Xbox One First Impressions

-->

Hooray for Xbox fans, the new console is finally on the market and I wanted to sit down and let my friends, and possibly some new readers, know what my first thoughts are on the system.

Hardware

The console is bulky and heavy, much more so than even the original 360.  It also looks like a giant VCR. The top of the Xbox is half smooth black and half vent. I can tell by the design that Microsoft went to great lengths to make sure this console avoids a red ring of death fiasco. This also explains why there is a large external power brick to go along with it. The console is beautiful, though with it’s smooth black features and stylized vents. Unless you’re anal about style you won’t be bothered by this, just make sure you have enough room in your entertainment center for it.

The Kinect is also a large piece of machinery, larger than the 360’s anyway. It is, however, much more responsive than the original and that is something I have found very valuable over the past few days.

The controller feels slightly different, but better, than the 360 controller. The joysticks stick out more and they have grips on them that feel extremely comfortable to game with. The D-pad is a much-improved version of its predecessor. There is a noticeable click when you push down on it and it’s reassuring to know which direction you’re pressing it in. The triggers don’t pop out as much and they’re flush with the bumpers. That means, for me anyway, no more nitwitted gap between the two. I always made that mistake on the 360 controller where I would press my finger into that gap rather than the bumper. I was hoping that the controller would come with a built in battery, but it looks as if we’re still stuck using double A’s for now. You do have the option to purchase a play and charge kit, but with this being a “new” generation, I was hoping it would’ve come bundled.

The headset that came with the console feels like a plastic hunk of crap, but the sound quality on it is absolutely stunning. I still miss having a wireless headset though because it’s annoying to have that cord getting caught up in the controller. It’s not the best headset, but it’ll do for now.

Likes                                                                                       Dislikes

+Polished and smooth color                                            -Bulky and heavy console.

+Much-improved controller                                            -Controller needs batteries

+Kinect is very responsive                                               -Wired headset feels cheap

+Sound quality on headset is crisp and clear

Setup

Setting up the console was one of the easiest experiences I’ve had. I’m not saying it was a chore with previous generations, but this one just felt quick and smooth. The most annoying part of the setup was having to download the day one update and that’s because I was too impatient to wait thirty minutes. Other than that all I had to do was select my region, language, and time zone.

Setting up the Kinect and logging in with my gamer tag was a breeze as well. Unlike the previous Kinect, I didn’t have to map the area of my playing space. Instead it took a look at me, matched me to my gamertag, configured the audio, and I was ready to go. First order of business after that was to receive my achievement for buying the Day One Edition. It was a card that had a Q code on it.

“Xbox, use a code.”

Boom, point the Q code towards the Kinect and in literally two seconds I had my useless gem. In your face.

Likes                                                                           Dislikes

+Fast and easy setup                                             -Day one update took too long

+Q Codes are quick                                                              

+No long and pointless Kinect setup

Interface

The interface is much different than that of the 360 and is a lot more reminiscent to Windows 8. I’m not a huge fan of the Windows 8 platform when I’m using it on a PC; however, I have found it to be very useful on my tablet, phone, and now Xbox. There are three tabs on the dashboard. The left tab is Pins and I can store all of my favorite apps there for quick and easy access. The middle tab is the Home screen where all recent activity (up to five apps), profile/friends/achievements app, snap feature, games and apps, and disc tray options are found. The right tab is the store.

I want to note that the store is much easier to navigate, for me anyway. Instead of having a different tab for music, video, and games, all of these options can be found in one place. The tabs on the home screen are colorful and flashy and they’re much more appealing to look at compared to the 360’s version. The home is notably absent of belligerent advertisements, which was a big issue I had on the 360’s dashboard. You’ll see your ads when you navigate the store and they’re ads that show up based on your previous game history. For example, Assassin’s Creed IV was recommended to me based on me having played every iteration of the franchise before it. These are useful ads to me because they feel almost customized. In fact, I’m more inclined to look into these ads than I was a Ford ad on my 360.

Getting around your dashboard is quick and easy to do as well. Using a controller is a tad slower than voice commands, but it’s notably faster than navigation on the 360. Voice commands can get you to every place you need to be. Simply saying, “Xbox, go to (name app) and within seconds you’re there. The speed of the interface is appealing to me because I switch back and forth a lot. On the 360 I would waste time going to Netflix, then Hulu, then Twitch, and then maybe to a game. Switching back and forth on the 360 now seems like a chore in comparison. Being able to switch between apps within seconds is a feature I love and never even knew I wanted. My only issue with this is that the Kinect only responds 90 percent of the time. Granted this is an improvement from its predecessor, but I’d still prefer 100 percent to avoid looking like a douche bag that is yelling at his TV to Bing midget porn for the tenth time. The problem is more noticeable when the television is loud or if there is a lot of chatter in the room.

Likes                                                                    Dislikes

+Less clutter on dashboard                         -Ads. I simply don’t like them

+Pins has it’s own tab…finally                     -Have to repeat commands sometimes

+Store is condensed and easy to use

+Navigation is speedy

Content

There are the usual apps, Netflix, Twitch, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, etc. The popular ones are there and I’m sure there will be more on the way. Internet Explorer is back and, as you might imagine, it’s still useless to use when you have a smartphone or computer that can complete the job much quicker. Give me Firefox!

Everything on the Xbox one is it’s own app now. Achievements, friends, and even party chat all have their own place. It may sounds like a chore to use, but with the speed of switching back and forth, it’s hardly noticeable. Also, the fact that nothing really closes is nice because you can be in the middle of a match in Killer Instinct when you decide to check your achievements. The system will pause the game to take you to this other app. When you’re done you can easily switch right back to your game and pick up exactly where you left off. It can be annoying though because problems tend to arise when you can’t close all the apps. Not being able to join a party chat and games not loading are two issues I’ve ran into. The solution is to turn the Xbox off (which really means it’s going to sleep) and unplug it from the wall. This way the console starts fresh when you turn it on. I’ll update this section if I find an easier solution.

The snap feature is a pretty neat little toy to have, although it is definitely not for everyone. You can snap most of your apps to the right side of the screen while you continue whatever it is that you’re doing in a different app on the left side. I’ve only found this very useful for party chats and creepily stalking my friend via the activity feed. Although I’m sure I’ll wind up snapping achievement guides in Internet Explorer for those times I need it.

