So, Maneater released last month and while I had full intentions of bringing you my thoughts on the game closer to its initial release date, I felt compelled to hold off so I could really “dive in” the game. I regret that decision now because there was really no need to try and discover everything I could. In Maneater, you play the role of a shark. If you’re more into fishing than being fished yourself, you might not enjoy the shark justice this game provides, but that aside, there is a little more to the game, but playing as a killer shark that’s taking revenge out on human society (think JAWS the movie) pretty much sums up the bulk of the game. It is a RPG title and rightfully so. As you stalk the water throughout the game, you level up as you grow into an adult shark. You unlock upgrades as you play. Things early on such as a sonar to detect all the life in the surrounding area and electric bites that stun and deal a little extra damage take the shark to a level that only a video game could deliver. If sharks did evolve in real life that way our protagonist does in game, we’d all be screwed and likely wouldn’t survive a trip on the water Luckily, we dodged that evolution bullet! Upgrading along the way is pretty simple. You have a slew of missions and side missions to complete. One minute you could be hunting a killer alligator at large or you’re in need of killing 10 humans in the swimming hole. There are plenty of things for you to do while you explore an open world of water and yes, a little bit of land. Some missions might be a little challenging depending on your level, but for the most part, it’s all pretty easy. Even as you hunt people and they send their own hunters out to catch and kill you, it’s a little too easy. Even what you could consider boss fights, don’t really offer much challenge. The simplicity is fine and all and at the end of the day, this game shouldn’t be taken too seriously. You’re certainly not going to find much challenge, but one you will find is repetition. Most games are repetitious to some degree, but I’m no kidding when I say that after 30 minutes of gameplay, you’re not going to see much more in regards to something new. On the one hand, you’re playing as a shark, what can you expect? On the other, you’re a friggin shark video game, I mean they could have offered endless possibilities, but they watered it down a little. Pun kind of intended. So, to chalk it all up, the game is a lot of fun, but for me anyway, it’s only fun in small doses. I enjoyed chomping on a few people that were swimming and enjoying the sun in their flamingo floats. There … Read More
Are robots part of the future for gaming?
I have been gaming for many years and I’ve seen a lot of changes along the way. Watching the video game industry practically grow along with me, I feel like I have a certain appreciation for it all. Going from Atari 2600 to a Playstation 4 over the course of 30 to 40 some odd years, It’s crazy to look back and think about it all. Great improvements aside, we have seen a mass of failures along the way. We’ve been duped with some really crappy gimmicks over time that are nearly unforgivable. Let us not forget Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. back when commercials reigned supreme if you didn’t have an active video games magazine subscription to help get the actual details. All in all, it was not a good product and virtual reality would continue to be just another pipe dream. Until recent years that is. Wireless controllers were trash products for years. The signals were easily broken when a ceiling fan was turned on, let alone other appliances running in the home at the time. We had a slew of products thrown at us every year and they all sounded great, but technology wasn’t where it needed to be. But without those failures, we wouldn’t have what we have now and it’s only getting better. All that being said, it brings us to our subject of the day… Robots! Yes, robots just might become the next major gaming gimmick. I use the term “gimmick” loosely because it could go either way. Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I chose to discuss robots as part of the gaming industries future. Well, Sony has recently filed a patent for a robot companion. Yes, a robot companion… This is just a patent and doesn’t mean anything will come out of it, but this also gives us an idea of what is being worked on behind closed doors. Take it with a grain of salt if you will, but it’s still an interesting and dare I say “fun” topic to discuss? The gist of the Sony’s robot companion patent is that the robot will sit next to the player and observe them playing video games. While the companion bot watches you play, it will also take note of your reactions/emotions and share your feelings. If you get upset over a game, the robot will be upset with you. If you’re happy and excited over an accomplishment, so will your companion. Even more so, the companion bot isn’t limited to just watching you play video games. It can watch movies with you, tv, formats of the like and it can even be your player 2 for games featuring couch co-op. The idea is that it is better to have a companion than to be alone, even if it’s artificial intelligence. Que sci-fi movie flashbacks now… The idea of such tech is fascinating and a little creepy at the same time. On one hand, this seems like fairly simple technology … Read More
