 patch coming today. The game will play on the PS5 in 4k/60 FPS and players will also be related to some Resident Evil crossover content during the event. Definitely enough reason to give it a look again. If none of these titles are for you, but you happen to be a Call of Duty player, there is some good news for you this month as well! On February 4th, the new Zombies map map Firebase Z will drop! Along with Firebase Z, players will also get a 2XP weekend until Feb. 8th. PlayStation owners will begin their 2XP weekend on the 4th, with Firebase Z, while the other platforms won’t be getting the extra XP until the 5th. The double XP event will be available for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Curious about your 2020 gaming stats on the PS4 and PS5? Well, now you can find out how much you put into games during the infamous year of 2020! Sony’s “2020 wrap up” is live now and won’t just offer you your stats for the year, but you’ll also get a pretty sweet dynamic theme … Read More
Is Sega the most underappreciated company in gaming?
I was going through some boxes in my garage earlier and came across a Wolverine comic book. It was issue #88 – December – 1994. On the cover, Magneto appears to have defeated Wolverine and is holding his lifeless body overhead. I have this comic a bunch of times and I just couldn’t help but to read it again. Good times. As I read through the pages, I came across some advertisements for the Sega Genesis. It reminded me of a very different time. A time where Sega was a major household name for game consoles. The biggest question was always “do you have Sega or Nintendo?” My answer? “Both.” Nintendo was always the more popular of the two consoles back then. Sega consoles were awesome, but Nintendo had the edge until the Sony PlayStation was released. Console war stuff aside, I look back at what Sega brought to the table and if you aren’t familiar with the companies endeavors, you might be surprised to hear that Sega was (at least in my opinion) the most innovative company the game industry has ever seen to this day. That’s a lot to swallow, but hear me out. When it came to consoles, Sega really put in a lot of work into giving gamers more than they were really ready for, but would eventually adopt in the future. They brought us Sega CD and the amazing Sega Game Gear. When they really began to understand and utilize disc based games with Sega Dreamcast, it was sadly too late. With the high cost of manufacturing the Dreamcast and less than stellar sales, Sega had opted out of the console industry and became a game publisher instead. The one angle most important imprint Sega really had on the industry, though, was the Sega Channel! Sega Channel just happened to debut at the same time that Wolverine comic was released. December, 1994. Coincidence? It did lead me to writing this article and I just now found out that both the comic and Sega Channel debuted in the same time frame. What are the odds? Back on track here. Sorry for the detour. As I was saying, Sega Channel might be the important thing Sega did back in the day. It was the Netflix of games. For $15.00 (USD) per month, you would get 50 games to play on your genesis every month. The games available would rotate out each month and often rotate back in. Using an adapter that was hooked up through coax cable, you would just put the adapter into your Sega Genesis like it was a game and press power. A menu with all the games available was simple and we just clicked and played. The service entered homes before the internet became a common household utility, but after 3+ years of operation, Sega Channel came to an end. While it would seem that Sega Channel ultimately failed as a Pay to Play service, it literally … Read More
Opinion: More gaming during the pandemic isn’t the problem here…
Welcome to another issue of PS Weekly! This week I am bypassing the regular news I would drop and would like to discuss a specific issue. The pandemic and parenting choices when it comes to video games. 2020 was a hard year for the majority of the world and let’s be honest, 2021 could go either way at this point. While our fingers are crossed in hopes of seeing some relief soon, we still have a long way to go. People are spending more time at home than anywhere else right now and that calls for more ways to pass the time and cope with the stress of it all. In some cases it means more time playing video games and full disclosure, I don’t see a problem here, but thanks to an irresponsibly written and published article in The New York Times, some people are becoming concerned with the uptick in gaming. Can’t we catch a break? The article published by the Times is based on the interviews of several people, including a psychology professor at Harvard. Everyone is entitled to their feelings, but this article is written in a way that tries to represent the world’s opinion. Honestly, The folks interviewed in the article are overreacting and are probably dealing with their own stressful issues related to the pandemic. Either that, or they just don’t know what