Watching TV on your Xbox is also a convenient thing to have. My cable box is connected and I can now switch to the TV whenever I want as well as control it with my voice. Using your voice is an absolutely useless feature though. I’ve found that using the remote is still a much easier way to go about watching television, despite how cool it is to ask your Kinect “what’s on NFL?”

The party system feels smoother than it’s predecessor and it’s convenient to have it snapped so you can see who’s talking. The annoying thing is that when you join a party you have to select the, “turn party on,” option. Why? I have no idea. Here I thought I wanted the party on because I chose to either start or join one. And when I want to leave the party I won’t “turn party off.” I’ll simply leave. It’s pointless and extremely useless. It doesn’t take away from the experience but it does feel unnecessary and I hope it gets removed in a future update.

The games that came with this console are scarce. I’m not sure I was even excited for any of the titles and have only had the chance to play two of them so far. Forza Motorsport 5 and Killer Instinct (a free to play title) have taken up most of my time on the Xbox One and I can admit to having fun with both of them. Keep in mind, though, that these games are not something I would recommend spending five hundred dollars on, assuming the features haven’t sucked you in. If you’re ONLY about games, it may be in your best interest to wait for the killer app *cough* Titanfall *cough*.

Skype is also available on Xbox One and I don’t have an opinion on it yet. I haven’t actually used this app, but I’m hoping it’s as simple to use as Skype on a computer.

Upload and Upload studio are my favorite apps so far. While playing a game I can say, Xbox record that. It’ll automatically record the last thirty seconds of gameplay. I can also snap the upload app and set it up to record up to five minutes of gameplay. From there I can take my clips to Upload Studio where I edit them into videos. Check out my Killer Instinct montage.

Likes                                                                        Dislikes

+Favorite apps are back                                    -Internet Explorer is still useless

+Everything is it’s own app                             -Apps never closing causes issues

+Snap for easy multitasking                            -Voice controls are hard to use with TV

+No more changing input to watch TV         -Turning party on/off is unnecessary

+Party feature is easy to navigate                  -Needs more games

+Upload and Upload Studio                                   

Overall

I have really enjoyed my experience on the Xbox One and that is because it is targeted towards people like me who find the ease of entertainment in one place useful. It may have certain setbacks but they’re issues that can be fixed through a software update. I have to remind myself that I’ll be going through the growing pains of the console since I decided to become an early adopter. If you’re the type of person who is only about games and could care less for the rest of the features, well, I can’t recommend this console to you just yet. There are game to play, sure, but nothing that isn’t worth waiting for. All the titles on this console may have gone over looked (with the exception of Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5) had they released on current gen systems. Regardless of your consumer choices, let it be known that I do in fact enjoy this system a lot and I’m sure that one day you will too.

If you have any questions about things that I didn’t address, feel free to ask me in the comments below.

First Impression: 8/10

Insulin

      I parked my truck in the dilapidated lot behind the pharmacy facing the back entrance. The door was propped open by a large rock and it beckoned for me to go inside. A warning painted on the wall next to the door read, All Dead Here. It had been a week since my last insulin shot and my body was feeling the effects. The fatigue was overwhelming and I contemplated taking a nap, but the fear of slipping into a diabetic coma petrified me enough to keep me focused. Chloe sat in the seat next me and stared out the passenger window with her ears propped up as if she was trying to listen for something. She was a beautiful German Sheppard mixed with Black Lab and although she was as hyper as Lab could be, she was as disciplined and sharp as a full-blooded Sheppard.

     “What is it, girl?” I asked her as I pet her smooth black fur. She gave me a subtle glance as she licked her snout and stared back out the window. Chloe and I were the first to go beyond the green zone in nearly a decade. I peered out along the back lot looking for any signs of zombies. It’s been five years since my group at the Air Force Base has seen one but no one has ventured out this far to double check. No signs of life were in the back lot other than the grass growing through the cracks on the pavement and I felt it was as safe as I could hope for.     

     I slung the strap of my M16 around my shoulder as I stepped out of the truck and whistled for Chloe. The weapon was for last resort purposes; I still had my baseball bat for the silent stuff. As I stepped towards the pharmacy I grew nauseous. I keeled over and emptied my lunch. Each time my body heaved I could feel my energy draining. I dropped to my hands and knees for a moment to recuperate. I felt weak as my arms shook beneath my weight and my eyelids grew heavier. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to sleep, but I couldn’t rest until I had my insulin.

     Before the world turned upside down I didn’t have a problem refilling my prescription and I never realized how easy it was for me to stay alive. I settled in at the Air Force base and managed to crack into the hospital’s pharmacy for all of my insulin needs. Now I’ve run out of it and having type 1 diabetes has become a bigger threat to my life than the walking dead. I picked myself up with the aid of my truck while Chloe zipped over to investigate the scene.

     “Leave it,” I snapped at her. She looked up at me before turning around. I leaned on the truck while I double-checked my weapon. After making sure I was okay I began creeping towards the open door. Someone had clearly been here before and all of the medicine may have been gone. I got ten feet towards the door before I called Chloe in to investigate.

     “Pssst.” Chloe’s ears perked up as she marched ahead of me with her nose investigating the air. Once she neared the threshold she stopped. Her ears folded down and her tailed shot between her legs. A deep growl emerged from her throat as she stared inside the door. There was nothing but darkness inside so I pulled the flashlight off of my belt harness and turned it on.

     “Someone in there?” I pointed the flashlight inside as Chloe’s growl turned into a soft whine. She backed away from the door as I heard a shuffling noise from inside. A blood-curdling moan cried out freezing me in my tracks. The shuffling and moaning grew louder as the dead man walked into view. His tattered clothes were smeared in dry blood. His face had massive gashes and the skin looked gray and rotted. The decaying flesh drooped off his cheeks as he snarled his brownish teeth at me. The top of his left foot dragged on the ground as he stepped closer.

     I hoisted the bat up in my right hand and kept the flashlight pointed at the man with my left as he drew closer. I took one step forward and swung the bat into the man’s head. His soft skull caved in with the blow and sent him colliding with a desk on his right. As he lay on the ground I took another step towards him and swung the bat into his face one more time to make sure he was gone.