Warzone – Tips for a BR win
So, Warzone has been out for a month today and it should come as no surprise that the free to play title has reached over 50 million unique players thus far. With more Gamers downloading the game everyday, not everyone is prepared for the Warzone. I have put together some of my best tips to try and help out new and not so new players to help give you a little extra edge. Where to drop… This is an interesting topic as some players just want to drop into chaos and start a gun fight as quickly as possible and others like to drop somewhere unpopulated, so they can start looting and try to get a headstart for better weapons and equipment. Idf you’re new to the game, I would suggest taking a look at the map to see where the circle is located. Try dropping just outside of the circle and watch for enemy players to see where they go. This gives you a moment to breathe and pick up items as you decide on your game plan. Once you land… You’ve made it to the ground and it’s time to prepare for battle. Even if you didn’t see enemies dropping into the same site, stay vigilant. You never know when a squad or a solo commando will try and take you out quickly. You’ll want to ransack houses, buildings, whatever you see. As soon as you get your first armor plate, put it on for maximum health. Pick up whatever weapons you think you’ll do best with, but I highly recommend grabbing silenced weapons when possible. This will keep you off the radar and give a good opportunity for a surprise attack. https://youtu.be/39HPo4-MtfU Loudout Drops… perhaps one of the most important tips I can offer in Warzones Battle Royale mode, is grabbing a loadout drop. Loadout drops do come into the game on their own, but I like to buy one in the beginning of the match. A team that works together can easily pool the money together to buy a loadout drop early on. While I personally think loadout drops shouldn’t be a part of the game, they are and if you don’t utilize them, you are at a disadvantage. What should be in your loadout? Well, this is definitely up for debate, but I have a few suggestions that I think work well in the field. As far as weapons go, you should really go with what you are most accurate with. I use the M13 in both BR and Plunder for its incredibly low recoil. Using the perks Cold-Blooded, Ghost and Tracker are a great combo to stay off the radar and move comfortably through the map. Using Tracker can help a lot when trying to pinpoint a diligent enemy, but I also like to switch that out with Tune Up to reduce the revive time by 25%. It really depends on the players I’m partied up with. Slap a Heartbeat Sensor on … Read More
DOOM Eternal Review
DOOM Eternal (and DOOM 64) has been out for a few days and I have to say, what a crazy few days it’s been. Crazy as in, the game is crazy fun. I take a lot of games fairly seriously, but with DOOM Eternal, it’s just serious fun and that’s all anyone really wants from a video game at the end of the day. So, before we get into it, it is important to know that this is a direct sequel to DOOM 2016. If you’re interested in learning about what brought events to unfold, you will want to venture back to DOOM (2016) and play through it. Other than that, let’s get into the nitty gritty of things. DOOM Eternal takes place 2 years after DOOM (2016) and things have gotten a little grim. 60% of the earth’s population has been wiped out and the planet is overrun with demons and the like. The only hope is you, The DOOM Slayer! Back with a slew of new weapons, it’s time to fight for the Earth’s salvation and send these demons back to hell! Graphically, DOOM Eternal delivers the goods. There is a lot of detail in the environment, but even more so in the characters you come across. Fighting off hordes of demons is rewarding in many ways, but taking a moment to actually look at the fine art of these grotesque creatures is pretty amazing. As I played through, I just couldn’t help but look in awe at what I was about to cut in half with a chainsaw. Definitely one of those “take the time to smell the roses” scenarios, but don’t gock for too long. They do want you dead after all. The gameplay is smooth and the controls setup well. It is easy to navigate through your arsenal of weapons and move your Slayer around the map. Add some maze like puzzles to the mix and a badass storyline and you have DOOM Eternal. Your weapons available are much more than meets the eye here. You can add two modifications to each gun you carry and have one active. If you don’t care much for the active mod you have on, you can switch it to the other (so long as you have unlocked both mods) and see what works best for you. While you can always run out of ammo, you have a trusty chainsaw at your side. Just slice one of those demons in half and they’ll drop ammo for you. The same goes for health and armor. You can perform a glory kill to gain extra health drops and use flame belch to gain extra armor. Along the way, you will be able to upgrade more than just weapons. You will be able to upgrade your Slayer’s suit and other abilities such as your dash recharge rate.But there is actually a little more this title has to offer you. Grab a copy of DOOM Eternal and you’ll receive … Read More
Warzone review part 2 – Plunder
