Some people like to throw around that video games are not art, but I think that Child of Light from Ubisoft is going to go a long way to disprove that. I can’t for April to play this game. It looks fantastic!
Moving Forward Unto Dawn!
I know you are thinking, “Why is Shmee reviewing something that came out on the web for free two years ago?”, but you know what there is a lot of stuff to watch, and I just got around to it, so I am reviewing it two years late. Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a long commercial, but a good long commercial.
The story is about a group of new UNSC cadets, and the training they are going through to get ready for deployment in a civil war. They are then attacked by an unknown enemy, and aided by the one and only Master Chief.
There is a saying out there that all the stories around the Halo games are more interesting then the stories in the Halo games, and Forward Unto Dawn seems to add more fuel to that fire. It gives us some good backstory in to the events leading up to the war with the Covenant. There are a couple scenes that happen right before Halo 4, but not enough that you would have had to play through all the Halo games to understand what is going on.
The actors all do a fine job with their roles, and they are much better then you would find in a normal web series, but it all feels a little like a made for TV movie. You can tell that they were doing their best with the money that they had, but not all the special effects are convincing. Still it is probably the best full length feature commercial I have ever seen.
If you like Halo at all then Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is worth watching. For everyone else this is probably a skip unless you want to get a little flavor of the Halo universe. I am glad that I watched this, but it definitely is not life changing in any way.
Why Can’t We All Get Along?!
Image via shirtoid.com, and you can get it on a shirt!
As long as there has been more than one gaming platform, there has always been the argument that one reigns supreme over the others, but instead of discussing it like mature adults, we like to rage against one another on forums. The sad fact is that now more than ever the platforms are very similar to one another, so all this rage is mostly meaningless. Why is it that we can’t all just get along?
I think it all comes down to money. Gaming can be an expensive hobby. By the time people get the hardware, the peripherals, and the games, you can be several hundred dollars, if not thousands, in the hole. A person just wants to feel justified in their purchase, so when someone makes a different choice then them it is like they are saying “you were wrong”. Buying a console or PC is not a test. There is no wrong answer. Are you having fun on the platform you purchased? Yes? Good you made the right choice. That is all there is too it. People are reading in to the current console hardware sales, and trying to use them to prove that one console is better than the other, but the console race will last for years to come.
Plus we do not really want a winner. If there was only one platform, there would be no competition, so games would cost even more, and the lone console would be pretty crappy. For those of you that are old enough, look what happened to the Atari. The Atari 2600 came out, and it was the only game in town, so when they made a follow up, the 5200, it was a giant pile of dung. It was so bad it almost destroyed video games, but luckily the Nintendo Entertainment System saved the day.
The new consoles are all selling well, and there is a resurgence in the PC market due to the rise in indie development. We as gamers should all be happy about that. As an Xbox One owner, I want the PS4 to do well, and as a PC owner, I want there to be strength in the console market. We are all part of the same hobby, and it is something we enjoy greatly, so we should be happy for one another. Though I am sure we can all agree that mobile gaming is the WORST! 😉
Top Five Video Games For 2014!
With the new generation of consoles here, 2014 will be the year that we finally get the games we have been waiting for. This is good for PC gamers as well, since the console ports will not look like trash. Here are the top five video games I am looking forward to in 2014:
5: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
I only played the first two Witchers a little, but they always interested me. It looks like number three will finally be the one that gets my full attention. It features a massive world, and crazy good graphics. This will probably be the fantasy RPG that I buy next year.
4: Destiny
A new FPS by the people that made Halo? Yes please! Destiny looks to combine a little of everything to make a totally new shooter experience, and I can’t wait to play it.
3: Titanfall
I don’t play a lot of first person shooters, yet here is another one on my list. It is being made by the people who created Call of Duty. I am ready to see what else besides military shooters that they can make. Plus it has giant mechs, and I love giant mechs!
2: Thief
Formally called Thief 4, we a finally get to play as Garrett again. Sneaking around a steam-punk based world and shooting people with trick arrows is one of the best things in video games, so a new full length game sounds wonderful!
1: The Division
When I saw this game during the 2013 E3 coverage my jaw dropped. A large modern open world RPG that you can play with your friends? Yes, yes, yes! I hope that this game turns out because I am drooling right now thinking about it.
There you go, that is my list! There are a lot of good games coming out next year, and I would love to hear what you are waiting to play.
My Five Favorite Video Games Of 2013!
I did not play a lot of new games in 2013 since I was saving up for my Xbox One. Maybe next year I will be able to play more (oh wait, I am having a kid so I guess not). Of the ones I did play, here are my five favorites in reverse order:
The Cave was fairly simple, and it didn’t have the most creative puzzles ever, but it was incredibly charming. It made me smile the whole time I played it, so for that it makes the list at number five.
I played a lot of the pen and paper role playing game Shadowrun in 2013, so to be able to play it on the computer was great. This crowd-funded indie’s major flaw was that it was lacking a save anywhere system, but it looks like they are going to fix that in early 2014, so it is only going to get better.
2013 was the year that indie games really took off with them filling two of my top five slots, and State of Decay was one of the best. It combined rouge-like gameplay with zombie survival. Microsoft was very smart when they locked this title up for themselves for a few months.
I have not done a proper review of this game since I just started playing it on my Xbox One, but of what I have played, I have been very happy. I am only in the early going, but it is far more engaging than Assassin’s Creed 3, and I am guessing it has to do with having my own boat and sailing the ocean blue!
This game is awesome. I have never felt more like a pirate in any game I have ever played. Sid Meier’s Pirates finally has some competition! Got a new Xbox One and need a game to play? Look no further.
Oh man I love this game! It makes me happy to play it, and in the end that is what games are supposed to do. If you want to play a game celebrates your success as much if not more than you do, than this should be on the top of your list.
So what were your favorite games this year, or why is my list completely wrong? Leave a comment below and let the world know.