     I backed up with Chloe to catch my breath. Adrenaline or not, my body was quickly running out of energy. After not seeing one of these things in years it was easy to forget how petrifying they can be. I double-checked to make sure I hadn’t wet myself and then worked up the courage to re enter the building. Chloe stood guard at the door as I disappeared into the darkness. Papers littered the floor along with empty bottles and needles. Dried blood stained the areas of the floor that were visible. Someone had ransacked this place already.

     I made my way to the right where I caught a glimpse of a refrigerator. That’s where insulin would be kept. I knew it was probably expired, but I had to take my chances regardless. I walked over to open it and stumbled across a decomposed body. Controlling my gag reflex, I stepped over the body and opened the fridge. I let out a sigh of relief when two bottles of insulin greeted me. I collected them and made my way back to the truck. I sat in silence for a moment as I stared again at the sign, All Dead Here. I wasn’t sure if this insulin would work, but not everyone here is dead, yet.

Stop Pointing Fingers at Video Games

-->

            Like many of you reading this, I am an avid gamer who enjoys the escapism of video games. I enjoy sitting down on my couch and living vicariously through fictional characters. Videos games have offered me an interactive form of entertainment that I often find more enjoyable than movies and books. It’s not a passive experience but something I’m just as much a part of as the character I’m controlling. Hours can be invested in a single story like Mass Effect where I enjoy unveiling the plot and making game changing decisions. Other games let me blow off some steam while I pepper my friends with fake bullets in a multiplayer match of Halo. No matter what satisfaction you gain from playing a video game, I think it’s fairly safe to say that not one game on this planet has been the leading cause to violent crimes committed in the real world.

            This argument has been brought up numerous times in my life and I have even blogged about it before. However, with the release of Grand Theft Auto V, it was again brought to my attention, this time by my father. He’s a big Bill O’Reilly fan and began telling me to avoid GTA V at all costs because it’s extremely violent and just absolutely awful. I told him that I had been playing for a week already and that it’s just a game. No matter what my argument with him was about, it doesn’t change the fact that people truly get angry at games when violent events occur. O’Reilly was talking about a Louisiana man who stole a car, kidnapped a woman, and wrecked the car into nine other vehicles. The perpetrator stated to authorities that he wanted to see what it was like to be a Grand Theft Auto character. There is no doubt that this individual possessed a real special kind of stupid, but his story isn’t the only one giving GTA V bad publicity. In a London midnight release of the game, a group of teenagers smashed a brick into a man’s face, stabbed him multiple times, and robbed him of his mobile phone, watch, and fresh copy of GTA V. Naturally the media points a finger at the game because this caused the violence, but I ask, did this game condition this act of violence? My guess is that it didn’t.

            So what is the big deal with violence in video games and what is it about them that make it so people, most of whom probably don’t play games, target them for causation of real life crime? Some people say that video games are training people to be killers. The reality is that they don’t. As I’ve already stated, many of us play video games for the escapism from reality. We like to get away from our lives so that we may live vicariously through fictional characters. Sleeping with a bunch of strippers without the threat of a real STD or killing a bunch of innocent people is something you can only do in video games because we know that it isn’t real. I’m not too sure how many people on this planet play games in order to live out real life fantasies, but the reality is that if people like that do exist, at least they’re being criminal A-holes in a universe that causes no real damage to the lives of real people.           
            So tell me why violent movies, novels, and music aren’t on this list of entertainment devices that train killers? Is it because they’re passive experiences? Most likely. But you can’t possibly think that video games are training people to heartlessly gun down the innocent, do you? I mean, the plastic triggers on a controller are nothing compared to a real gun. I served six years of my life in the military and I was trained how to shoot military grade weapons that were specifically designed TO kill people. Let it be known that before I ever joined our countries finest I played many violent games and yet none of them prepared for what the real thing had in store. I didn’t walk into basic training knowing how to take apart an M16. Call of Duty didn’t teach me how to load it, arm it, or even fire it. So I’m failing to see the correlation here. Videos games haven’t trained anyone to kill any more than watching football has taught people how to be professional athletes.

            Other people may say that video games have desensitized people to violence. I may agree with that. But how have games desensitized a person any more than movies have? Watching a person getting brutally murdered in a movie is different than playing the guy who is brutally murdering someone in a game, yet I’m pretty sure Ted Bundy didn’t have GTA, so what’s his excuse? But where does morality come into play? I’ve played games like Modern Warfare 2 that had me toting through an airport as a terrorist whose primary task is to murder a bunch of innocent passengers. I know I had the option to skip that scene, but I wanted to know why. I felt so terrible about that scene that I went through it without firing a single bullet (not until they made me anyway). I felt that it was morally wrong to do and that shouldn’t have happened considering I’ve been so desensitized, right? Now try having a gamer do that in real life. Put a gun in his hands, have him point it at an innocent person and order him to pull the trigger. Assuming it’s not a ‘him or me’ scenario, most people would be extremely conflicted and I highly doubt anyone would actually pull the trigger. We gamers may have the ability to kill hookers and rob banks in Grand Theft Auto, but we know it’s fake and something we would never do in the real world.

            Other people may claim that gamers are conditioned to believe that there are no real consequences in real life because you can get away with it in video games. That is not true. We are sane people who can tell the difference between right and wrong, fiction and reality, and good or bad. I’d argue that mentally unstable people are the ones you should worry about playing video games. And not just any mental condition, but severe conditions that make it so the person literally has a hard time deciphering the difference between fiction and reality. Children should also not be exposed to extremely violent games, however, that is up to the parent to take care of. I would never let my children (I do have two) play the games I do, not until I know they’re old enough to understand them. Even that might be hard if they are exposed to this stuff at a friends house, but still, raising your children with good morals will trump anything they can learn in one hour of a violent game.