they’re talking about. This article is grade A fertilizer at its finest and I’m only going to go as far as discussing how stars off. You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/health/covid-kids-tech-use.html This article kicks off with a man being quoted “I’ve failed you as a father,” Wow! So, this father has a heated argument with his son, according to the article, but if the conversation was heated, it was likely thanks to the way dear old dad was handling things. Anyway, this dad apparently overlooked how much time his kid was playing video games and using his cell phone for social purposes. The dad says his son used to spend most of his leisure time riding a mountain bike and playing basketball, but now he spends most of his extra time playing games on his Xbox or on his phone. Well, the only real concern that I find valid here, is completely overlooked. The child is mentioned to be playing on an Xbox or cell phone. That concerns me. This child desperately needs a PlayStation console in his life. While we’re at it, there should probably be a Nintendo Switch there too, because variety is the spice of life and the pandemic has certainly taken a lot of variety away from us for the moment. Grab a copy of Descenders on PS4 and he’ll be riding a mountain bike again in no time! Pick up NBA 2K21 and what do you know? He’s not just playing basketball again, he’s a top scorer in the NBA! That’ll surely make for some great conversation at the dinner table, … Read More
Sony ending production of most PS4’s in Japan and Microsoft based the Xbox on PS2?
Hi everyone, thanks for dropping by to catch up on some of the latest news in the world of gaming. In light of everything that has been going on in the United States, I’m a few days late on my regular report and I apologize for that, but we’re not here to discuss that. We’re here to discuss video games! So, Nintendo is expected to outsell the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S in 2021, according to several industry analysts. It won’t just outsell the latest generation of consoles, but it is expected to be the top console all year. Word is, there will be a new “pro” version of the Nintendo Switch and if that is the case, it would only help bolster Nintendo’s sales even further. Let’s be honest here, none of these companies are hurting for money right now and it’s nice to see someone else outselling the PS console at the moment because it will only pressure companies to up the ante and compete for top spot! There is no doubt that Nintendo has created a great little console and in some ways it is in a market of its own, but with the pandemic world wide, Sony and Microsoft alike are having trouble producing enough consoles to meet the demand. 2021 is surely going to be an interesting year for consoles and games. Speaking of producing consoles, Sony has announced the company will stop production of all PS4 models in Japan, except for one slim model. The PS4 has been outselling the PS5 in Japan and some of the reasoning sighted is the issue with low production, so cutting back on the PS4 should increase the number of PS5’s available, right? Of course, there seems to be a decline for Playstation products in Japan, so that could also play a part. If analysts’ predictions are correct, there will be enough consoles for everyone that really wants one by April, so if you have been waiting, it shouldn’t be too much longer. In other console tidbits, here are a bit of some interesting facts about what was going on pre-original Xbox development. Before Microsoft came up with the Xbox console, they shopped around for a few companies that had already been in the industry. MS looked into purchasing companies like Electronic Arts, but EA kindly declined as they the company wasn’t up for sale, even more interesting, Microsoft went onto to ask Nintendo if they would consider being bought out. Ahh, to be a fly on that wall, huh? As it turns out, the execs at Nintendo busted out in laughter and seemingly laughed throughout the meeting. The idea really makes you wonder what things would be like if that transaction actually happened. I think if either Microsoft or Sony did manage to buy Nintendo, that would forever end the console wars and would ultimately create the most powerful game company in history and likely the future. The possibilities for Mario and … Read More
Gamer Resolutions for 2021
