Mass Effect: Andromeda is easily my most anticipated new title for next year, so this new trailer will probably be the highlight of my week. Then just to make things a little bit better Mass Effect 2 & 3 are now playable on Xbox One! Awesome! Spring 2017 can’t get here soon enough.
Disney Keeps The Streak Alive With Doctor Strange!
It has been a while since Marvel/Disney has released a bad film, and with Iron Man Doctor Strange, Disney continues its hot streak. I don’t think Doctor Strange will be remembered as one of Marvel’s best, but it is a fun film that adds some visual flare to the standard Marvel superhero origin story.
Like with many other superheroes, Doctor Strange starts with a rich white guy (Benedict Cumberbatch) who looses his ability to make himself rich. In this case he is a star surgeon who after a car crash can no longer keep his hands steady. He tries everything to fix them, to no avail, so as a last ditch effort he decides to try Eastern Spiritual Medicine, but he gets more than he bargained for, and instead becomes a superhero sorcerer. Not a bad trade.
The overall plot is not Doctor Strange’s strong suit. I mean if you close your eyes you may think you are watching Iron Man again. Jerky rich guys are born to be superheroes I guess, and Marvel still needs to find an interesting movie villain. We can’t hope for Loki to show up in every movie. Not that the plot or the script are bad. It is just that we have seen them before from Marvel.
Luckily to cover up the lack of originality director Scott Derrickson amps up the visual craziness. Doctor Strange still has Marvel’s signature look, but it has been smashed together with a neon version of Inception. The movie looks great, always showing you something new and interesting. If you can’t tell the movies apart based on their plot at least you will know what you are watching based off the special effects.
Benedict Cumberbatch was born to be a Marvel superhero. He delivers the witty dialog with aplomb. He will be a great addition to their lineup. I can’t wait to see him stand up with the rest of the gang. Though it is time for Marvel to try and diversify the makeup of their heroic cast.
Despite having seen this story before, at least it is a good story, and one that they were able to amp up visually. Doctor Strange may not be the new direction Marvel needs to find to stay relevant, but at least it is an entertaining flick, and one that I can recommend to people who like Marvel’s formula. If you are looking for something different, you may have to wait a bit longer.
Lego Batman Is Still The Best Batman!
The New Wonder Woman Trailer Is Here!
The Elder Scrolls Online Did Something Else New For An MMO, Its Customer Support Ruined The Game…
Days after talking about how much fun I was having with The Elder Scrolls Online I am now writing a post to tell you that I will no longer be playing the game, and the worst part is that it isn’t because the game isn’t fun, but because their customer support is terrible.
My tale of woe started a little over a week ago. I was excited to try out the new Tamriel Unlimited feature of The Elder Scrolls Online, so cracked open my box and started to install my game. While that was happening I clicked to redeem my DLC code so I could get access to the Thieves Guild, The Dark Brotherhood, and a couple of other expansions. Not to mention a horse, but the code said it was ‘deactivated’. I had never seen that before, so logged a support ticket with The Elder Scrolls Online support, and I went to work playing through the intro areas of the game and doing some of the quests. Not to mention my epic quest across the world of Temriel.
The next day (like a full 24 hours later) I got an email saying that there was nothing they could do about the bad code, and that it was up to Amazon to replace it. It was lame to have to stop playing the game so I could return it to Amazon, but I figured they knew what they were talking about. However the next game’s code had the same problem. Remembering what The Elder Scrolls Online support said this time I opened tickets with both Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft did everything they could to contact Amazon and Bethesda to try and get the code activated, but in the end there was nothing they could do because companies are allowed to deactivate codes in case merchandise is stolen, so Microsoft couldn’t re-activate the code, and Amazon said they used the same process to activate their DLC codes that they always do, so they didn’t know what happened. They did next day rush me a third copy of the game.
Guess what. The third copy of The Elder Scrolls Online did not work either, so this time I went back to The Elder Scroll Online support and of course they said their was nothing they could do. I pointed out that I was the not the only person having this problem:
Returning ESO Gold Edition because the codes dont work. Amazon has pulled the game from their website. @Microsoft said its not their problem
— Gary W (@gtotheary) October 15, 2016
And that Bethesda is having other Elder Scroll Online Redemption Issues:
We’re aware of some Xbox redemption issues for @TESOnline items included w/ Skyrim SE physical copies. The issue is being investigated.
— Bethesda Support (@BethesdaSupport) October 28, 2016
So they said they would escalate my ticket. Then nothing for three days. I kept asking for updates or ETAs, but nothing. Just silence. Not even a hang in their cat .gif.
I have never felt more ignored by customer support in my life. Needless to say I contacted Amazon again to get a refund. To Amazon’s credit they did once again make sure the game was properly handled and activated before being sent to me, but it all looked good on their side, and since they sell a ‘few’ video games I am inclined to believe them. I contacted The Elder Scrolls Online support to let them know they could close my ticket, but they haven’t even responded to that. My ticket is sill open. I have never had customer support ruin a game for me before, but The Elder Scrolls Online figured out how.