            People need to stop pointing fingers at video games, guns, and Marilyn Manson. They need to point the fingers at the true culprit, the people themselves. What kind of up bringing did the man who shot up my local movie theater during a midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises have? What was his mental state like? Is he a sociopath? I mean seriously. I could look at anything in his past and point a finger to something that could’ve caused his actions. The truth is, he made the decision to do what he did and I find it hard to believe that a video game whispered into his ear and told to him to go through with it. But what about mass murderers who share the video game connection? I’ll just go ahead and say that they were all probably wearing shoes and slept in a bed at night, so why not blame those things? I don’t think we’ll ever truly know the answer, but what I can give you at the end of the blog is this, a little food for thought. If video games were so bad and were the cause of the heinous crimes we see in the world today, then why haven’t a larger percentage of the millions of people who are classified as gamers committed their own acts of rage and violence.

            Fight for what you believe in people. Video games are much better than those who don’t play them would have you believe. Gamers have excellent hand eye coordination, puzzle solving skills, intelligence, and less stress. Those who do think games cause violence seem to fear the unknown which I suppose is normal. But please don’t be so quick to judge just because the world has a few bad seeds. At PAX East this year I attended Story Time With Cliffy B and he said something about this topic that I will never forget. He told us that he’s been to many gaming conventions and never once witnessed or heard about violence breaking out. He then stated, go to a local NFL game and you’ll see the difference. That’s a paraphrase because he said it almost six months ago. But still, there is a lot of truth in that. Now if you don’t mind, I have a store to rob…in Grand Theft Auto.

The Flight From Hell

-->

            Have you ever had that moment in your life where you were sure that death was moments away? Perhaps you took a drunken dip at the lake with your buddies and began involuntarily hydrating yourself with dirty fish water before your pal T-bone pulled you out by your hair. Or maybe you fell off the roof of your parent’s house while dancing Gangnam Style to show off to your friends. I’m sure some of my readers have, on a more serious note, been in a car accident, were struck by lightning, sang Nickleback in public, and got dropped on their head doing a keg stand. If you haven’t had a near death experience, and I mean one that poked a turtle out of that puckered up asshole, then you had better believe it will happen. Your days are numbered friend.

            Perhaps your near death experience can be viewed as an opinion to you and how you felt at the moment you almost croaked. I’ve had a couple of moments where I thought the good Lord was taking me. The time I went swimming right after a big meal was a first. My buddy Bryan was there to rescue me after stomach cramps crippled my swimming. Then there was the time I choked on a hotdog at basic training. My TI came to my rescue while another one screamed in my face for choking on his food. Fuck me, right? Then there was the time I drank way too much water during Warrior Week (also at basic training) and almost drowned myself. It’s a real thing people. Fortunately a creepy flight member told me that he’d seen me drinking water all day but had yet to take a piss. I didn’t know what was the more uncomfortable, the fact that I had over a gallon of water in my system and hadn’t had to pee, or the fact that this dude was monitoring my pee schedule, either way I’m still alive. None of those experiences compare to my most recent brush with death, though.

            Those who know me well know that I am inconsolably terrified of flying. Yet here I was on my second flight of the day in route to the Dominican Republic where I would be half naked and completely drunk the whole time. I was trying to settle in but it was very hard due to the constant turbulence. I always do my best to stay calm when the plane starts shaking like a stupid kiddy ride out side of Wal-Mart, but I can’t help tensing up for every second it does. We were about an hour into the flight, Nikki was to my left, and I was playing Halo: Spartan Assault on my Surface. The captain came over the speakers and relayed the following information.

            “Yeah, uh, I turned the seatbelt signs on because we are expecting some slight turbulence up head, mmmkay.”

            Right. I was just given my free beverage, I chose Coke, and managed to take a few sips before the plane began shaking. I tensed up as usual, setting my tasty beverage down so I could focus on not crapping myself. That’s when it happened. The plane suddenly dipped. When I say dipped I mean it fucking went down and up in a not so nice manner. I literally rose out of my seat and at that same moment I saw my coke rise into the air. During the dip the plane also shook left to right causing the liquid to not only rise, but to spread itself out like a blanket. For some reason my only thought was to protect my precious Surface. I caught the cup mid air and tried to chase the spilled Coke that was still suspended in mid air. It must have happened so fast that I looked like a freaking ninja with the cat like speed I displayed.

            The plane dipped again. The entire plane freaking dipped again and this was just as violent as the first one. Now that I think about it, no one really screamed during the dips. Instead it was like we were on a roller coaster and everyone synchronized their, “whoaaa WHOAAA.” I was looking at the front of the plane where red lights were flashing and heads were bobbing while I was shitting all over my comfortable ADIDAS pants. My breathing quickened as I pondered how long this was going to happen. That’s when we felt the plane tip forward into a nosedive. Yup, we nosedived just like my worst nightmares concocted. I can’t remember the exact number; it was either 200 or 400 feet that we dropped in ten seconds. That’s insane to me. I know some of you are probably like, “oh that’s not a lot.” Yeah, well when you’re afraid of heights and claustrophobic at the same time, being stuck in a metal tube over thirty thousand feet in the air, any nosedive is horrific. As the plane nosedived I looked over to Nikki and uttered this one and only phrase.

            “We are going to die!”

            It sounds cliché, but that’s the one thing that popped into my head. My greatest fear was coming true. Fortunately the plane leveled out and five minutes later our captain came back and told us that it was not in the forecast. No shit, eh? We found out later that we hit a microburst, something I’ve never heard of, but apparently they’ve caused crashes before. I managed to keep my cool during the flight, but right after this incident occurred, a woman came walking out of the bathroom we were sitting next to. She looked terrified, not much unlike anyone else, but she was in the freaking crapper as the plane tried to crash. Trying to ease the tension, I blurted out the following.

            “Did you shit yourself in there? Because I shit myself out here.” Everyone within earshot laughed, she did not. I can’t blame her. She was probably in there with her pants around her ankles when all of a sudden the plane is dipping and nose-diving. I’m a big boy and I was flying out of my seat despite wearing a seat belt, she was in there without a seat belt. If you’re going to shit yourself during that kind of experience, there may be no better place to be than the toilet.

            That’s the end of my near death story, but do you want to know something messed up? We flew for another hour and a half after that and, before preparing to land, our pilot came on stating that we had to turn around and head all the way back to Orlando. We were twenty minutes from landing in the Dominican Republic. Apparently some asshat didn’t want to land the plane in a foreign country because it would be grounded for at least four days due to the inspections it needed. I’m sure that makes sense, fly us an hour and a half back towards the states so you can check to make sure your plane won’t crash in a more convenient manner. Don’t fly United.