Welcome to another PS Weekly article! We’re skipping the news updates and preparing for the New Year! I think it’s safe to say most of us are glad to see 2020 pass onto 2021. It has been a trying year and while things won’t likely get much at the start of 2021, we can certainly try to make sure the New Year kicks off in the best possible way, right? To help bring in the New year, here are some Gamer Resolutions I am going to “try” and commit to and maybe you too? We as gamers are pretty lucky. We have a hobby that seems to be virtually pandemic proof. It has caused some delays and definitely created problems in regard to ordering next gen consoles, but these issues aside, we are armed to teeth with a massive library of games at our fingertips. Which brings us to our first subject: the gaming backlog. I don’t know about you, but I have an enormous backlog of uncompleted games that I really need to get to. I don’t even care if I don’t through all of them, as much as I have a handful of ones that I really want to complete, but I often find myself distracted with a new game that I decide to play instead. Because I seem to have a little extra free time at home these days, I’m going to try and set aside a couple of hours a week to catch up on some of my older titles. While it isn’t a life changing resolution, it seems simple enough to commit to. How’s your backlog looking? Another resolution I have is to keep trying to be a better person when it comes to online gaming. Not a better gamer mind you, a better person. I need to work on not feeding the trolls and spreading positivity where I can online, instead of allowing myself to stoop down to a troll’s level from time to time. I take no real pleasure in shutting a troll down by using my wits. I need to work on ignoring them rather than battle them. While it seems funny in the moment, the reality is, I’m not helping anyone if I’m just putting them down to shut them down. It’s something for me to think about. What about you? Speaking of positivity and resolutions, another item on my list is to commit to live streaming several days a week and bringing a fun, safe and positive atmosphere to those that wish to watch and join me. My goal will be to deliver a new game every month to stream and have discussions about the game currently played, other games to be played and give players a chance to see these titles being streamed if they’re on the fence about buying one. We can look forward to that in the beginning of 2021! Try new games! I think when it comes to video games, everybody … Read More
PS Weekly’s Holiday Special!!
The holidays are upon us once again and I’d like to start off by saying that I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful time! This year is a lot different for many people around the globe. I think we’re all happy to move onto the New year, but until then, let’s all put our troubles aside and try to enjoy the rest of our time in any way we can. Not everyone can find the silver lining in these troubling times, but for those that cannot find some joy right now, I hope it finds you soon! With Christmas about to drop, I can only imagine how many people out there (mainly kids, but ya know, gamers alike) must be hoping there is a PS5 wrapped up under the tree. The troubles with purchasing the new console this year have been like no other. With the shortage of supply, market analysts expect to see the demand met in April of 2021, but in the meantime, many will go without. Now, without further ado, I bring you a little holiday parody to try and share a little laughter with everyone that has or wants a PS5 for Christmas this year. I know the frustration is real with this subject, but I hope this helps the mood a little bit. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Party On, Be safe and be you! As always, I will see you online! ‘Twas a Gamer before Christmas – An Ode to ordering the PS5 online in 2020 By Travis Wall Twas a Gamer before Christmas, quarantined in the house. I lay quietly with my laptop, just clicking the mouse… The PS5 in my cart, what is the cost, I don’t care! As I click on the checkout, I hope it’s still there. The PS5 was still there as I jumped out of bed While visions of gaming danced in my head. My family in disbelief, as I began to clap My brain unsettled, what is this crap? I couldn’t checkout as my keys made a clatter! My family rushed over and asked what’s the matter? I opened a new window as quick as a flash Just take money, I’ll even pay cash! The PS5 is still available and in my cart it goes But now it’s saying error, this online ordering really blows. When, what to my hopeless eyes should appear? I’m at checkout again, with another error I fear. So I put in my payment info, with one last click I knew in a moment, I had to be quick! More rapid than Eminem, the curse words they came And I hollered and shouted bad words and nasty names! Not Amazon! Not Target! Not GameStop or Best Buy! Not on Walmart or NewEgg! Could I get one, and here’s why! The websites keep crashing! We can’t drive to the mall! To hell with it! To hell with it! To hell … Read More
Black Ops: Cold War – The Harsh Review
