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
Happy 4th of July! Here’s a guide to help you find some game to play this weekend!
Independence Day is once again upon us in the USA. With everything happening across the US and not to mention the world, things might be celebrated a little differently. It all depends on where you are and what you’re willing to do at this point. Whether you plan to go out and party or stay home and be socially distant, there’s bound to be games to play. While I’ve created a list of recommendations, they don’t necessarily represent the 4th of July, I thought it might be fun to list some games I would recommend playing this weekend. Ready? Here we go! 1 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare This tops the list because of the military style shooter that it is, but this isn’t actually compiled to be what’s a choice. This was just the first game that popped in my head. While loved worldwide, it surely feels as American as any game franchise I can think of. Whether you’re playing the campaign, multiplayer, spec ops or the free to play Warzone, you’re sure to find some enjoyment playing this if you’re a fan of CoD. It’s also a triple 2xp weekend, so you can level up quickly. 2 – The Last Of US Part 2 While no game is ever everyone’s cup of tea, The Last Of Part 2 does appeal to many. Be it a trophy hunter or casual player, this game is in a way, a must play in order for you to decide whether or not it was worth your time. Some people loved it and some hated it. Me, I liked it, but didn’t love it. It was still well worth my time and with a long holiday weekend at hand, this could be a great choice for anyone curious about the game or even to go back and play through one more time for the heck of it. 3 – Grand Theft Auto V Playing GTAV is a great american pastime for sure. I mean, the real world has rules and GTAV has rules, but in GTAV, you can break all the rules and the consequences won’t harm you in real life. Honestly, I’ve stolen a few cars in my day when I was a misguided young man and stealing a car in GTA was a lot more fun. Take that how you will, but I highly recommend breaking video games rules/laws over attempting real life heists and crimes. 4 – Resident Evil 3 remake If you have never had the experience of playing Resident Evil 3, there is really no better time to jump into it. After a successful release of the RE2 remake (remaster?), it was no sunrise that part 3 would make its way to the shelves. Nothing says America like trying to stop a zombie apocalypse or at least trying to escape from one. Not because the USA is full of zombies (or is it?), but because the US is obviously obsessed with them. Let’s … 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
Video Games aren’t the problem
Let me start by saying this is not a simple subject to cover. I don’t want to overshadow the victims of recent or past mass shootings. I am appalled, like many others, but as mass shootings have clearly become a problem in the United States, political leaders including the President of The United States, have begun to place a big part of the blame on video games. This is wrong and needs to be addressed, again… Simply put, numerous studies have shown that video games are not causing people to become violent. I am not remotely convinced that a person that plays a violent based video game, is somehow mentally effected and will go out on a real life mass murder spree. With 100’s of millions of gamers in the world, we would see a much larger number of these violent acts against humanity. I’m not really sure why political leaders of the U.S, don’t hear about or read up on studies that directly dictate their personal opinions, but that in itself is a travesty. When people are already upset, blaming video games is a dangerous response. I’m sorry to say this, but there are a lot of people out there that take the opinion of their leaders as fact. This could create serious repercussions for all parties around. What happens when parents start taking away all of their children’s video games? A sudden mass amount of consumers stop making purchases to boycott the gaming industry and cause a major crash that potentially hits all economies. That might sound exaggerated, but it could happen. But wait! There’s more. As crazy as this sounds to some, there are people out there that try to fight violence with violence… In my mind, that strategy doesn’t make much sense, but in another’s mind, it’s what has to be done. Imagine a person holding a sign that says “Video Games aren’t the problem!” Then someone walking by sees the sign and decides they don’t like it. Video games are the problem and they brainwash people into hurting others. So, what does he do? He confronts the sign holder and proceeds to physically harm them. Punches, kicks, a knife or gun could be drawn. All this in the name of denouncing violence? Granted, these are just hypothetical situations, but they are based on situations that have actually taken place the same way. There could be a long list of terrible things that could happen if these leaders don’t educate themselves and continue to place blame where it doesn’t belong. Now, I don’t personally think parents should allow their kids to play games that are meant for a more mature audience and I don’t think they should be on screens 24/7. I am a parent myself and I can say that it isn’t easy raising my children in a world where technology is so easily accessible. I’m not trying to knock other parents either. I just want to clear that up, … Read More