            So what was your near death experience? I’d love to hear it.

Gears of War: Judgment Review

Game: Gears of War: Judgment

Developer: Epic Games/People Can Fly

Publisher: Microsoft

For fans of: Third person shooters, chainsaws, disobedience. 

            With beautiful landscapes, smooth gunplay, and fun new game types, Gears of War: Judgment looks and feels like the trilogy that came before. Unfortunately, Judgment’s campaign has been striped down to the core leaving a skeleton of what used to be. Judgment’s plot precedes the original trilogy and stars Baird and Cole with former Kilo squad mates Sophia and Paduk. Kilo is on trial for disobeying orders while the destruction of Halvo Bay carries on outside the courthouse. The player assumes control of the plot by playing through the testimonies of each Kilo squad member. Despite Judgment’s breathtaking graphics and familiar cover and shoot action, getting fully immersed in the story is a daunting challenge.

            Like previous Gears games, Judgment follows an Act system with each Act containing several chapters. Each chapter of Judgment’s campaign uses a star system that awards players for style of kills and minimal deaths. At the end of each chapter, Judgment pauses to show a stat screen based on performance. The gamer is torn from the immersion each time this happens causing the overall experience to suffer. To make matters worse, most of the sections can be completed in five minutes or less making it impossible to fully consume the player.

            Each chapter also offers a declassified mission that aids the progression of the stars. These missions add extra difficulty to the level such as impaired vision, stronger enemies, and weapon restrictions. The declassified missions are explained as extra testimony that was left out, however, most of them will leave players scratching their head wondering why something so miniscule was omitted. Some make no sense at all. For example, the declassified missions with weapon restrictions don’t explain why Kilo squad was only able to use these particular guns.

            Judgment’s combat feel very reminiscent to previous Gears of War games with a few minor changes. The controller scheme is now more relatable to first person shooters. Gone are the directional pad options for switching between weapons and grenades. Instead weapons are switched to and from using the Y button while grenades have gravitated to the left bumper. Grenades can also be thrown without aiming them first, however, aiming is still an option by holding the left bumper down rather than just tapping to throw it. These changes feel good yet at the same time, they take away from the experience. The pistol slot merged with a primary weapon slot narrowing a player’s choice. The desire to flirt with different weapons is more of a risk without having a pistol option for comfort. Furthermore, choosing special weapons like the Boomshot or the Torque Bow now require special ammunition. The regular ammo only feeds into basic weapons leaving the rare onyx ammunition to replenish special guns.

            Another new addition to Judgment is Horde mode in the middle of the campaign. These moments, at first, feel genuine and fun. However, after playing three rounds of this in multiple

different chapters, the experience grows dull. The entire story comes to a stand still as Kilo squad defends a lobby. These moments tend to grow even duller with the games AI. Instead of facing down smart AI using special techniques, the number of enemies is doubled, most of which will rush your position forcing you out of cover. This makes for some fun combat situations, but overall it disempowers the player’s thought process. On that same note, Judgment’s AI does attempt to spice things up a bit if the player dies. Each section features different types of enemies each time it is tackled. For example, one sequence may provide Grinders that turn into Boomers the next time it is played.

             Judgment’s plot is where the game suffers the most. Newcomers to the franchise will feel lost most of the time and will be unable to understand the subtle comments. No explanation or back-story is provided for any members of Kilo Squad and only Gears of War veterans will know whom the blonde haired smart ass and his thrashball super star friend are. Little quips about Cole’s past as a thrashball player, Baird’s engineer capabilities, Sophia’s Onyx Guard status, and Paduk’s hatred for the team he fights for are never flushed out and explained.

            Judgment tones down the franchises use of extended cut scenes, which is never a bad idea, however the story telling suffers greatly. Kilo squad really comes off as quite boring as they scarcely speak to each other and the only dialogue to be heard is the testimony narrating everything the player is doing. It’s not much unlike watching a football game announced by John Madden. The dialogue feels forced as well with corny, “lets go get em” comments and horribly written jokes for Baird. Every now and then he will hit a homerun, but his sarcasm is often stale. Cole Train hardly speaks at all during Judgment’s campaign, which is a rare sight for any veteran of the franchise. He feels more like a dummy sidekick than an important character to the narrative.

         

   Two villains make first time appearances in Judgment, The COG’s own Colonel Loomis as the man overseeing the trial, and General Karn as the locust leading the attack on Halvo Bay. Loomis is a jerk for no apparent reason. Sure he is angry with Kilo squad for their crimes, however as the plot unfolds Loomis is unapproachable. He disregards Paduk’s warning of General Karn simply because the two used to be enemies. He talks down to Sophia because of her rank, and he is a jerk to Baird for no reason. There really isn’t much to say of General Karn because Judgment fails to build him up as a villain to be hated. He is shown once during the first act and only spoken of as being a super bad guy throughout the rest of the game. The only motive players have to hate Karn is the fact that he is leading the bad guys, nothing more.

            On the bright side, Judgment offers an additional campaign titled, “Aftermath.” This campaign is one act and takes place during the events of Gears of War 3. Aftermath doesn’t use the arcade style star system nor does it have declassified missions. Overall the experience was fleshed out very well and contained more story telling elements reminiscent to previous Gears of War titles.

            Judgment’s multiplayer is also a very sub par experience compared to what Gears of War veterans are used to. With only four maps shipped in the retail game, there is hardly any diversity and boredom is quick to sink in. The combat looks, plays, and feels almost exactly like Gears of War 3. Overrun and Survival, on the other hand, make up the crown jewels of Judgment’s experience. Overrun is a mixture of the Horde and Beast modes of previous games. Each team has the opportunity to play as both the COG and the Locust as the latter tries to destroy a generator powering the Hammer of Dawn. Survival plays more like Horde as players try to survive a maximum of ten waves.

            Gears of War Judgment provide a mediocre experience at best. The sub par campaign and multiplayer overshadow the beautiful graphics, smooth gameplay, and fun cooperative modes. The Gears of War trilogy ended wonderfully and in turn left gargantuan shoes to fill, unfortunately Judgment wasn’t up to the task.

