So because I’ve been playing Dragon Age steady for a few days and not switching between games, I haven’t technically “quit” DA. Just turn off the Xbox. And then turn it back on and continue where I leave off.
Now. Because of this, the game counter still continues. So as far as the game is concerned I’ve already put in 65hrs 😛.
-IROGAN
I won’t be doing a full review for Homefront, as I’ve been recording my thoughts as I progress through the game. You can find the previous entries here:
Homefront The Revolution First Impressions
Homefront – The Revolution: Further Impressions
This will be my final piece though. Final Thoughts, as it were.
This title has been such a divisive experience for me. On one side, as a sequel to Homefront, which had set the bar high, I was excited for the prospect of more story to dive into. However, with The Revolution, the game is so different, it would be hard to argue that they are related.
The story still tells of a resistance group fighting against the Korean invasion. It’s still a first-person shooter, but the rest has changed. It’s not a linear game, but a segregated open-world area. The city has been split into 6 different zones, and the only way to transfer to each zone is through the resistance’s underground tunnels. They’ve added bases and outposts that need to be captured to advance, a-la the Far Cry series.
Capturing the bases and radio towers differs quite a bit as you progress through the game, and there’s not a lot of instruction in how to advance in certain parts. The game focuses a lot on exploration, and traversal of the buildings, clambering up vehicles or platforms, out windows and along exterior vents. In some instances, doors or platforms require power, which comes from a generator. The generator requires a motorcycle to rev the engine. However, to get the motorcycle to that area, you’ll have to jump it off a ramp, or drive it up a series of stairs in the adjacent building, then weave it along the catwalk or makeshift platforms that connect the two buildings. All the while, this farce is taking place in the middle of a enemy populated area. Try avoiding the scouting groups or drone fly-by.
That’s just one example. Later on, some doors require the hack tool to open, or worse yet, a stronghold will have a little ramp hidden outside of plain view, that will allow your Remote RC-Bomb to drive in, and blow open the door. That’s hoping you’ve even unlocked the RC Explosive perk. Which happens to be the final Explosive upgrade. And this Stronghold was only in the 3rd area of the game. Try explaining that to my past-self, who scoured the building for an hour trying to look for a way in.
Even after the very large patch that came out a few months back, the game is still buggy. From time to time, you’ll see objects or weapon caches just floating in the air. The initial game loading, like, when you start the game, and press “Continue from last checkpoint”. Yeah, this load screen actually wears through its own loading music before the game starts. Luckily the auto-save stalls at checkpoints are all but gone. The frame rate tanks to about 3 fps for a couple seconds, but that’s forgivable compared to what it used to play like.
I’m finally nearing the end of the campaign, and I can’t say it’s been fun. I can’t recommend it to anyone. It has its good moments, and it does tell a dire tale, one of despair and loss, of resistance against unbeatable odds – which is its only saving grace. But I shouldn’t come up against so much resistance to enjoy the game itself.
-iRogan
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Rainbow Studios
Platform: Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
Availability: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released probably eons ago (actually 2009) by Rainbow Studios and THQ, MX vs ATV Reflex is the 3rd game in the MX vs ATV series.
The game has been made backwards compatible on the Xbox 360 and was recently made the Xbox Live Games With Gold free game. So I picked it up, and have been playing it a lot. A surprisingly amount actually, considering I have Forza Horizons 3 available, and I’d rather play this.
The game features Motocross Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, and Super Trucks, and you race out in the wilderness, over dirt, mud, water, and snow, or in an arena with jumps and obstacles. Throughout the campaign there are a few different modes. Waypoint, Nationals, Supercross, Freestyle, Omnicross, and then the Chmpionship races. Each series supports different classes of vehicles, whether they be, MX Bokes, ATVs, Buggies, or Super Trucks. The Omnicross mode which features all four types of vehicles, in my opinion, has got to be the most dangerous of all sports conceived – from the Bike’s perspective. You’re sharing the path with ATVs, Buggies, and Super Trucks. I think it would almost be impossible not to get killed. The trucks, in these latter modes seems to have a clear advantage over the smaller vehicles. They’re more stable, faster, and larger.