Welcome to part 2 of the Warzone overview and review. If you missed the first which covers the Battle Royale basics of Warzone, you can read that here. https://thomasm64.sg-host.com/warzone-part-one/ Moving forward in part 2, we’re taking a look at the Plunder game mode and dropping a full review score. Let’s dig in! Plunder is definitely not a Battle Royale mode, but it is large scale multiplayer fun. Rather than a last man/team standing, the first team of three to collect 1 million dollars, will reign as the winner of a match. As simple as that sounds, there is a lot more than meets the eye here. For starters, at the beginning of a match you get to spawn with your own custom class load out. Those of us that have been playing multiplayer all along with the full game, will have some serious advantage over new players sharing a lobby. Not only are we experienced with our weapons of choice, but most have leveled up all of the weapons available. Luckily for new players, Plunder is littered with weapons and crates, just like the Battle Royale mode. That really gives them a sporting chance until they manage to level themselves up. So, loadouts aside, let’s discuss the main objective and how to get that win for you and the squad. The objective as I said before, is to be the first team to collect 1 million dollars in cash. You will find lots of loot laying around the map, so it’s important to pick up extra bucks you can find, but be vigilant. There will be enemy teams hunting down other players in order to kill them and take their cash. Not to fret, there are ways to secure that hard earned money you’ve got the duffel bag. As with the Battle Royale mode, you can also complete contracts for extra money and lootable items. There is no closing gas circle in Plunder, so you’re free to explore the map wherever or whenever you’d like. When you manage to score a large amount of cash, it might be wise to try and secure it. This way, if an enemy manages to kill you, you will leave very little behind. Whatever you manage to deposit, will be safe for the rest of the match. You don’t have to deposit the money. If you’re up for the challenge, you could always try and run the entire match without a deposit, but that is quite a challenge to win as the top three teams with the most cash will be highlighted on the map for all to see and hunt down. There are two ways to secure the cash. There are large helicopter pads around the map. Once a player calls in a chopper, everyone in the match is alerted. It becomes a dangerous game as some teams might be staking out around a deposit spot to ambush players and then steal and deposit the cash for themselves. You can … Read More
Call of Duty: Warzone has finally been revealed and released to the public. This is a major change in the way publisher Activision does things. Releasing a Battle Royale game isn’t a big deal, but releasing a Call of Duty BR game for free, that’s a pretty big deal in itself. You don’t PS Plus to play it online either. Warzone is a separate game from Modern Warfare, so you don’t need to pay to play it. It does correlate with the full MW title such as unlocks and xp. If you have the full game, you’ll level up extremely fast depending on what you do and how well you play. So, Warzone consists of two game modes. Battle Royale and Plunder. We will start with Battle Royale in this two part basics review. I’ll drop info on plunder in part 2. BR holds up to 150 players with squads of 3. The last squad standing is the winner of the match and it is considered quite a feat. However, there is a lot more than meets the eye in this BR mode. Lets dig in. When you first drop into the match, you start off with 2 pieces of armor and can wear up to 3, while holding 5 spares to repair damaged armor plates. Everyone has the same advantage with equal armor. Find plates around the map and don’t forget to repair them as needed. You can also collect cash and buy a 5 plate bundle at stores around the map as well. Armor aside, you also start off with a pistol to protect yourself, but the world is packed with plenty of other weapons to pick up and you’re definitely going to want to do that. You will see common weapons with no attachments laying around just about everywhere you go. If that’s what you see, grab it. There are much better weapons on the field, so be sure to keep your eye out for them when scavenging buildings and crates. On top of looting weapons, you get a personal loadout that you created before the match. These personal loadouts can be a major game changer if you pick one up. Your perks from your class become activated and you’ll gain an advantage overall. For instance, I don’t use High Alert in multiplayer, but I use it in BR, because if someone sees and they’re out of my view, the screen flashes yellow to let me know I’m in someone’s sights. It has saved me from several deaths and I highly recommend trying that perk. Collecting cash is more important than you might think. There are a lot of vendors (stores) to purchase extra items from. You can grab a scorestreak, a self revive kit, a decent amount of things, but there is also one particular item that is incredibly useful… If a teammate has died, you can buy them back into the match. That can be pretty useful, but hopefully, you won’t … Read More
Games to play solo on Valentines Day for the Single Player
