Playstation 4 Review

The next generation of gaming is finally upon us and I decided to start it off with a brand new Playstation 4, developed by Sony.  The Playstation for takes the next big step in gaming evolution with its many new features and capabilities.  This powerful console tops its predecessor tenfold in almost every way possible from its sleek design, to its PC equivalent hardware.   I’ve had about two weeks with the system and I have yet to be let down.  I have been nothing but impressed since I took it out of the box.  The interface is clean and fast.  Everything is snappy and responsive.  And the best part is that it’s the go to system for hard core gamers. 

OVERVIEW AND SET UP:

Once you open the box to your new Playstation you will find that its contents include the new Dualshock 4 controller and a charger for it, a mono headset, a power cord, an HDMI cable, and a Playstation 4 system. 

At first glance the console is surprisingly small for the amount of hardware and power it has under the hood and still retains an internal power supply, I’m still boggled by how Sony managed to pull this off.  Setup is

literally as simple as counting to three.  You plug the power cord into a wall outlet, connects the HDMI to your TV, and turn the console on.  Once you boot up your PS4 you will be asked to create a username and a Playstation Network account.  If you already have an account on your PS3, you can easily convert it over to PS4.  Once you have done so, you can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.  After that’s done you are pretty much ready to start playing games, you can still continue to customize your profile but it is optional. 

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS:

The PS4 is Sony's attempt at a gaming focused console, rather than one that tries to be a media center.  This played a big part in my decision between the Playstation 4 and its competitor, the Xbox One by Microsoft.  Sony states that the PS4 was created with gaming in mind and that it was essentially created by gamers, for gamers.  While Microsoft tried to go the all in one entertainment route with the Xbox One as opposed to gaming centered, they ended up losing my interest with this approach and because I consider myself a gamer, Sony caught my attention big time!   The Playstation 4 is a very powerful system, it is based on a supercharged PC architecture with an X86 processor, enhanced PC-style GPU, and 8GB of GDDR5 unified high-speed memory.  This is a tremendous benefit for game developers as for the time being they can simply focus on immersion and story rather than the limitations. 

USER INTERFACE:

The new UI or PS Home is a great improvement over its predecessor.  Everything is a quick as a snap and easy to access.  I never found myself getting lost in all the options, it took me very little time to figure out where everything is as it’s all conveniently paced for ease of use.  The UI keeps track of all your most recent activates such as games and apps.  It then lists them under our main bar for easy one click access.  There are

a wide range of apps and with returns form the PS3 such as Internet Explorer, Netflix, and Hulu with many more to come.  Thanks to the high RAM speed, you can instantly snap between PS Home and the game you’re playing without having to quick or even pause.  The new speed also allows for you to actually play games as they are downloading and installing.  You can even run multiple applications at once, and all is accessible through PS Home. 

DUALSHOCK 4:

The Dualshock for controller improves oppugn everything Dualshock 3 had going for it.  With changes that fans have been wanted for a while now such as concave thumbs sticks, out-curved triggers, and an improved D-Pad.  The controller is slightly bigger than before and feels much more solid and sturdy when holding it.  The select and start buttons have been scraped and replaced with the “Options” button.  There are also completely new features added such as a touch pad and the “Share” button.  The touch pad is in the center of the controller and behaves exactly like a mouse pad found on any laptop.  This adds for real cleaver and

interesting ideas for games.  For example, swiping the pad in certain direction can activates different abilities in Killzone: Shadow Fall.  Or you can use it to overview the world map faster in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.  The “Share” button is the most innovative feature on the controller.  By pressing the share button you can instantly upload clips, create a live stream, or take screenshots of the games you play.  The PS4 is always recording, so if you happen to nail that 360 degree no scope Call of Duty: Ghosts, you can immediately hit the share button and upload up to the last 15 minutes of gameplay, all fully editable.  Or let’s say you want to show off a game to a friend who don’t have it.  You can hit the share button and go live on Twitch or U-Stream and have your friend’s watch you play and comment.  All of this is possible thanks to that one button.  The Dualshock 4 brings the most innovation to a console controller to date. 