Each mode has a set of races that make up a series, and there are 3 series for each mode. They start easy, only 3 races, and then 5, and then 8. Each series more difficult, and longer, with the championship series having the longest races, and the most laps.
There are also bonus races at the end of each mode’s series. These are either elimination style, or a solo time based checkpoint race, or races where you start as the person in last place, and try to win. The MX bikes also have a free style mode in an arena, or open area, with jumps and ramps, where you get scored on your tricks.
The big change this year is the handling mechanics. The left thumbstick will control your bike or vehicle, and the right stick controls the player’s body and balance. You can lean your body into the turns or jumps to get more momentum, or to right yourself if you lose balance. The right stick also allows you to pull off tricks while flying through the air.
From a course perspective, one of the notable key additions to the series is the real-time deforming ground. As more vehicles race around a track or path, the ground and mud will show the tire tracks, and the ruts will get deeper and more torn up, as the race continues. This can throw off the player’s balance when landing or cornering.
The main issue I have with the title is the difficulty curve – specifically with the bikes. On Rookie or Moderate, the game is quite easy, and at times I found myself finishing a race 30-50 seconds ahead of the 2nd place racer. This is when I can get out ahead of the pack. If you get stuck behind, it can get very difficult to gain any placement, as the tracks and corners can be quite tight, and it is easy to knock into another racer, and fall off your bike. After a couple bails you’ll be at the back of the pack, and it will be difficult to fight your way through, to complete the race with a solid placement. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd advance, and only the championship series have multiple point rounds. This is especially notable in races where ATV’s and Buggies are racing beside you. They have no care for your well-being and will side-swipe you or knock you off the course as if you’re not there.
The game is easy on the achievements, and will tie up a lot of your time to complete all the races. As you get later in the series and championship races, they take about 10-15 minutes each to complete. The game is, however, surprisingly a lot of fun, and it feels really good when you can hit the jumps and land solidly on the other side, maintaining your rhythm and momentum. For the series that allow them, I would suggest you use the super trucks, instead of attempting the MX Bike or ATV, as you’ll be less frustrated in the end trying to compete against them.
One downside is that the game is old now, so the Xbox Live functionality has been disabled. Possibly one of the victims of THQ going bankrupts a few years ago.
Notable Achievements:
Coming on Strong (Lap an opponent in a race) – 15GLong Jumper (Land a jump of 300 feet or greater) – 15G
-iRogan
Dues Ex: Mankind Divided – Initial Impressions
The first thing I noticed when jumping into Deus Ex Mankind Divided, after just finishing a playthrough of Human Revolution, especially on the Xbox One, is that it’s not as good looking as I hoped. I was hoping for smoother frame-rates and crisper textures. Maybe its the whole concept that you’re looking through augmented eyes, and a lot of things are outlined, that takes away from the real-world views, but it just doesn’t appear to be that much of a step up over its predecessor, from 5 years ago; could be the Xbox One’s fault too.
Some of the larger open areas I did find frame-rate droppage, dipping below 30fps and holding me back from running ahead. The load times, if you die, or load a save, can also be cumbersome. Transitioning between city hubs is not as bad, as the game hides the loading by showing you riding the train.
The rest of the game thus far feels very much like Deus Ex. The city is a boiling pot of Humans who fear the Augs. There are separate entrances for Augs on the train, and police will perform random identification checks on you in the street. And at all times you feel watched and judged for being different. There are a lot of different side-missions to tackle, and these are refreshingly detailed and lengthy in design.
PS4/ Journey / Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection
I recently purchased a PS4 and renewed my PSN account. The reasons for this are twofold: firstly, so I can own a PS4, so that I can play some the Sony exclusives coming out (The Last Guardian, Uncharted 4, Horizon-Zero Dawn), and secondly, in November for the Extra Life campaign, I’ll be hosting a simulcast of God of War. Both my girlfriend and I will be racing through it to see who can complete it first. Haven’t quite figured out the logistics yet of capturing both streams, but it’ll likely involve the backwards compatible PS3 and the PS Now version on the PS4 or PC. Unless I can gather up a 2nd capture card. Luckily I got two months to worry about it.