Valentine’s Day is upon us and it is celebrated by couples all around the world. Gamer couples alike also celebrate this fun holiday in whatever gaming fashion they may choose, but what about single players? Not everyone has a player 2 to celebrate with for whatever reason, but why should they not indulge in a little bit of single player enjoyment? For our friends that will be playing Valentines Day solo this year, I thought I would drop some noteworthy games to play alone on Valentines Day! In no particular order, here are my top 7 recommended games for you to play on your PS4. 1 Spider-Man Insomniac games rally went above and beyond with Spider-Man. In my mind, this is easily the best Spider-Man game to date. That could be thanks to the advanced technology developers work with these days, but the story is great and the web-slinging is superb. Even if you have already played through it, Spider-Man is an awesome game to revisit. 2 Horizon: Zero Dawn Horizon: Zero Dawn was a massive hit on PS4 back in 2017. With an excellent storyline to follow, beautiful graphics that offer a superb landscape, good gameplay mechanics and some rpg elements, the devs over at Gorilla Games really brought forth an instant classic for the Action – Adventure genre. It’s only a matter of time before we start hearing about the sequel, but for now, the original will do just fine. 3 God of War I mean, how could this not make the list? Bringing us back to 2018, it should be no surprise that God of War was a huge hit for Santa Monica Studios. Not everyone liked that Kratos was bringing his young son with him on his next playable journey, but I rather enjoyed fatherhood through the eyes of Kratos. Not to mention the story would have been totally different without the boy, and it was a good storyline. Kratos is a fan favorite character for many PS4 owners and the solo campaign that God of War offers is one well worth playing. 4 RAGE 2 I mean, not everyone that is player one on Valentine’s Day is happy about it so, maybe a little RAGE is in order? This First Person Shooter delivers a post apocalyptic open world that reminds many of the Mad Max movie franchise. Cruise around in destructive vehicles and hop on out to eliminate enemies on foot weapons of mass destruction and in some cases, weapons of mass hilarity. Release some of your single player rage with RAGE 2 this Valentines day. 5 Red Dead Redemption 2 Feeling like a Desperado? Roam the Wild West on horseback and complete enough missions to keep busy for the rest of the month. Rockstar Games is considered the golden standard when it comes to telling stories and open world games in the industry. The developers spend years creating and updating their games and Red Dead Redemption 2 is no different. With a … Read More
10 of the most anticipated games in 2020
2020 is almost 1 full month in! With that said, it is going to be an amazing year for gamers all around the world. With the upcoming release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, that alone makes it a great year, but there is also a stack of some highly anticipated games to drop as well. Sadly, some of our most anticipated games have indeed been delayed to later part of the year, but still planned to release this year. Without further ado, here are 10 of my most anticipated games for 2020! In no particular order, let’s check em out. 1 – The Last of Us Part 2 Easily one of the most anticipated games by many gamers around the world, The Last of Us Part 2 will most likely be a masterpiece. The developers over at Naughty Dog really put in the work when it comes to video games and if TLOU Part 2 is anything like the first one (which it will be and then some), we are in for a treat that we will talk about for years to come. The Last Of Us part 2 will be dropping on May 29, 2020. 2 – Cyberpunk 2077 From the development studio that brought us The Witcher video game series (The Witcher 3 being the one that made it to consoles), comes what is surely going to be another smash hit. Cyberpunk 2077 will be an open world RPG game where we assume the role of a mercenary featuring incredible hacking skills, a large weapons cabinet much more. Look forward to playing Cyberpunk 2077, this coming September 17th, 2020. 3 – Final fantasy VII Remake Remember when the FFVII Remake was announced about 5 years ago? Was it longer than that? Anyway, after years of waiting, we will finally be treated to a remake that many of us wanted. I played FFVII on the original PlayStation console for years. It has always been one of my favorite games and probably my favorite in the overall series. If you have never played, you are in for a treat. If you have played, you’re in for an even bigger treat. We can look forward to getting out hands on the FFVII remake this April 10, 2020! 4 – DOOM Eternal Doom is a long running franchise that just doesn’t want to quit and to be honest, I’m grateful for that. DOOM Eternal is a sequel that picks up right after DOOM 2016. This intense First Person Shooter will be chocked full of demon hordes and it will be a massacre. Expect a fast paced and chaotic battle between you (The DOOM Slayer) and an entire planet of badass demons on March 20, 2020! 5 – Dying Light 2 When Techland developed Dying Light, it was a successful hit and garnered a huge cult following. A zombie parkour game that really plays well, looks great that hosted a really good storyline, I as … Read More
What if Nintendo and Sony went through with their partnership?
