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.

Internet People Suck

            Yesterday we got some fantastic news that Microsoft is doing away with the policies it had in place for the Xbox One. No longer will we have to connect every twenty-four hours and no longer will used games be restricted. I am extremely excited about this because the used games policy does affect people like me who use services such as Gamefly. On that same note, though, Microsoft changing its policies helped me realize the direction Microsoft was headed.

            At first I thought Microsoft was bullying its consumers into paying more and more money for things that they shouldn’t have to. If I buy a game, it’s mine to do whatever I want with it. Right? What I didn’t realize, until now, was that Microsoft wasn’t necessarily trying to hurt the gamers, but they were trying to help out the developers and publishers who lose millions of dollars to used games. Gamestop and other companies that sell used games are banking the money that the developers should get a piece of. That is why you see policies put into place that force gamers to pay to play online and this and that. Quantic Dreams, the developers for Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, noted that one million people played their game that they didn’t see money for. Do the math on that. Sixty dollars times one million is sixty million dollars that they didn’t see. We all know that Gamestop sells their used games for ridiculously high prices, so they got to see a large chunk of that sixty million that they get to keep to themselves. I have to ask myself how fair that really is?

            I saw a guy on Youtube bitching about this very subject and he pointed out that Quantic Dreams made one hundred million dollars on their game Heavy Rain. He stated that they had enough and they’re not suffering. I just pointed out that they missed out on another sixty million dollars for that same title. Sure, they made a ton of money on that game, but we aren’t looking into the cost this company goes through to produce quality content. The cost of triple A titles is in the millions. So they spent millions making Heavy Rain. Then they have to spend additional money to help support that game. Then they want to move onto the next game, which will no doubt cost millions. They have to pay for technical support and marketing, equipment and software, and of course their employees. The cost adds up and the way they pay for it is by selling their previous games or additional downloadable content. In my eyes, the more used games being sold means the less money a developer has to make great quality products. Instead we see the same titles released over and over because taking a risk in a million dollar industry can prove to be extremely fatal, RIP 38 Studios. Many studios go out of business because of used games, so don’t be surprised if you start seeing a bunch of Free to Play games that come with micro transactions out the ass.

            So it took Xbox reversing its plans for their next generation for me to kind of open my eyes and realize that. As consumers we are directly involved in this decision and therefore we all threw a hissy fit over it. I don’t think used games would be such an issue if developers had another way to make money off of those games, but they don’t. My concern with Microsoft reversing the plans for Xbox One is that maybe they’re hindering the future they were looking forward to. Gone is the online library you could access at and Xbox console, much like you can with Steam. Gone is the family plan that was going to allow you to share your online library with ten other people. How many platforms, in any industry, allow you to share your digital content? I can’t really think of one, but I’m sure some of you reading may be able to fill me in. Regardless, it’s a win lose situation for consumers. Microsoft is giving us what we want, but at the same time, they’re not leaping into the future anymore, they’re just making a glorified PlayStation 4.

            But maybe it wasn’t time for that yet. Games are becoming more and more digitized and I whole-heartedly believe that in a few years that all games will be download only. It’s going to come to point where you won’t see a hard copy game box ever again. What could this mean for gaming? I believe that games would probably cost less. Steam sells games for sixty dollars, sure, but they also have crazy sales where you can buy games for ridiculously cheap. I think digitizing games will be cheaper for the publishers and in turn, that might make games cheaper as well. We do run the risk of them keeping the same price points though, so here’s to hoping. In all, maybe forcing used games out of the market this soon was Microsoft jumping the gun. Maybe they need to wait and let it happen when it’s time. Sony and Microsoft will offer all their next gen games digitally on the day of release. Once more and more people buy into that option, you’ll begin to see the shift.

            Before I logged off, I wanted to talk about the Internet for a minute. I cannot stand people who sit here and defend a console to the death. Lately I’ve seen the Playstation army out in force and reading what these fanboys have to say is really turning me off of the Playstation. I want a PS4, I do. But my decision and other people’s decisions to buy an Xbox One first seems to piss these guys off and they go on flaming rants about how fucking stupid we are and how we should all just die. Seriously, I’ve read that. It’s such a turn off to see people have a blind loyalty to companies that only care about the money that you’re going to give them. I’ve seen the Xbox fanboys out in force with yesterday’s news, but I just can’t help but wonder why these people are like this. You don’t collect a paycheck from these companies, so why defend them and blindly haze other products because they’re different? At first the Internet seemed to explode because of what Microsoft had planned, but now that they’ve retracted it, the Internet is in a frenzy and pissed off that Microsoft did a 180. Holy crap, you can’t please people, you really can’t.

