I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a major Zelda fan! I love the stories, the gameplay, the way they manage to mix in a bit of the familiar with something new for each entry in the series. It’s usually everything I could want in a game.
What’s intrigued me about the series for a long time is how they manage to keep the dungeons feeling fresh in each and every game, since it’s always the same formula. Link enters dungeon, finds unique item, uses item to progress through dungeon. It’s a simple construct, so you’d think it would tire easily. However, the series has been going strong for over 15 years now, so I suppose it’s not as fragile as it appears at first glance. Continue reading The 5 Best Unusual Zelda Items→
While I wouldn’t call it a “problem,” I have a bit of as shopping habit. In games. And before you start I’m with a “women and shopping” bit, just you hush. But…well, it is kind of bad. Just the other day, I spent over an hour in Grand Theft Auto V driving my character to different clothing stores in the game, trying on different stuff, and buying whatever I though looked good. I had no idea if my character was going to need his money in the future, but in that hour, it didn’t matter. I simply had to increase his wardrobe.
I’m a fan of character customization, but this shopping thing goes beyond that. Sure, if I’m going to spend a bunch of time with a character, I want him or her to look as good as possible. But in most cases, the clothing or armor you’re asked or made to buy are necessities. In GTA V, it isn’t (unless you need something for a specific mission). But every now and again, I get that spending itch that I simply must satisfy. And it doesn’t matter if I’m in the middle of a mission or out exploring. Once that thought worms its way into my mind, that “maybe Trevor needs as need pair of pants” train of thought, I can’t let go if it.
So, this is my first post which will be on the United We Game website, so firstly I’d like to thank them for taking me on board! As some of you may be aware I have been working my way through my top 15 games of the Xbox 360/ Playstation 3 generation, but I thought as this post is a sort of milestone I’d do something a bit different.
I was one of the many people that waited in line at midnight on November 21st to get my hands on the Xbox One, and as its now been a few weeks since I got the new console I thought I’d give my opinion on my first few weeks, a small look into the games I have played,how the system works, and my overall verdict early on for Microsofts new baby, I’ll start with the hardware itself.
The console itself is quite big, I don’t think it’s too big though, I’d say even though it’s probably a bit bigger than the original Xbox, it’s a basic shape, and it doesn’t seem chunky, one thing is for sure though,It’s a lot, lot quieter than its predecessor, although its difficult for it not be, i love the 360, but there were times when mine was so loud I thought it was about to take off into orbit! The kinect is also a very sexy piece of kit, and I can honestly say that I have used it far more than I ever envisaged, but I’ll talk more on that topic later.
The controller is fantastic, I actually think the 360 controller was pretty much perfect, but they have somehow Improved it even more, the vibrating triggers are fantastic, particularly on Forza Motorsport where you can really feel the road, and even though it’s lighter it feels as sturdy as ever, and fits fantastically in your hand.
The only thing that lets the Xbox down is the headset that comes with it, I don’t think its particularly comfortable, it has to be unplugged and plugged in several times before it connects, and they don’t feel particularly sturdy, in fact, a friend of mine has broken one already, purely from plugging it in and out. I will be getting a third party at the first chance I get, but for some reason that won’t be until Q1 next year unfortunately.
The software, mainly the new “Dashboard” is fantastic, it takes a bit of time to get used to admittedly, but when you get in the swing of it, it really is a step up from the old dashboard. It’s so easy to to flow from one game to another, and the fact that it saves where you are when you go back to the home screen is incredible, I can’t count how many times I’ve just come out of a game, gone to Netflix, and gone back again, sometimes after a couple of hours, and it’s its like I never left in the first place. This is also where Kinect comes into its own, using commands to switch between Netflix, to games, to party chat, to Skype, and best of all, to turn the console on, it’s a revelation.
The one problem the software does seem to be suffering from is that every now and then it will kick you back to the home screen when you are playing online, this can be very annoying but it doesn’t happen to regularly, but it is something that needs fixing.
With my Xbox One I picked up Forza Motorsport 5, Battlefield 4, and Fifa 14, which came with the console.
Forza Motorsport is the game I’ve played the most of, the game is stunning, as you’d expect from Forza, it’s only flaw is its lack of tracks, and the car count is quite significantly down from Forza 4, but this takes nothing away from the driving experience, and the customisation aspect of the game, which is exemplary, as Forza always seems to be.
Next, FIFA 14, which I’m relieved to say is a big improvement on its Xbox 360 counterpart, which is ridiculously flawed, this newer version still has a lot of gripes, but on the whole it’s another solid instalment, you can tell that they were a lot more focused on the next gen version of the game when developing it, I particularly like the kinect integration within the game, which you can use to change formations, and make substitutions in game.