The Playstation 4 is an amazing gaming experience that should not be passed up.  It has improved upon everything the PS3 did successfully and went even further.  It has literally took gaming evolution to the next level!  And this is just the beginning of the generation, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this system.  And at a price point of $399 and Sony’s full customer support, you can’t beat it!  I recommend this to anybody who enjoys videos games.  The Playstation 4 truly is “The Future of Gaming”.  

Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is an adventure horror game by Frictional games, makers of the Penumbra series.  Now when I say “horror”, I don’t say that lightly.  This game is scary and it only takes one glance at the game to get why.  The combination of mechanics, artwork, and sound the make this game, and how it gives the player its unique scenes of horror.   I myself was never a fan of horror games until after I played its, a new appreciation was established.  Sadly though, not many other horror games out there can even come close to Amnesia’s level.  

Story and Setting

The game takes place in the year 1839 in a German kingdom called Prussia.  You play as Daniel, a young man from London who wakes up in the old Brennenburg Castle.  Daniel, as you may have guessed from the title, has amnesia and you have no idea where you are or what’s going on.  Throughout the game you find

pages from your journal, each page gradually reveals more and more of the story and what is happening.  It is a simple story that, trust me, gets much more deep and sickening as the game progresses.  But that’s not all, Daniel soon discovers that he is being hunted by an unworldly being known as the Shadow.  The Shadow has no concrete physical form but it is every bit as dangerous as the many horrific monsters that roam the castle.   The Shadow is powerful, quick, and is spreading throughout the castle, leaving fleshy growths.   As Daniel moves through the castle and uncovers his past he slowly begins to realize what his purpose for being there is. 

Gameplay and Visuals

For a lower budget game, the visuals are not amazing but they are also not bad.  During certain parts of the game I found that it handled the theme very well.  For example, I could be making my way through the wine cellar and searching the dark dank rooms with cob webs and mold growing on the walls and having some creature searching for me on top of that and all I would be thinking is “How the hell do I get out of here!”  But the visuals are not where this game shines, it’s the gameplay and its mechanics.  Most horror games rely on jump scares to get the players.  Amnesia does not do this, its horror lies in the games atmosphere and its sense of immersion.  There are no weapons in the game, you are only armed with a lantern to light your path and even that can be risky.  No, if you’re in a pickle then you only have two options, run or hide.  But there is a counter to everything.  In Amnesia you have a sanity meter which drops when you stare at enemies or stay in the darkness two long.  If a monster is searching for you and you hide in the dark so that you are not seen, your sanity will drop.  As it drops, your vision starts to become distorted and you hallucinate.  The lower it drops the more distorted your vision becomes and the louder Daniel breaths in panic to the point of alerting the monster.  If you turn your lantern on to give yourself light then you also risk being spotted that way.  This sense of helplessness is the most important factor for this game when it comes to horror.  And like the Penumbra games you will be tasked with collection items and solving verious puzzles along the way.  It is a very good pase changer especially after one of the many events that happen within the game.  When I first played this game I went all out.  I waited until late at night and turned off all the lights and put headphones on.  Bad idea, there were multiple times when my nerves were so wound up that I had to stop playing for a while.  The developers really know what strings to tug at.  This is without a doubt the scariest game I had ever played. 

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to this game is actually one of my favorite parts, the game is filled with very moody and dark pieces that really give you the sense of fear and loneliness you have while playing this all the way up to the fast and scary chase music that make you feel like your screwed if you don’t get that door open.  All of it comes together with the gameplay and atmosphere to create a very fulfilling horror game that knows what makes a person afraid. 

If you are a fan of horror movies and horror games then you would be a fool to pass this up.  This game takes everything that makes a person genuinely scared and throws you right into it.  And the reason I used headphones and turned the lights off is because the game actually prompts you to do so in the menu screen in order for you to get the full experience.  And they weren’t kidding!  This game when played the right way will have your nerves just as high as your heartbeat.  Not recommended for those who have trouble handling that.  But if you’re up for it then you won’t be disappointed, this is a very good game and accomplishes what many others of its genre have failed. 