Xander's Rage Part I

           Brandon’s fist soared through the air like a knuckle-shaped bird towards my face so fast it whistled.

            I hope he washed his hands recently.

            “Oof!”

            Brandon’s balled up fist smashed into my face like a freight train into a brick wall. The class ring on his middle finger sliced my cheek open a little bit and warm blood began to trickle out.

            Oh no, germs! I need to dip my face into a bucket of vodka.

             I stumbled backwards into the bar behind me and slid down into a puddle of liquid.

            What the hell? Now I need a shower and a new pair of jeans, I’ll never wear these again. Quick! I need to get some antibiotic cream and some bandages for my face!

            I scanned the room around me and was met by an awestruck crowd gazing right back. Brandon took a couple of steps towards me while he kneaded his knuckles. His fierce eyes shot a look of hatred through my head like a bullet and I was unable to make enough eye contact with him to return the favor.

            Damnit, Clayton. Do something. Stand up and hit him in his gross face. What would Xander Hope do in this position?

            A smile parted my lips as I forced my eyes to meet his. The thought of Xander Hope gave me courage to face down my enemy as if he were the Super Goblin himself.

            “My shoes are still on, Bitch,” I said. Brandon scowled at my comment and thrust his foot into my chest. Oxygen fled my body like zombies were chasing it. The force of his kick rocked the bar above me enough to tip over the bowl of nuts some dude was eating.

            Who eats bar nuts? Seriously, they’re filled with diseases.

            I looked up just in time for the nuts to land squarely on my bloody face.

            The cut! Oh sweet mother of God, now I have AIDS!

#

            Thwack! My dad pulled his hand out of his glove to examine the damage I did with my homemade fastball.

            “Whoo. Boy would you look at that,” said my Dad as he held his hand out for me to see. The palm of his hand was very smooth and in the center of it was a bright red spot where he had caught the ball.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I said.

            “You didn’t hurt me, Son. It’ll take a lot more than that to hurt your old man.” He smiled at me and put his glove back on. His salt and pepper hair glistened in the afternoon sun. He was getting old. His face was lined with wrinkles and the bags underneath his eyes were big enough to carry all of his worries. His skin was also tanned so much from being out in the sun that it looked almost leathery.

            Are ball gloves made from human skin?

            “Get back out there!” he said. “We only have another hour before I have to catch my plane.” My dad was a sports recruiter. He got to travel all across America to watch high school and college events so he could see which players were worth investing in. He said it brought in enough money to feed us and that his being gone all the time was a sacrifice for the greater good.

            “Where do you get to go this time?” I asked. My dad threw the ball back to me. It floated into the sun making it hard for me to catch it.

            “A small place is South Dakota called Rapid City,” he said. The ball tipped the edge of my glove and landed a couple of feet in front of me. “Brian Shaffer is a high school baseball star and the minor leagues want me to check him out.”

            I suck at baseball. Maybe if I played like Brian Shaffer Dad would stick around more often to watch me.

            “Where is that at?” I asked him as I picked up the ball and threw it back to him as hard as I could. I was a very thin and lanky child, which made athletics a big challenge for me. Brandon Turner said I looked like a faggot because of how thin I was. The fact that I had shaggy brown hair that fell into my eyes and pale white skin probably didn’t help his opinion of me any. Mom told me to play outside so I could get a tan, but I’d rather stay inside and play Xander’s Rage. Video games are much more fun than sports and being outside.      

            “It’s in the Midwest over near Colorado,” he said.

            “That’s where John Elway played football, huh?” I asked him.

            Don’t pretend you like sports.

            “Sure is, Chief. Did I ever tell you how I recruited him the Broncos?”

            “No.”

            “I did. The Baltimore Colts picked him up as the first overall draft pick in 1983. He was uncomfortable about playing there so I arranged for him to get traded to the Broncos.” My dad was so proud of his John Elway story that he wore a shit-eating grin on his face when he told it to me.

            I may not know much about sports, but I do know that professional athletes have personal agents who do that kind of stuff. Mom said he just helps people get into college.

            “But mom said that all you do is recruit kids into college.”

            “Well that’s most of what I do,” he said.

            “She also said if you’re not busy recruiting you’re busy banging your assistant.”

            His grin quickly turned into a frown and his tan cheeks turned as red as an apple. His eyes glossed over and he looked away from me. I could hear the mumbling as he swore to himself like he sometimes does while he punched the inside of his glove with his free hand.  

            “Dad, are you okay?”

            “I’m fine little guy. Give me a sec will ya?” After a few minutes my dad turned back around and threw the ball into the sun. “Heads up, Clayton!” He yelled. I gazed into the sun in search for the ball, but it was too late. In an instant the sun hid behind the ball as it smashed into the upper part of my cheek. White light filled my vision and a humming vibration bounced against the walls of my head. My hands shot up to my cheek to check on the damage. At that same moment my dad rushed forward and put his hands on my shoulders. Tears welled up in my eyes and I fought as hard as I could to hold them back. I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of him.  
            Don’t cry Clayton. Don’t. Men don’t cry, just like daddy always says. Be a big boy. I bet Brian Shaffer never cries. Would Xander Hope cry if he got hit in the face with a baseball?

            “Hey, okay. You’re alright. Just sit down and let me see your face,” he said. I moved my hands away from my face and my dad got a better look.

            “Okay, open your eyes and look at me.” I opened them for my dad to examine.  “Welp. It doesn’t look like you’re going to have a concussion, but you’re going to have a pretty nice shiner there, Boy.” My dad picked me up and walked me back to the truck. My lower lip quivered as I fought the urge to cry. The pain in my head was almost too much to handle.

            “Are you okay sport?” He asked me.

            “Mmmhmm.”

            “I’m so proud of you, Clayton. You just got hit in the face with a ball and not one tear. I don’t know any other eight year olds that could handle that kind of punishment.”

            Achievement Unlocked! Got hit in the face with a baseball and didn’t cry.

            I laid my head on his shoulder the rest of the way to the truck. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with him and this was nice. We got into his black Chevy and drove straight home from the park. Dad took me into the downstairs bathroom once we got home. I hated this bathroom. It was so small that my fat Aunt Ciera could never fit in there when she came over for Christmas. She always used my bathroom upstairs instead. It was awful because she always made it smell like she cooked rotten tuna in there or something.