Well, here are. After a month of the initial release, I can confidently share my thoughts on Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. I wanted to wait long enough for a couple of meaningful patches to update that game and see if the improvements would give it a better review or if the patches would give anything meaningful at all. The verdict? They kind of don’t. I try to keep in mind that this title was originally being made by the developers over at Sledgehammer and that Treyarch was called in to take over 2020’s release one year before the game dropped. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if this game is made up of coding from one studio and mixed from another or if this game was built from the ground up in 12 months. All I know is, something is off about this game. I’m pretty good when I play Black Ops: Cold War. I don’t fare so well when I am obviously playing against a couple of cheaters on the enemy team, but even then, I manage to find ways to shut down the handful of jerks I come across that are using rapid fire mods, wall hacks and aimbots. Cheaters aside, I’m definitely above average with my strategies and gun gameplay. I can’t say I don’t like the game because I do. I like alright, but it is as they say, a step back. Treyarch is known for the more arcade playstyle in their games. You don’t expect too much realism with the fast pace movements, and that’s some of the charm Treyarch offers with their games. Unfortunately, the way the game looks and the long list bugs that dropped upon release and not to mention the large number of map exploits, it is clear that this game wasn’t ready and you know what? I don’t blame Treyarch. I blame Activision. Instead of taking a loss for the year and maybe even using Warzone as a backup for revenue, Activision forced this game out the door and put immense pressure on Developers involved with the game. If this was a launch PS4 title, it would seem to fit right in, but it’s a launch next gen title that was rushed out the door and took away any magic we fans might have seen with the first CoD title on a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. The campaign is ok. The story was kind of dull, but it had it’s fun moments. I completed the story on the default difficulty mode in about 4-5 hours. It felt like I was playing through a bad 80’s action movie. I know that sounds like an insult, but a bad 80’s movie is kind of a compliment since so many of us think fondly on crappy over the top films that have bad writing and even worse dialogue. I guess it’s charming in its own right. I don’t play CoD games for their … Read More
PS5 Online orders are live at Best Buy!
Welcome back to another issue of PS Weekly! To kick this off, Best Buy is currently stocking online supplies for the PS5, right now! The website has been struggling with crashes since the item went live three hours ago, but the stores haven’t actually sold out yet. It looks like many people have given up on trying, but with some patience and determination, you still score one online. I have a friend that just finished his online purchase after nearly 4 hours of trying. I have two other friends that currently have the ps5’s in their carts at the time of this writing (!:00 pm est) and they are dealing with the whole error at checkout, but they will hopefully be able to finalize the purchase. Good luck if you are trying to grab one. Speaking of PS5 orders, it looks as though eBay has already reached over 33,000 PS5’s sold by scalpers during the month of just November! That being said, these consoles are being sold at different price ranges, but according to Michael Driscoll (a Data Engineer, mind you) the math tallies up and over 19 million dollars in profit between them. That’s profit, it isn’t including the initial price of buying the PS5 before selling it. What a world we live in. Furthermore, those sales were recorded in the US, who knows how many have actually been scalped across the globe? Hopefully this will be under control sooner than later and people that want one won’t have to be hassled anymore. In Game news, Cyberpunk 2077 is taking some critical heat right now. As you have likely heard, the game released last week on PC and console, followed by the truth. Before the game was released, CD Projekt Red didn’t let anyone see how the game was running on last gen consoles. We saw it run on PS5 and PC, but it was simply noted that the game ran surprisingly well on last gen. While I believe the game seems to run worse on the original PS4 and Xbox One consoles, the game is plagued with bugs, crashes and poor graphics on last gen. While the game doesn’t have an actual PS5 version, the power the PS5 has is actually giving you what the PS4 experience should have been like. CD Projekt Red has issued an apology and is offering refunds for the game, although Sony has been reportedly denying those refunds, but that is likely because of players going hitting a high number of hours played and Sony tried to keep that limited to 2 hours of play if its a digital copy. We will see how all of this plays out overtime, but things are definitely going to be shaken up sooner than later. And to finish things up, the game awards happened a few days ago and to no one’s surprise, The Last Of Us Part II won game of the year. Some feel it is undeserving to give the award … Read More
Immortals Fenyx Rising Review – PS5