Battlefield 4, similarly to Forza, delivers exactly what you expect it to, it looks beautiful, and the online is solid, I’ve not yet had a chance to play the single player so I can’t comment too much on that, but from everything I’ve seen and read, it also delivers on every level.
I will review all these games further when I’ve played them more thoroughly, I don’t want to go too deep just yet as I don’t think it would be fair until I’ve played them more (Damn working in retail over Christmas!!)
On the whole my first few weeks with the Xbox One have been great, I love the new kinect setup which I was unsure about before, but it is definitely needed with the Xbox, it makes it flow so much more than could be possible without it. Graphically it is a step up from the previous generation, as you’d expect, but I think what excites me more than anything is the potential that the system has, when you look back at the Xbox 360 at launch, and then compare it to the Xbox 360 now you can see how much it has evolved, and if Microsoft can repeat that transition with the Xbox One, I think we are all in for a truly great console!
I’ve already discussed the Wii U, and now I will be going over my thoughts on the successor to the XBox 360, the XBox One (they need to get their numbers straight). I heard a lot of rumors about things Microsoft was planning to do, such as requiring people to connect to the Internet in order to play games and no longer allowing people to play used games, which were all things that made me worry a bit about the future of gaming. This also made me decide, if these things weren’t changed, there was a good chance I wasn’t going to be buying this particular console. Well, after reading more about it (information found on Wikipedia), some of my worries were eased, while others were not.
As I mentioned in my post about the Wii U, when I heard about this generation of consoles, it seemed these consoles were not so much about games anymore. It seemed that game consoles were now about everything else they can do, and this suspicion remained when I read about all the things the XBox One was capable of in relation to videoconferencing and watching TV and other such non-game-related features. In fact, most of the intro on this particular console was dedicated to all these features, with gaming almost as an afterthought at the end. Many people will be glad, I suppose, that this console can do so many things, but when I buy a video game console, I want gaming to be the main emphasis, just as I don���t want to buy a DVD player (yes, I still use those) that does everything besides play DVD’s. Continue reading The Eighth Console Generation: Will the Duck Buy…the XBox One?→
Something I like to do from time to time is read a retro review from one blog or another, or even in Game Informer back when they used to do those. It’s fun to see if an old game you love holds up in the modern age. Whether they do or not varies from writer to writer, but most of the always say in way way or another is that they’re attempting to review the game while putting aside nostalgic feelings. I agree that a game should be weighed on it’s actual merits rather than our feelings about it, but recently that qualifier has gotten me wondering: what exactly does nostalgia do to our games? Continue reading What Does Nostalgia Do To Your Games?→
Gaming idiosyncrasies, quirks, preferences — most gamers posses them to varying degrees. From playing only during a particular time of day, to having a preferred TV setup (that must NEVER be altered), to eating certain snacks only with certain games, they are what make gamers true individuals. And maybe a little…neurotic. Oh, I’m not making fun; you tell me it isn’t the truth! Personally, I have a Pelican PS3 controller that I never let anyone borrow. (It’s mine and it fits my hands perfectly!) I always, nay, I am compelled to read game manuals before starting up a game. And I’m still working on my queasy fear of first-person-perspective games. As silly as these quirks might be, they aren’t nearly as problematic as the most prominent peculiarity with which I continue to struggle: starting a game series at some point other than the beginning.
I haven’t always been so conscious of this notion. Early on, since I wasn’t an arcade regular, I often missed out on the original versions of games. I started with later Castlevania games. I never played the original Street Fighter and yet adored Super Street Fighter II. I played Ms. Pac-Man well before Pac-Man. But all this gaming happened during a time when I had regular access to games at home, before I moved away from home for college. When I moved away, none of the games came with me and so marked the beginning of a roughly decade-long gaming drought. I occasionally played here and there, but never at length.
Today the Duck is continuing my little glitch series with a description of glitches involving injustice in this already unfair world. These glitches involve the unfair deaths and restarts that can sometimes be as amusing as they are frustrating.
Sometimes, your characters end up in another dimension (at least, they might as well be): In “Super Mario Sunshine”, I decided to go under the big waterwheel in Bianco Hills once as a shortcut (even though it’s a poor excuse for a waterwheel, considering it does not make contact with water, unless you squirt it, I guess), and poor Mario got pushed under the ground by one of the paddles. Shocked and dismayed, I attempted to get him out or pause the game and exit at least, but could not. He stayed under there, and the only thing that could be done was to restart the game. And then Fox once fell through the ground in “Star Fox Adventures”, as well. This time, he was simply walking along, and he just fell right through into this weird place (and he wasn’t even assaulted by a sorry example of a waterwheel, mind you). Once again, I couldn’t escape or pause or anything, as pausing doesn’t appear to work in alternate dimensions, it seems, and had to restart the game. Injustice! Continue reading Glitches Involving Injustice→