            “Okay, let’s wash your face and put a little bandage on that cut you have there.” My dad sat down on the toilet and used a sponge to wet my face. He then lathered some soap over my cut.

            “Ouch!” I yelled.

            “Relax little man, I have to make sure the cut stays clean,” he said. I tried my best not to wince at the pain.

            “Dad?”

            “Hmm?”

            “What does banging mean?” He used the sponge to rinse my face off as he let out a sigh.

            “It’s not a nice word and you’re too young to understand it right now, Clayton. Trust me, Son. You’ll know when you’re old enough to comprehend it, I promise you that.” Dad opened his first aid kit and pulled out a Snoopy Band-Aid. “What do you think, Son? Is Snoopy good enough to protect your cut?”

            “Yes,” I said as I giggled. “Why do you have to protect the cut?”

            “Because if you don’t it could get infected and make you sick. You wouldn’t want to get sick would you?”

            “No sir.”

            “Atta boy. Now why don’t you go out back and play while I get my bags packed for Rapid City.” I ran out back and jumped on the swing. I sat there for a moment pondering what Rapid City looked like. Maybe it had tall buildings like in the pictures I’ve seen of Denver. Maybe it’s a cowboy town with hardly any people. Dad said he hated going to cowboy towns because everyone called him a city sticker, whatever that is. I touched the bruised area around my swollen eye and felt a sharp pain rocket through my skull.

            Leave it alone, Dummy.

            I put both hands on the swing and began to rock back and forth. The wind softly blew past my face as I gathered momentum. I rocked faster and faster which caused me to go much higher. The pit of my stomach had a funny feeling in it when I got as high as I could. It felt as if I were sinking each time I fell backwards, but nevertheless I was filled with glee at how high I could go. Xander Hope would be proud to see how manly I am right now.

            Maybe dad will come out and watch you before he has to go. He seemed pretty upset when I told him what mommy said. Did mommy mean banging like someone does when they’re knocking on a door really hard? Was he punching his assistant? I bet he could get in trouble for that.

            I swung back and forth for what seemed like hours and eventually the back door opened. I was momentarily excited to see if it was Dad coming to watch me, but it was my mother who came walking out wearing her orange and white Sunday dress. It looked funny though because she was wearing brown slippers with it so she didn’t get her feet dirty on the patio. She had long blonde hair and a slender body, but her face looked tired. She was aged and, like dad, wore her stress in the bags under her eyes. She’s been crying a lot lately about Dad and his assistant and this made her eyes red and puffy. Sometimes her make up would drain down her face making her look like that scary singer.

            She said she was going to kill him and that whore if she ever saw them again. She also told him to get out and never come back. But dad would always come back to see me, he promised.

            “Come over here, Sweetie!”

            “Hi mom!” I yelled from the swing set. I swung back as far as I could and then soared forward. Once I was at a peak elevation I leaped from the swing and landed in the yard. I got up and ran the rest of the way to mom.

            “Oh! Clayton, your eye! What happened?”

            “Dad and I were playing catch at the park and I got hit in the face,” I answered. She cradled my face with both of her hands and examined the bruising and swelling around my eye.

            “Oh, we should get you to the doctor to make sure you don’t have a concussion,” she said.

            “Dad already looked and he said I didn’t. Besides I don’t want to go anywhere until he has to leave for Rapid City.” The melancholy on my mothers face said it all. She looked very sad at that moment. She stared down towards the ground for a second before looking at me with tears streaming from her eyes. I’ve never seen her look this sad before.

            What about that time Miss Gretchin ran over our cat, Bootsy? She was pretty broken up about that.

            The tears made their way down her cheeks. “Baby. Your daddy left twenty minutes ago,” she said.

#

            “You have no filter, Clayton,” she told me. “You can’t just say whatever is on your mind. You embarrass people in public even though you have no intention on doing so.” Her face was fat and looking at it made me nauseous. I wanted to tell her that her fat face made me sick, but that would only prove her point. I didn’t like having to see her three times a week, but mom told me that therapy was good for me. She has been worried since dad left eight years ago.  

            “Well, I don’t think that’s true. I don’t say everything that I’m thinking,” I said.

            “Really? Well can you explain to me how you got that black eye? And please, Clayton, don’t tell me you got hit by another baseball.”

            “Alright. I was on the redline yesterday sitting next to this really obese girl I go to school with. I couldn’t help but notice that she was emitting a God-awful smell. I wanted to be helpful so she could spare herself the humiliation and the rest of us the stench, so I told her that she smelled like a shitty-microwaved diaper. She found that offensive and punched me in the eye. Which I don’t really think was fair because I found her smelly armpits offensive and I didn’t assault her.”

            My lack of a verbal filter has flushed my social life down the crapper. I just don’t know how to talk to people.

            “Do you understand why she got upset and hit you?”

            “I’m guessing it’s because I embarrassed her,” I said.

            “Correct. You made it known to everyone on the subway within earshot that she didn’t smell pleasant.”

            “No, I told her she smelled like a shitty-microwaved diaper. I promise you that anyone in earshot could smell it as well.”

            This lady is an idiot.

            “Please, Clayton. I’m going to ask that you keep the swearing to a minimum if you can,” she said.

            Is the word ‘shitty’ that bad?

            “Whatever.”

            “Do you think about what you’re going to say before you say it?” She asked.

            “Yes,” I replied. “I don’t feel right when I keep things to myself.”

            I hate this office. It smells like cab driver feet. Wait, what exactly does that smell like?

            I laughed out loud at my thoughts.

            “What’s funny?”

            “Nothing, I was just thinking that your office smells like cab driver feet and then I realized that I have no idea what that would actually smell like.” She pursed her lips together and tilted her head to the side causing the fat on her neck to bulge out. This was her way of telling me that she wasn’t amused. It was a very unattractive look for her.

            “I’m sorry,” I said.

            “It’s fine. Let’s talk about your fear of germs,” she said. I wasn’t listening though. I was peering out the window behind her at the guy blowing leaves in the parking lot. His orange jump suit resembled that of someone who was in prison. He was wearing giant white and green earmuffs to block out the noisy leaf blower.