Immortals Fenyx Rising is one of those games that come along once every blue moon. A game that just doesn’t have any real flaws to complain about. At least in regard to the PS5 version. I think it’s unfortunate that Fenyx Rising released when it did and Ubisoft didn’t put a lot into the advertising. Sure, we knew it was there, but it’s ultimately the timing that is wrong with this game. While it did release a week ago, it inevitably has to compete with all the hit titles that dropped in November and taking on Cyberpunk 2077, is enough to squander sales. That being said, let’s move onto what the majority is missing out on. Immortals Fenyx Rising is an open work RPG that looks cartoony in essence. I personally don’t opt for games that have this look, but this game has taught me that I cannot use that as a reason to pass on a game anymore. Fenyx Rising might not have the “real life” look I would normally want in a game, but everything about this game had me hooked from beginning to end. Taking elements from games such as The legend of Zelda and Monster Hunter world to name a couple, gives this game a great environment with simple gameplay mechanics that get slightly more complicated over time, but the transition comes easily. Immortals Fenyx Rising has a great story that is told in a way that keeps things interesting. You can stay focused on the main quest, but there is so much to do and see, it’s easy to get distracted and complete a bunch of side quests along the way. The story is initially told by Greek god Prometheus. He tells his brother Zeus, the story of Fenyx. As the story evolves plenty of conversation breaks out between the gods as they watch you play from above. I found the story to be fun, well told and it had a great ending!! I mean, endings can be difficult and sometimes they’re just ok, but this game has a great ending. I loved it and it came as a surprise to me because I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy that much. You really can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Graphically, this game is just fine. There is nothing I can really complain about. The style of art chosen to create the world and characters fits well with the story and how it is told. This is a game that you can take seriously and have a lot of fun at the same time. In the end, the cartoonish style gives the game some of the charm I enjoyed so much and I don’t think having it appear to be more live action, would make it any better. The audio is good in this game for sure. Music that plays through is often fitting for the scene. Playing through a Greek open world filled mythological creatures and puzzles, I often felt treated to my very … Read More
PS5 – The UK Heist
Welcome back to another drop from PS Weekly! You know, with how difficult it has been for many people to purchase a PS5, you hear a lot about scalpers. These folks are relentless when it comes to making an extra buck, but there are some people out in the UK that are willing to take steps that go far beyond using bots online. There are apparently gangs in the UK that are more than willing to risk their lives to steal a PS5 right off a delivery truck, while driving at high rates of speed. A tactic referred to as “the rollover,” is where vehicles approach a delivery truck and box it in while forcing it to maintain speeds of around 50 mph. While boxed in, they use rope to secure themselves to the truck and cut the truck’s latches off and open the doors. Once inside, they start tossing the goods out of the truck and to the other vehicles that box the truck in. The gangs target all kinds of valuables and the ever elusive PS5 has managed to make their list. Speculation for industry employees believes that there are insiders feeding these gangs information to let them know when there is a large number of valuable goods in one specific truck. Anything from jewelry to the PS5 console, these gangs are clearly not to be trifled. Imagine you’re waiting for a PS5 to be delivered and you find it isn’t coming because a gang went all fast n furious on the delivery truck? Crazy! So many PS5’s have been stolen in the UK, that companies are giving customers that had their PS5’s stolen before they received them, priority to purchase before others as they restock. I know they expect the shortage to come to an end sometime this coming Spring, but we’re a few more months pure crapiness for those that really want a PS5 and have to keep dealing with scalpers, gangs and liars. Speaking of the UK, the PS5 was the UK’s largest console launch of all time. It isn’t a real surprise here, but it is certainly notable. In Europe as a whole, the PS4 sold 706, 948 consoles in week one, but the PS5 sold around 723,341 consoles in week one. PS5 has dominated the Xbox Series X and S since launch in the UK and the rest of Europe and will likely own this console generation just like the PS4 owned its respective generation in regard to sales and popularity. The Xbox Series X is a cool console, so don’t think I’m not knocking it. I’m just pointing a few things out is all. In straight up gaming news, highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 is set to release on December 10th, for real this time. Unfortunately, the PS5 upgrade won’t be happening on release, so you’ll have to play the PS4 version, but it will be PS4 Pro enhanced and have a little extra boost from the PS5 … Read More