It’s a question that I have thought about many times over. It isn’t a heavily discussed topic, but it is certainly an intriguing one. What if Nintendo and Sony managed to partner up back in the 90’s and actually moved forward in the gaming industry together? Just for the sake of “in case you didn’t know,” back in the early 1990’s, Nintendo had tapped Sony to build a CD-Rom variant for the Super Nintendo console. Nintendo then backed out of the deal and went with the company Philips, to develop for them instead. From there, Sony further developed their CD-Rom and the PlayStation was born. Sony has always been a very different company than Nintendo. From the moment the first PlayStation console dropped, Sony was offering content that was more mature for gamers. Nintendo was and still is considered the more family friendly console. Sony carved a space for the PlayStation brand in the gaming industry and changed everything. Sega was seemingly pushed out of the console making space and became a third party developer after the Sega Dreamcast failed to make sales needed to keep the company a float. We watched as Nintendo began to struggle and Microsoft entered the gaming space with the highly successful Xbox, thanks to the release of the PlayStation 2, which still holds the record for most units sold as a single console. The PS3 had a staggering start when it released one year after the Xbox 360 and came with an extremely high price tag. What may have very well ended another company, Sony came back with additional models of the PS3, lowered the unit price and did manage to outsell the Xbox 360 in lifetime sales. While Sony and Microsoft battled it out for the market, Nintendo did manage to comeback with the Wii console and of course, dominated sales in regard to handheld devices. Since then, Sony has dominated the market with the PS4 and both Nintendo and Microsoft have managed to stay in the game… No pun intended, but it is fitting. Now in present day, we prepare to see the Playstation 5 revealed and by holiday this year, the ongoing battle for top console sales will start over once again. With that, I circle back to PlayStation’s beginning. What if Nintendo didn’t back out of the deal it had been working on with Sony? Let’s speculate, shall we? There are many possibilities to what could have happened. In all actuality, we will never know, but here is how I imagine things could have gone down. After Sony had gone ahead and announced a partnership with Nintendo, the big N, graciously confirms said partnership. With excitement in the air, Nintendo and Sony make waves in the gaming industry. The tides are turning and not only does this partnership excite gamers around the world, but SEGA is getting excited too!. SEGA was far ahead of the curve when it came to video game tech. Maybe … Read More
2020 Gamer Resolutions
Here we are again. It’s the last day of the year and what a year 2019 has been. For us Gamers, we have a lot to look forward to. But before we begin looking forward to 2020, some of us need to get our New Year resolutions in order. To help, I have compiled 10 New Year Resolutions for Gamers! 1 Enjoy what you’re playing… This is at the top for good reason. I talk with different Gamers daily. All too often, I find that many of them aren’t enjoying video games the way they should be. The anger that seems to consume many, is a real problem and I’m not saying to just let things go, but maybe try and redirect how you think about it. Instead of saying you hate the game you’re playing, say something like “I hope this gets fixed.” Or maybe try switching to another game that you know you will enjoy. 2 Handle the toxicity or don’t deal with it at all… This goes in hand with number 1, but I decided to recognize it as a separate category. The one thing that seems to be inevitable on the web these days, is toxic people. It’s as if insulting, trolling and simply treating others like crap, is somehow okay. It’s not, but it is everywhere. Try not to let these things get in the way of having a good time. Most of the people we come across on the web, we will never meet and their salty attitudes belong them. You have to either just laugh it off and maybe feel bad for these miserable people or mute everyone that is bothering you. Maybe find some friends to party up with to replace the noise. 3 Make some new friends… It’s a crazy new concept that a lot of people need to try. Making new friends makes the world go round and the same goes for the gaming community. It may seem like a difficult task when trying to find new Gamers to play with when you’re playing with randoms in lobbies and so many people seem to want to start arguments out the gate, but all is not a loss. There are tons of social media groups and pages for Gamers meet like minded people to play with. You will of course run into trolls here and there, but you’ll also get the chance to meet lots of cool peeps to game with. 4 Try something new… I am sure you can imagine, I love video games. If you’re reading this list, you probably love video games too. With such a large scope of choice, it’s easy to overlook games we might really enjoy playing. I know money is no object and not everyone can just buy a new game when they want, but if given the chance, maybe try getting a game that wasn’t on the hype radar? I know there is risk in getting something you might end … Read More