            I implore you to vote for games! I know everyone isn’t made of money, but if you can, just play the console of choice because you like games. Don’t play a console because you feel that you are a part of their group. You’re not. They’re the company, you’re the consumer, so the only say you get in their product is the money you have and that speaks more than your words ever will. I beg you people to stop fighting over which is better because it doesn’t matter. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and every person’s opinion is right! You will never be wrong when it comes down to your personal preference. So please, people, game on. It’s going to be an exciting next generation of consoles.

Game On Baby!

E3 has kicked off and what a first day we had. We saw four major conferences from Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, and EA and it literally took me all day to watch them. I’m going to go through and briefly touch up on the news that you probably already know about and from there I will provide my personal opinion. Strap in people and lets begin. It’s a long one.

Microsoft Conference

I was really hoping for some big news here at the Microsoft conference because of how awful their previous one was. Hell, three days before E3 began, Microsoft came out and “cleared” the air on what they’re supposedly doing for the Xbox One. If you don’t know about it already, just head over to any game website and you’ll see an army of pissed off Sony fans trolling the comments reminding everyone about Microsoft’s choices. On to the conference. I was very happy to see that they did not talk about TV, sports, or show off any Kinect 2 games. Instead, they just showed off game after game and left it at that. Here is a list of what they talked about or briefly touched on.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

I can’t say this was a bad way to open their show. An open world Metal Gear experience? Yes please. The graphics looked great and I love the idea of being able to run around as Solid Snake in an open environment. Kudos to them. I’m just hoping the footage we saw was in game. 

Xbox 360

           

Microsoft unveiled a new Xbox 360 console that is smaller, sleeker, and designed to look like the Xbox One. It also hit markets on Monday when they showed it off. I think it’s cool that they did that because at the rate the Xbox One is going, they may wind up selling more 360 consoles anyway. Also, if you have a gold membership for Xbox Live you will receive two free game downloads per month that you can keep. This starts on July first and extends to the release of the Xbox One. The first two games they announced are Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed II. Awesome. Those are two games most people already own or have at least played. Some people are telling me that they’re doing two games per month; my understanding of this was that it was two games period. If there is anyone reading this that would like to clear it up for me, that would be great, thank you.

360 Games On the way

            Microsoft only made mention of a few games coming to the Xbox 360 this year and while they only mentioned the following three, you can be sure that there are plenty more on the way.

            Splinter Cell: Blacklist

            Grand Theft Auto V

            Final Fantasy

            Microsoft also announced three new titles that you will see on the Xbox 360 coming soon.

            World of Tanks: 360 Edition

           

                        This already free to play game on PC will now be free to play on your Xbox. It looks good, but not really my cup of tea.

            Max: The Curse of Brotherhood

                       

                        This arcade looking games looks intriguing, goofy, and fun. I would absolutely love to check it out when it become available.

            Dark Souls II

                       

                        Enough said. Looks stunning too.

Xbox One

            Ryse: Son of Rome (Exclusive MS title)

                       

This game has beautiful graphics and an intriguing style of gameplay. I was actually drawn into the action rather quickly and couldn’t help but get psyched up when the Romans formed a phalanx to defend themselves from on coming arrows. I was quickly turned off by the quick time events, though. It seems that in order to polish off every single enemy, you have to punch in two QTE’s. I feel that is a little lazy and I would suspect the flow of combat to become monotonous and boring relatively quick. Hopefully that isn’t something that will carry over to the final version of the game.

           

            Killer Instinct (Exclusive to MS)

           

I do believe many Rare fans probably crapped their pants for this game. It looks fast and fun. However news coming out after the fact is stating that Rare is not developing the game and that it will be free to play. The only issue with it being free to play is that they’re only giving you one playable character for free, everyone else you have to pay for. LAME! I would rather buy a brand new copy of the game with all playable characters available at no further cost. I’m hoping you can unlock characters as you play rather than having to pay for them, but I suppose that is how a free to play model works. Just give me a full copy and I’ll give you sixty bucks.

