Category: Xbox One

You should totally buy Overwatch.  I know I keep saying it is overpriced, but I have decided that for something this well balanced and fun, I was wrong.  It is totally worth the $60.  Though if you are going to buy it on PC get the $40 version.  The extra skins don’t make the game worth $20 more, and I think that was my hang up for buying Overwatch for consoles.  We didn’t get the option to spend less for things we don’t need, or that we will earn anyway as the game progresses.

Still there is definitely well more than enough gameplay to justify the asking price, and every time I get a little bored I switch characters and the game completely changes.  Even with 21 starting heroes none of them are throwaways.  Well maybe Bastion, I am not one of those people that think he is too overpowered, but it is just that sitting in one place and not doing anything is not fun.  Sure at some point you will probably get one epic kill streak with a shot a getting the ‘Play of the Game’, but it is a long wait.

What is even more astonishing is that I am having fun playing this game without my friends.  None of them have picked it up yet, so I have been left to play this game with random strangers.  Normally this would be the death of a multiplayer game for me, but I am having a blast without them!  The game is just that good.  Blizzard has made yet another classic, and I hope that they keep adding to this wonderful game.  Who knew that the studio who conquered MOBAs (Heroes of the Storm), CCGs (Hearthstone), ARPGs (Diablo), MMOs (World of Warcraft), and RTSs (StarCraft) would be so good at FPSs as well.  I wonder what genre they will tackle next.

I usually don’t like live action video game trailers.  They don’t show the action properly, and like with Halo 5 none of what they show represents anything that happens in the game.  Thankfully Deus Ex: Mankind Divided went a different route.  Instead of showing live action versions of the heroes and villains they made like a little mini-movie that sets up the universe you are going to play the game in.  It lets you see the fear and disorder that the last game caused.  It is sad and moving, while getting me excited to play in that world, so bravo Deus Ex: Mankind Divided marketing team you made a live action trailer work!

If you follow gaming at all, the launch of Overwatch has been inescapable.  When beloved developer Blizzard launches their first new IP in almost two decades people take notice.  Heck, even I preordered, and I am not a big fan of preordering unless reviews are already out.  So with that much excitement how did Blizzard’s servers hold up?  Pretty good as far as I can tell.  I heard there was some trouble initially with the first wave of players, but when I got on around 9PM Pacific Standard Time things were running smoothly.

As far as the game goes, I didn’t notice anything different from the Beta, it is still a team based shooter where you either defend or try and capture objectives.  The fun comes in trying all the different crazy characters and trying to figure out how best to use their abilities to complete your objectives.  I still think it is a little over priced, but obviously that didn’t stop me from putting my money down (Yay birthday money!), and Blizzard is known for supporting their games, so I would be shocked if a few more modes don’t show up shortly.  My guess is King of the Hill is the first one to get added.

If you get the game look up Shmee on Xbox Live and maybe we will play a round or two together.  If the servers survived day one, I am assuming that they will stay stable for a while.  That is unless some hacker group decided to spoil everyone’s fun.  Jerks.

Far Harbor is the third piece of DLC for Fallout 4, and it is the best so far.  Generally when RPG’s offer DLC I always pony up the ones that offer new areas to explore, so if Fallout 4’s season pass hadn’t only been $5 more than just Far Harbor alone, this is the one I would have purchased.  Far Harbor is a large new map with new creatures and loot, and better yet, the story is interesting and lets you make meaningful choices.

Really Far Harbor should have been named Valentine Harbor since the main story revolves around synths, and one synth in particular, Nick Valentine.  Technically you can play Far Harbor without Nick, though you would be missing a lot of the story, or at least Nick’s input on things that involve him.  Once you complete Far Harbor’s main quest feel free to go back and get your companion of choice which in my case is a giant laser murder bot named Ada.  It might also be handy to cash in all of those fusion cores you have been squirreling away and take your best suit of power armor with you since there is radiation everywhere.  It is like a well forested Glowing Sea.

Far Harbor is more than just ‘DLC’.  It is a true expansion to Fallout 4, and if you are wanting to play more Fallout it is well worth a purchase.  If you are kind of Fallout 4’ed out, Far Harbor doesn’t really change up the experience all that much, so you can probably skip it.  Though having a story with real choices is definitely appreciated, and it shows that Bethesda does listen to their fans.  I am hoping for more DLC packs like this, and less like Wasteland Workshop which was so piddling it wasn’t worth talking about.