Minecraft Review

Minecraft is a game that is quickly taking over the world, and pretty soon we will all be bowing down to our new dominant overload of pure awesomeness.  Minecraft is a game that many people pass up at first glance only to later give it another look, play it, and instantly become addicted.  I was actually one of those people.   I remember getting on my computer one day and joining my friends Skype session only to be greeted to the sound of eight different people blabbering about how amazing this Minecraft game is.  At this time I had heard of it, but never knew what it was.  They strongly insisted that I go and check it out and literally my first thoughts when I did were “What the hell is this, a joke?” and quickly pushed it aside.  A few months later I began to see videos of Minecraft popping up all over Youtube, and I realized that the game had to be something worth checking out if it’s THIS popular!  So I finally purchased the game and started playing it and four hours flew right out the window before I even noticed.  If there is one thing I can say about this game, it’s that “It takes creativity to a whole new level!”

Story and Setting

There is absolutely no story to speak of when it comes to this game.  In fact there isn’t really even a setting either.  The game simply plops you into this randomly and infinitely generated word made entirely of blocks, leaving you confused and unsure of what to do.  The lack of a tutorial is one of the game’s biggest flaws, fortunately the later released Xbox 360 version came with one.  But if you’re playing on PC then you may want to visit the Minecraft wiki to get a rundown on how the game works.  Once you spend a few minutes reading up on the starting basics then you quickly begin to realize the magic behind Minecraft.  The lack of story actually inspires the player to come up with their own and create their own path in the world. 

Gameplay and Visuals

The visuals are “NOT” and I repeat, “NOT” the games strong point.  At first glance this game looks like it belongs on a Nintendo 64 system.  But just like the lack of story, the lack of up to date visuals somehow adds to the games magic.  Minecraft is a perfect example of how a game does not have to look pretty to be

fun and amazing.  Despite the games bad graphics, the game mechanics actually seem to be quite advanced and unique.  Each time you load up a new game it will generate a completely random world, you will never encounter the same world twice.  This drastically increases the playability.  And as you explore the world, it will continue to generate more terrain making the map size infinite (On the PC).  Remember how I said the world was made entirely of blocks?  Well I wasn’t kidding, the world is composed of billions upon billions of
blocks and every block is destructible and can be removed. 

Now I’ll bet your wondering why the call the game “Minecraft”.  Well the title says it all, you mine and craft stuff.  For example, when you start off the game your first task should be to collect wood from any nearby trees.  Once you do so, you use the wood to create a crafting bench, and you use the crafting bench to crate tools with the remaining wood.  Then you use those tools to cut down trees

faster, dig, and eventually mine minerals such as Stone, Iron, Coal, and eventually Diamond.  Almost everything in the world can be used to your benefit.  Once you have things going then you can move on to bigger things such as building a house and crafting weapons.  These are important because once night falls, the mobs (monsters) come out to play and you will need shelter and something to fight with.  Pretty much from here on out you are just expanding.  Improving your house, mining more minerals, crafting more advanced items, venturing farther out into the world, and hunting animals for food.  Yes, there is hunger meter in this game and if you don’t eat, you die.  Fortunately there are animals everywhere for you to hunt, cook, and then eat.  You can even eventually start a farm and grow your own food.  The game literally lets your go as long and as far as you’re want and it’s even more fun when you’re doing it with friends.  The game features a multiplayer system that lets you team up with your friends and survive and build together.  Me and for other friends got together and started off with nothing and about a week later we had a giant castle built full of rooms and decorations.  The sky is literally the limit with this game!  And this is only the Survival Mode, the game also comes with Creative Mode.  This game mode gives the player unlimited health and an unlimited supply of every block type in the game, allowing you to really get crazy with your creativity!

Soundtrack

Just like the story and visuals, the soundtrack in this game is not its strongest part.  It features mostly soft background piano music that I found myself just turning completely off most of the time when I played.  The soundtrack is literally nothing special or worth paying attention too.  This game is all about the gameplay! 

So as you can tell, gameplay and player creativity is where this game grabs ahold of you.  Sure it can be hard to look at and confusing at first.  But once you get past that, you are in for a real treat.  This is by far one of the most “unexpected” games I have ever played and chances are with how popular it is, you have heard of it at one point or another.  If you ever get a chance, check this game out and give it a chance.  I recommend the PC version, you can get it on the Xbox 360 and tablets such as iPad but they are limited due their hardware.  PC offers the more complete version of Minecraft. 