With the PS4 I purchased the Nathan Drake Collection (previously I had played all 3 on the PS3, but it will be good to play through them again before I play #4), the new Killzone, and through the PSN monthly free games, finally got the chance to play Journey.
Journey was a lot of fun to play through. Not at all complicated, but very good looking with lovely, lonely scenery and sand physics. It’s also quite the emotional trek put to a fantastic score. Sitting in at just 2hrs to beat, I expect I’ll play through this game a few times.
GTA: V / The Division
In multiplayer/ Co-op, with Illestrader, we’ve been playing a lot more GTA V and The Division recently. In anticipation and preparation of Extra-Life, I’ve been recording my footage and recording all the audio, to perfect all the settings. So I might splice together some gameplay clips. Make a Youtube thing of it. I had fun putting together the Ben-Hur Achievement Hunt, so this will just be more practice.
GTA V can be, at times, a very frustrating game to play Online. A lot of the time trying to figure out the little intricacies of the new mechanics, like VIP, and CEO, and then only realizing that this makes you a target for everyone else, and the rest of the time sitting in lobbies waiting for the host to start the game, while they wait 5 minutes for the 16th out of 16 person to join, when 15 is FINE!. The stunt races have been a blast though.
Free Weekends – Titan-Fall 2 Tech Test, Forza 6, and Battlefield 1 Open Beta
Over the past few weekends I’ve been lucky enough to get to play some games for free (Forza 6), and those that have not been released yet (Titan-Fall 2 and Battlefiled 1).
Forza 6 was a lot of fun over the weekend. The game is, as expected, gorgeous, and the rain effects and puddles are splendid. I like the way the campaign is structured now, where it jumps around from tier to tier, showing off different types of cars and years and game modes, so that it doesn’t get stale. I’m holding out for Forza Horizons 3 though. If I did get it, I’d probably waste all my time in the photo mode.
In-Game Photo Mode :3
Titan-Fall 2 Tech Test was a lot of fun to play. I really like the grappling hook, and the new game mode, Bounty Hunt, really mixes up the gameplay. The titan’s this time around take a while longer to spawn, and don’t seem to last very long at all when you’re piloting them. Left to their own devices on Guard or Follow though, and they seem to last a good while longer. Maybe I’m just too aggressive when I pilot them, thinking I’m invincible.
Battlefield 1 is a gorgeous game to behold, and sadly only one map was made available during the beta. The WW1 theme is an interesting setting. Lots of tracer bullets and the mortars and tank shells take huge gouges out of the earth. More often than not, I’d find myself climbing out of sand craters. The level of destruction is so obvious at the end of the match, but so subtle throughout, you’d think that the map actually started ruined. It’s a nice touch. It feels a lot like Star Wars Battlefront, but then again, it should: same engine, same developer. I’m excited for what the campaign has in store.
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Games that have taken a seat on the back burner are Just Cause 3, and Homefront, The Revolution – although, Homefront received a huge update, fixing hundreds of issues, notably graphics and loading, so I should jump back in since those were the issues that plagued my earlier experience.
-iRogan
Ben-Hur doesn’t succeed as a game or as an advertisement for the film. In fact, all it’s really good for is some easy achievement points.
Released before the theatrical release of the new Ben-Hur movie, the game boasts a season full of chariot racing. But this “season” comprises of only 3 races, each race one lap longer than its predecessor.
I figured it might be fun to jump into for a bit to laugh, and see how bad it is. Also see if I could unlock a few achievements along the way. And I wasn’t disappointed.
In what can be described as an achievement sprint, I captured all 10, 1000G, in an hour. I have a time-lapse video below to show the progress:
So if easy achievements are what you’re after, and you have an hour to spare, look no further than Ben-Hur. I have the achievements listed below, and how long through my 1 hr 8 minute playthrough it took me to earn them.
-iRogan
Idly Playing the Waiting Game 