            Sunset Overdrive (Exclusive to MS)

           

This game is being developed by Insomniac games and it really looks amazing. The visuals were very pleasing to the eye. Again, this was just a trailer, so I’m hoping the actual game looks the same. I particularly enjoyed the cartoony feel it had. It’s an open world shooter in what the speaker told us was more like a living world where challenges can be created and weapons can be added on the fly. Keep your eyes out for this one.

           

            Forza 5

We already got a glimpse of this three weeks ago at Microsoft’s unveiling conference. I did like the usage of the cloud that would record your driving style (Drivatar) and instead of racing against just the AI; you would be racing against mimicked versions of other people across the world. That’s a pretty neat feature.

            Minecraft: Xbox One Edition

Hmmmkay. All I can say is that I hope I get free credits or something along the lines that land this game on my console for free considering just one year ago I purchased the 360 Edition.

            Quantum Break

I LOVE Remedy games and if their past titles are any proof, this current one shouldn’t disappoint. We know it’s a time control game, but the short video we got wasn’t enough to show me what this it’s really all about. I am however, intrigued and I would love to see more.

            D4

Another game I know very little about. It’s an episodic murder mystery that looks compelling. I would like to learn more about it.

           

 Project Spark (Exclusive to MS)

This game looks very unique and it targets the creative gamers who enjoy building their own worlds. But I’m not sold on using my tablet or phone as a second controller and this game is something I would need to demo in order to formulate an honest opinion. I like the idea of creating a game within a game and this will be an interesting title to watch as it plays out.

            Crimson Dragon (I believe this is Exclusive to MS)

                        Just saw the video demo and I honestly don’t really care.

            Dead Rising 3 (Exclusive to MS)

This game looks so much different than the previous two. It doesn’t have the cartoonish and goofy appeal to it as the other ones. It’s a lot grittier and darker. The graphics are stunning though, simply beautiful. Oh, and using the cloud to help generate thousand of zombies? Yes please. This game looks borderline terrifying, which is something that seems to suck me in when it comes to zombies. The game is pitching no load times and the same density as a real life city. They also have smart glass integration. I like the idea of it and it makes me even happier that it’s optional, but again, I don’t want to play a game with two controllers.

            Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Although I haven’t played the other two yet, this game looks great. It offers a non-linear story in a completely free roam world (which the other two may have had). For some reason, this is also smart glass capable (face palm).

            

 Battlefield 4

                       

This game has made me excited for modern shooters again. The game is simply breathtaking, graphics wise. We didn’t get to see much of it at Microsoft’s conference, but I will have further information when I reach the EA section.

           

 Below

           

                        An arcade game I guess. Looks interesting enough to at least demo.

            Halo (Exclusive to Xbox One)

That freaking trailer was unexpected and awesome. We know nothing about this next game that I am assuming will be Halo 5. It was just nice to see Chief’s face…er…facemask…again.

 

         

Titanfall

This game is the first from Respawn, the dudes that originally created Call of Duty. It’s a multiplayer focused game that involves MECHS!!! The graphics and textures are stunning to look at and this game alone could be the reason I want to purchase an Xbox One.

           

During the conference Microsoft also showed us how Upload Studio will work. Apparently the console acts as a DVR that records your games. You can use Upload Studio to collect your clips and edit them into videos that you can share with your friends. Also, Microsoft announced a partnership with Twitch that will allow Xbox One gamers to live stream their games through the popular service that has an already established hardcore fanbase. This may or may not be a selling point for those who care. I, for one, think it’s awesome.

My impressions of the Microsoft Conference were very positive. I’m very upset at how these corporate dipshits are treating their fanbase, but on the same note, they are offering me exclusive games that I want to play and there is nothing more important to me on a console than games. The 499 price tag for the console did throw me off, especially since Kinect should be an optional purchase, not a required one.

Sony Conference

Sony has been relatively quiet since they first announced their console. No doubt in my mind about that strategy being a good one. They got front row seats to Microsoft’s self destruction this conference was basically their rebuttal to them and a shout out to fans.

Vita Games

            Batman Arkam Origins

            Counter Spy

            Destiny of Spirits

            Doki Doki Universe (not even sure I spelled the name correctly

            Killzone: Mercenary

            Tearaway

            God of War HD 1& 2 (YES!!!!)