Assassin's Creed Review

Assassin's Creed is an action adventure open world stealth game, made by Ubisoft Montreal. The game was released back in 2007 on Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows PC. There are currently six Assassin's Creed games, one of them still in development. The Assassin's Creed series has always been in my top five list, I remember back when I first picked up a controller and played the first one, how amazed I was with how the game was presented and the mechanics it used. Anyone who has not heard of or even played any games in the this series should do so.

Story and Setting:

Technically the game takes place in the present day, you play as a bartender named Desmond Miles who was kidnapped by an organization known as Abstergo Industries. They built this machine called the Animus, which decodes our DNA and allows us to relive the memories of our ancestors. Abstergo is in search of a

powerful artifact called the Piece of Eden and the only way to find its location is through the memories of Desmond's ancestors. So he is strapped into the Animus and the player is then taken back to the Third Cusade and put into the life of' Altair ibn-LaA'had, an Assassin of that time. The Assassin order strives for peace and freedom and has always been at war with a group called the Templars, who's goal is to controller and shape the world as they see fit. During your time as Altair you witness and play his life as an Assassin, you will visit great cities such as Jerusalem while completing assignments and assassinating targets of vital importance as well as uncovering information through Desmond. Lots of surprises and historical moments are played throughout the game and with each bit of memory Desmond gets one step closer to revealing the truth behind the Piece of Eden.

Soundtrack

The music, though nothing amazing, was nothing underwhelming. The game features a solid and pleasing soundtrack that fits the mood and the setting of the game. The different tracks play well with the gameplay, whether you are sneaking around, in a fight, or in a chase sequence. I myself found the Crusader style themes very fulfilling and enjoyable.

Gameplay and Visuals

By today's standards the games visuals are not amazingly impressive, they were however top quality back in 2007. The game presents a relativly high gray scale with lots of dust and particles to try and capture the environment of the Third Crusade. The gameplay is where the games uniqueness really shines. This is a stealth based platforming game, what kind of Assassin would you be without stealth? While you are in the cities, the game generates massive crowds of people, which both brings the game to life as well as providing plenty of hiding places. You can actually use the crowd to your advantage while escaping guards or stalking a target. Another

features in this game is the platforming, the Assassin's have amazing parkour skills which allows you to scale any building in the game which can be real useful when you are in a tight situation.  You are also presented with a whole arsenal of weapons and gear, everything from swords, short blades, and throwing knifes to armor and upgrades. These tools are all hear at your disposal and are unlocked throughout the game, but a true Assassin does not need them, he makes due with his hidden blade. This is the iconic tool of the Assassins, it as a gauntlet which contains a retractable blade. Perfect for sneaking in, killing the target, and sneaking out. All of these features come together to form dynamic and thrilling gameplay.

Assassin's Creed is an amazing video game series and it all started with the original, I recommend anyone who has ever played an Assassin's Creed game to give this one a try if you have not already. It may not be the best compared to the games of today including the current Assassin's Creed games but it is definitely worth your attention, especially if you're a fan.  

Gears of War Review

Gears of War is a silence fiction third person shooter that was developed by Epic Games and was the first game I had ever bought on Xbox 360, I had no idea what it was about or what kind of game it even was, I just wanted something to play on my new console. Fortunately I was very impressed by what Gears of War presented, a good story, intense action, and great characters and voice acting. It was a great game to start off the next generation of gaming for me, and its a game I still play today.

Story and Setting:

Gears of War is one of those games with a very large back story that goes beyond the actual game. The story takes place on a fiction planet called Sera. A precious energy source called Emulsion, which was a liquid found beneath the planets service, was the result of a 79 long year war between two military organizations called the COG and the UIR who both wanted control of the Emulsion. Just six weeks after the war finally ended is when the Locust emerged from underground. The locust are non human creatures who saw the humans weakened state as a moment of attack, this day was called E-Day or Emergence Day. As a last resort, the COG decided to use the Hammer of Dawn, a space super weapon, to fight them off. But they ended up hurting themselves more than the Locust, destroying most of their own cities and crippling them even more. The game takes place fourteen years after E-Day and you play as Marcus Fenix, a hardened COG soldier who was found guilty of war crimes and sent to prison. During the beginning of the game you are busted out by Marcus's best friend and fellow COG Dominic “Dom” Santiago, just as the prison was being overrun by Locust. You later join up with “Delta Squad” a group seeking a device called the Resonator, which would be used to map out the underground tunnel system the locust use called The Hollow. In doing so, they would be able to deploy the Light Mass Bomb in hopes of severely crippling the Locust. Throughout the course of the game you will be visiting over run and destroyed cities as well as meeting survivors, also known as strandeds. The game does a successful job at capturing the depressing atmosphere and immersing the player into its once beautiful and now ravaged world.