            What I would give to be able to stand down there and blow leaves like a mindless drone without the fear of getting dirt into any part of my body. I wish I could roll in the mud, pet a dog, or even touch a boob without feeling like it’s going to kill me.

            “Clayton?”

            “I’m sorry, what?”

            “I said let’s talk about your fear of germs.”

            “It’s a living hell.”

            “Why?” She asked.

            “What do you mean why?” I reached down and grabbed my backpack. From there I stood up and walked over to her large brown desk. I set my backpack on it knocking over a couple of the frames she had of her family. There they were, mother and father wrapping their arms around their kids while Niagara Falls roared behind them.

            I wonder if Dad would have ever taken me to cool places like that. He said he was going to take me to the different cities he always got to go to when I got older. He said he would teach me how to recruit, even though I don’t think that is something I would ever care to do.

            I opened the backpack and revealed thirty small bottles of Purel.

            “My mom spent over thirty dollars on this crap just in case I’m nowhere near a clean sink. If I am near a sink after shaking someone’s hand or touching something that has germs, I will wash my hands for a good ten to twenty minutes.” I held my hands out to her so she could see the red blotchy skin. “That’s from this morning because I forgot to wash the knobs on the sink before I touched them. I hate doing this but I feel compelled to stay as clean as possible. There’s like this annoying voice in my head that is telling me to stay clean. It’s repeats itself like a broken record until I oblige the urge. I’d rather just live in a bubble sometimes.”

            I need to stop explaining this to her. Look at her nodding her head as she pretends to listen. She doesn’t care and she never offers to help. She just pretends like she wants to figure out some mental reason why I do this stuff. How does that make you feel, Clayton? She says that all the time and it makes me want to slap her chubby face so that smug look she has will go away.

            “I see,” she said. She looked down at the paper in front of her and began writing something. I tried to get a good look at it.

            “You can sit back down, Clayton.” I walked back to my seat and sat down. I zipped my backpack up and placed in on the floor next to the chair.

            “I drown my hands in sanitizer if I’m nowhere near a sink,” I added. She kept writing for a moment before looking back up at me.

            “What goes through your head when you think you’re dirty? Like if we were to shake hands right now, what would you think?” She asked.

            “I would probably question where your nasty hands have been and wonder whether or not they’re clean. I would then get this overbearing fear that if I don’t wash my hands right away I’ll get sick, and I don’t ever want to be sick. Then there’s the annoying voice I mentioned.”

            “How come you don’t ever want to be sick?”

            What a stupid question. Ask her why she doesn’t ever want to be skinny.

            “That’s an obvious answer. Who in their right mind wants to get sick?” I asked. She looked at me for a moment while she rolled the bottom of her pencil across her lips.

            That’s so gross. She’s going to get herpes or something nasty. What if the paper she was using that eraser on had eggs from a spider. What if that eraser picked up those eggs and are now being spread across her lips. She’ll have spiders growing out of her face! Oh my God! What if her office has spiders? It smells like shit and I think spiders are attracted to that. Get clean, now!

            I reached into my bag for the sanitizer. I lathered my hands up and scrubbed them hard like a surgeon would. She pulled the pencil away from her face and began writing again.

            “Your mother tells me that you play a lot of video games. I want to know more about that,” she said without looking up.

            “What do you want to know about it?”

            “Let’s start with your favorite game, tell me a little bit about it.”

            “Xander’s Rage,” I said with a big smile on my face. “It’s about a powerful knight, Xander Hope, who is sent on a quest to rescue the Princess of Xanar, Josephine. Everyone who tried to rescue her fell victim to the Super Goblin that guards her, but Xander is the best knight in the land for the job.”

            “Sound’s like a typical knight’s tale,” she said. “What about this game do you find so appealing?”

            “Xander Hope. His character is who I want to be in real life,” I replied.

            “How do you mean?”

            “He’s brave and handsome. He doesn’t let bullies put him down and even in the face of certain death he finds a way to overcome these obstacles. His quirky dialogue is also something I find very appealing. The bad guy always has something snarky to say, but Xander replies in kind with his own sarcastic quips. It’s brilliant.”

            “So you like the character more than anything else in the game?”

            “No. Well sort of. He is the game. Xander Hope is everything. Hell, even his last name represents something that I admire”

            “Hope? What do you hope for, Clayton?”

            “I hope to be more like Xander in my own life. He’s a great role model. I also hope that one day my Dad will come back to see me and that my Mom can be happy again.”

            “Those are nice things to hope for. But do you realize that Xander Hope is not a real person?”

            “Yeah. I’m not delusional.”

            “Well it’s not really healthy to look at a fictional character as if he were a role model. You need to be inspired by real people.” My heart sank into my stomach. Why can’t Xander Hope be a role model?

            She’s doesn’t understand. She probably had a perfect little life growing up with a mother and father that stayed together. Her mom and dad probably took her and her siblings to Niagara Falls like she does with her kids now. She doesn’t know what it’s like to have her dad run out on them leaving her mom in a deep state of depression. She doesn’t know what it’s like to come home from school to find her mom passed out drunk on the couch with a note on the fridge saying dinner is in the microwave. It was always fish sticks. What does she know about who should and shouldn’t be my role model? Life isn’t full of rainbows and lollipops, it’s full of shit is what it is.

            “I suppose my father should be my role model then?” I asked.

            “Would you like to talk about that?”

            “Why?” I asked. I lowered me head and stared at my red hands. The aroma of the fresh sanitizer tickled my nose as I twiddled my thumbs.

            Damnit mom. Just because therapy helped you doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for me.

            “Xander Hope never left me. He’s always there when I need him, even when I’m not playing the game. He sometimes gives me courage to go into school to face Brandon Turner everyday. He helped me say hi to Sander Gardner when I always too much of a pussy to even look at her. Xander’s story let’s me escape the reality of my life. He’s taught me more life lessons than my father ever did. All that sperm donor left me with was a fear of germs. I’m reminded of whom my role model should be every time I wash my hands. Don’t you dare tell me who can and can’t be an inspiration in my life. I’m not a six-year-old boy worshipping his favorite football player. ” I got up from my seat, picked up my backpack, and walked over to the door.

            “Clayton, we still have ten minutes.”

            “No, I’m done talking to you.”

            She doesn’t care. No one does.