            Final Fantasy Remakes

            Dead Nation

            Walking Dead (season one with extra episode and content)

            Youtube and Skype (yippe??)

PlayStation 3

            The Last of Us (Exclusive to Sony)

           

First game I’ve ever been excited for on a PlayStation console. I seriously need to go out and buy a PS3. I played this game at Pax East and it is absolutely phenomenal.

           

            Puppeteer (Exclusive to Sony)

           

                        The video was over so fast that I don’t have an impression for you.

            Rain (Exclusive to Sony)

                       

                        Looks good, need to see more.

            Beyond: Two Souls  (Exclusive to Sony)

           

This game looks very interesting to me. I love Ellen Page and this was a game that I was excited to see at last year’s E3.

            Gran Turismo 6 (Exclusive to Sony)

The game looks like a solid racing title, however I’ve never been into Gran Turismo any more than I have been Forza. It seems like something racing fans may flock to though.

            Batman Arkham Origins

I really need to play the first two, this game looks freaking awesome. This title will be getting exclusive content for people purchasing it on PS3 

            Grand Theft Auto Five

Does come with a PS3

Not much was said about the game, but you can indeed purchase an exclusive PS3 bundle for 299. That’s a little steep for me, unless it includes a PS3 (which is probably what they mean by “bundle”), in which case I may be interested.

PS4

YES! They revealed the console itself, which looks strikingly similar to PS2, or a black eraser. I did like the sleek design and how small it was. It’s not tiny, but it’s smaller than that BBQ grill of a PS3. Sony then got into some entertainment talk. Crackle, apps, Sony Pictures, programming plan (like tv??), music and video unlimited, red box instant (already out on current consoles), and social media. This was as boring as Microsoft’s talk on TV, so let’s get back to what’s really interesting, the games.

            The Order (Exclusive to Sony)

Werewolves in London? Holy crap, this game looks amazing!  I love the Van Helsing feeling I got while I was watching this. This game is visually appealing and I love the steam punk look it has. Show me more because you absolutely have my attention. 

            Killzone: Shadowfall (Exclusive to Sony)

Looks great, already saw it at their previous event.

            DriveClub (Exclusive to Sony)

This game didn’t really appeal to me the first time we saw it at Sony’s last event, but it does look very realistic. It’s still not enough for me to want it.

            Infamous: Second Son (Exclusive to Sony)

Holy facial features. This game looks great. I really want to check it out, but first I must purchase a PS3 and play the first two. Also, this one seems to take place in Seattle, which got me all giddy. I particularly loved the Nirvana song at the end of the trailer.

           Knack (Exclusive to Sony)

Also shown at the previous event. It looks fun, but not necessarily my cup of tea (I already used that figure of speech, huh?)

            The Dark Sorcerer

I’m not too sure what this game is about, but they had a funny little trailer to show off. Also, if those are in game graphics, then daaaaamn! Very realistic. The movement of the lips on the sorcerer’s face was unreal; of course I could have been looking at the real actor, I don’t even know anymore. That’s how realistic this looked.

            

            Transistor

Very cartoony and very arcady. It’s beings developed by the guys that brought us Bastion. I’m interested so sign me up!

            Don’t Starve

I guess this is already a PC game, but I would still like to check it out (on PC of course)

           

            Mercenary Kings

            Octodad: Deadliest catch

            Secret Ponchos

            Outlast

            Galaxy

            Diablo III (Yes, we know)

Apparently PS will be getting exclusive Diablo content, nice pull Sony.

           

            Final Fantasy Verus, or XV or something

                         

Graphics are beautiful. This game looks really fun and engaging. I’m pretty sure FF fans went nuts over this, I have never played a FF game in my life, but this one looked really good.

            Kingdom Hearts III

Again, I’ve never played the title, but I’m seeing that people are very excited for this one. Didn’t really look appealing to me though.

           

            Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Beautiful world, seriously. Loved the game play demo they showed us, until it froze that is. This game looks a lot more promising than the previous one. I just really like the idea of sailing the world as an assassin/pirate who gets to visit beautiful remote locations.

            Watchdogs

Another beautiful Ubisoft game. I love the concept of hacking into pretty much everything within this game. PS owners of this game will get an additional hour of gameplay as well as an additional outfit.

            NBA 2K14

Fucking snooze fest when it comes to sports games. Also, Lebron’s character looked really awkward.