Soundtrack:

The game features a variety of different pieces, whether they are moody and depressing to fit a scene, or they are intense and fast to fit a battle. The game successfully does its job at presenting a solid soundtrack and does it appropriately with whats taking place. There was actually this one level where you are sneaking through this destroyed and overrun city late at night,and music does its job at capturing the overall fearful scene. I found myself inching my way through the whole level, expecting something to pop out around any corner. Then there were also times where I am in an intense battle with my squad the music is revved up and intense as well, really amplifying the moment. Without a doubt, the soundtrack was one of the most memorable parts of the game.

Gameplay and Visuals:

With Gears of War being my first game for my Xbox 360, you can imagine how blown away I was by the HD graphics, at the time they were the best I had ever seen. The game goes for more of the grimy and warzone style graphics with the grayscale turned all the way up. That on the other had was something I had a problem with, the games lack of color. I understood that the game is practically a post apocalyptic game and is goal is to immerse you in this now dead world. But seeing white, black, and gray mission after mission got pretty old and pretty quick. Fortunately the game was no completely black and white, it did have color and later in the game it kinda showed more but not by much. The gameplay however is another strong point for Gears of War, it is a theirs person shooter/cover based game. The Golden Rule of the Gears is “take cover or die”. If you tried to go Rambo at all in this game, you wouldn't last long and thats one of the things I really liked about this game, it added a great deal of challenge and intensity to the game. You weren't just some bullet sponge, you actually had to watch out! And I greatly enjoy games like that.

Gears of War being my first arrival into the new HD gaming generation, it will always hold a spot in the top of my list of favorite games. While the graphics were very crisp and clear, the overall lack of color was a turn off. But the amazing gameplay mechanics, soundtrack, story and setting really compensate for that. As well as the games well voiced characters. Gears of War is not a game to be passed up if you have ever owned and Xbox 360.

Mirrors Edge Review

As a fan of original titles, it didn't take long for Mirrors Edge to catch my eye with its unique story, interesting mechanics, and stunning visuals. Mirrors Edge is a first person, platforming game developed by DICE at EA Studios, released in 2009.

Story and Setting:

Mirrors Edge presents a moderately original story you don't see to much in video games today. The game takes place in a fictional city set in the future that is being ran by a corrupt government. You play as a woman named Faith who is a member of a group known as the Runners. The Runners are couriers that relay messages across the city while avoiding the corrupt government law enforcement who the Runners call Blues. Runners are experts at parkour running and fighting, which consists of rooftop running and jumping as well as wall running and mantling in a very quick and fluid manner. During a normal delivery, Faith discovers that

her sister Kate has been falsely accused of murder and suspecting it to be a set up. During the course of the game you will be running across rooftops and evading Blues trying to find out who framed Kate and why. The plot keeps you into the game in its entirety but the main issue with it is its length. With the main story taking only an average of six hours to complete with very little replay value and no multilayer to expand on, the game was hard to come back too, which was a problem considering the sixty dollar price point the game had at launch. However, this does not make the game and its story any less memorable.

Soundtrack:

Whether you are running and jumping on rooftops, or being chased by Blues there is always a piece being played to fit the moment. I found my self purposely getting detected by police just so they would come after me because the chase music made it so intense and enjoyable. The games main theme being and instrumental version of “Still Alive” by Swedish singer Lisa Miskovsky just goes so well with the flow of the gameplay.

Gameplay and Visuals:

These two topics are without a doubt the games most strongest points. With it being a first person platforming game, it surprisingly feels very smooth and fluid. The same can be said for the hand to hand combat system, very fluid and easy to learn. There are not button combinations here, you can fly through this game with only a few button presses, yet it still retains its challenged which is a very important accomplishment. There is shooting in this game but it is optional, which is a good thing. The gun play is very clunky and difficult to use, clearly not meant to be a main feature in the game. The graphics however were nothing short of amazing, I remember when the game was first revealed and how I didn't know it was gameplay that was being showed, I thought it was a cinematic trailer, very impressive. There can be a few stutters in performance here and there but overall the game kept is crisp clean look and still ran very smoothly, a goal games today struggle with.

Mirrors Edge is a great game that has its flaws but in none the less still a great game. Games like this show how original and fun games have the potential of being, it all comes down to the people who are making it and if they have the skills and passion for bringing it to life  Fortunately for this game they had the right people behind it, for the most part, and with a sequel set to release is the near future there is allot to be excited about.

Halo: Combat Evolved Review

The Halo series will always hold a special place in my heart, it was the first game that introduced me to story driven games and made me the gamer I am today. As someone who loves movies, you can imagine my amazement when I first came across Halo: Combat Evolved by Bungie studios, back in 2001. Almost everyone who considers themselves gamers have played this title at one time or another. This game not only made first person shooters popular on consoles, but to me it changed the way games are looked at.

I'm going to break this review down into three categories, Story, Soundtrack, Gameplay and Visuals.

Story-

Halo has such a deep lore that goes beyond the games themselves that it would be hard to explain it all in this little review, so I will give you a short version. The year is 2531, the Human race have been at war for the past few decades with a religious driven union of aliens known as The Covenant, who believes the humans to be a race of heretics that needs to be wiped out. Halo: Combat Evolved takes place right after the destruction of Reach, one of the many Human inhabited planets, this one was home to the Spartan Program. 

The Spartans are genetically designed super soldiers that came into great use after the first Covenant invasion, they wore a highly advanced set of armor called MJOLNIR V.  This armor is a technologically-advanced combat exoskeleton system designed to vastly improve the strength, speed, agility, reflexes and durability of a Spartan soldier. It was later implemented with a rechargeable shielding system using technology stolen from the Covenant. But after the destruction of Reach, the Spartans had supposedly been wiped out along with it. Only one Spartan was known to had survived and was in cryo sleep aboard the Pillar of Autumn, a lone military space vessel that fled while the Covenant glassed the planet. The Spartans name is John 117 or Master Chief, this is the character the player will be controlling. The Pillar of Autumn comes out of slip space, this is the opening scene for the game, and approaches a strange object found orbiting a planet, the object has the appearance of a giant ring with water and mountains on its inner sides. 

Afterward the ship is attacked by Covenant forces and they are forced to land on the mysterious ring world during which you play as Master Chief accompanied by an artificial intelligence named Cortana who offers guidance through your missions. Your main mission is to recover your lost crew members, find the captain, and figure out what this ring world is and why the Covenant are so interested in it.

Soundtrack-

The musical score of a video game is just as important as the story, similar to a movie, its role is to capture and intensify the mood of the scene you are witnessing. Halo executes this perfectly, with many jaw dropping pieces by Martin O' Donnell in which every single one fits appropriately with what is going on in the game. To this day the Halo main theme still amazes me. 

Gameplay and Visuals-

Whats the point of playing a video game if its not smooth or good to look at? Fortunately for its time, Halo Combat Evolved was very advanced and revolutionary. Bringing the first person shooter to the consoles must have been a challenged, but Bungie ended up doing it right. The controls are very smooth, fluid, and easy to pick up. Not once did I have trouble remembering which button did what, the set up was very

simple. The visuals however, by today standards would be considered to be very poor, but once again for its time it was state of the art graphics. I remember when I first played the game, how realistic I though it was, and even today the game still looks pretty good. Back in 2011, 343 Industries released a ten year anniversary version of the game called Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which is exactly the same as the original but remastered. The point of it was to show how far technology has come in ten years, the game allows you to cycle back and forth between the original and revised graphics. So if you are a newer gamer who wants to experience Halo without the outdated visuals, then this one is for you.

Halo: Combat Evolved was an amazing game for its time, setting the benchmark for FPS games on consoles and expressing what a truly original and story driven game should be like. With the Halo series still kicking strong with six games under its belt, its hard to imagine anyone who has not at least heard of this game. If you are a fan of Halo but have not played the first one, I highly recommend that you do and that goes the same for the people who have never played the series.