            Elder Scrolls Online

Exclusive early access to the beta for PS4 owners. This game already looks unreal, I’m very happy to see it coming to consoles as well! Playing this game at Pax East got me excited, but seeing it come to consoles just tickles me freaking pink.

            Mad Max

                       

Unique trailer, not sure I’m interest though. SHOW ME MORE!

            Destiny

           

By far the best looking game and the best demo showed off at E3. The game is just breathtaking. It was really awesome to see how other players can join your “pack” and how smooth the gameplay seems. The combat looks smooth and the sounds in the game just really absorbed me, minus Joseph Staten talking over it here and there. Also, did I see him pick up some loot? My loot nerve just twitched a little. The public battle was pretty amazing as well. This game is looking like it’s going to conquer consoles. Seriously, I may never play another game after this one releases. It really looks like Bungie is pulling another great hit out of their vault. I am a little concerned at how fast Bungie jumped into the arms of Sony. Did Microsoft touch you?

After a big long list of game announcements, Sony jumped into some pretty neat information that body slammed the shit out of Microsoft. No used games restrictions on the PS4. RIGHT HOOK! You can trade your games. LEFT HOOK! You don’t need to be connected online to play. UPPERCUT! Boom. Also, your PS memberships will be carried over to PS4 as well as your trophies. Sony also has us expecting over one hundred games to be released within the first year of PS4 being on the market, that’s a helluva promise. Please, quality games guys.

I wasn’t at all impressed with the Sony conference. I mean, they showed off a lot of great games that interested me, but most of those were third party titles. They did, however, win me over when they announced that that were doing everything right that Microsoft was doing wrong. Plus, a 399-price point is a lot more appealing as well. Good for Sony. I do have to say that I feel a little betrayed though. A day after saying that there will be no used game restrictsion, you come out and tell us that third party developers can change that if they choose to. Same with the DRM. From what I read on Microsoft’s page, they’re doing the same thing. You know, that whole thing that has the Internet up in arms against them for? Fortunately for Sony, their fans don’t seem to give a shit; in fact they are defending it. “Hey guys, it’s just like an online pass.” Exactly, which would FORCE people to pay to play used games. You’re right, much better. Just give us your skeletons now Sony. I do plan on getting a PS4, but if you beat around the bush on important matters, I may just get my PS3 first and play all the games I can on that system before buying your new one.

EA Conference

I’m kind of tired of writing at this point, I feel like it’s been going on forever, so I will only be discussing the games I found interesting.

            Need for Speed: Rivals

Looks interesting enough for me. I like Illegal Street racing games that have cops breathing down my neck. I’ll give this title a shot.

            Star Wars Battlefront

Although we didn’t get to see any gameplay, this trailer was enough to get me excited! I’ve wanted a new Battlefront game for YEARS!

            Battlefield 4

We got to see an epic multiplayer match that showed me how beautiful the game looks as well as the cool new interactive maps. Falling skyscrapers? Yes please. I may actually jump into a multiplayer game again. This game is breathtaking so far.

            Mirrors Edge 2

I played the demo of the first one and wasn’t impressed; however the fans of this game are diehards, which is provoking me to give it another shot and perhaps this one as well.

            Plants Vs Zombies

Plants Vs Zombies 2 is coming out soon to iOS platforms and hopefully to consoles shortly after. The big surprise to me was Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Seriously? A third person game where we get to control the plants as we lay waste to dead heads? I will be playing this one the day it comes out. This one has been confirmed for consoles I do believe.

Ubisoft Conference

            Splinter Cell: Blacklist

           

Two more months, I cannot wait for Sam’s new adventure. This game looks to be bringing the franchise to a whole new level.

            Rayman Legends

Looks fun. It’s an arcade style game (could be full AAA title for all I know) but it’s something I want to check out.

            The Crew

I do like illegal street racing games, but this one is an open world racer (Test Drive Unlimited) that spans the entire United States. Holy freaking God. Sign me up for that reason alone. It also looks pretty amazing graphically.

            The Division

An online open world RPG. This game is an apocalyptic type game that looks truly fantastic. It’s a Tom Clancy game as well. I’m very interested in this game in exploring this beautiful wasteland.

                       

Overall, I’m impressed with the slate of games that were shown and I do plan on buying both next gen consoles. At this point, though, I will stick with my current gen consoles until I can get caught up on games. So many titles, so little time.