MGS5 The Phantom Pain

 Nice little quick look at what's going on over at Kanomi with The Phantom Pain.


http://www.j30-06k.com/2015/08/metal-gear-solid-5-phantom-pain-review.html

Why You Should Never trust Video Game Reviews

 We have seen it happen over and over again. A great new IP shows up in the video game market only to be shot down by bias reviews and these games never see daylight again. This is more true when it comes to imported video games that depend on decent sales for these developers to keep releasing for the West. Unfortunately, almost every time a new Japanese franchise import looks likely they are swiftly crushed by bias mainstream reviewers who have the worst taste in video games and still hold high positions in America's most influential video game networks.
  If you are a true hardcore gamer, or even a gamer with some self respect, you will mostly avoid the mainstream video game reviews and purchase games that you are interested in and rent those of which your not so sure about. Keep in mind that these "video game experts" who work for mainstream outlets give Call Of Duty top scores year after year even though these games are stale and their sales dropping yearly. These are nothing more than attempts to keep big corporations happy as the reviewer advances their career at the cost of their self dignity.
  I have even seen in real time a major gaming network give a game a horrible score just because their free review copy was sent to them late. You see, if your a developer and/or a video game corporation ( I'm not naming any names .... EA ) you know that for your games to be treated with any kind of respect from the snakes sitting behind desks writing articles about COD perks you better send them lots of free stuff like games, consoles, electronics, ect. These things assure a decent review from these industry leaches.
 Here is a great example of bias reviews : A major video game network ( name withheld ) has been getting paid to put Call Of Duty Ghosts advertisements all over their websites and even on their banners on Youtube. These guys are basically on the payroll of these developers so when the game is released they cant just say " sorry everyone..... we told you this game was going to be great for months and sold you pre-orders right from our YT banners, but; the game is out now and it sucks". No, that's not how it happens..... these reviewers are in the pockets of these developers/corporations lock , stock and barrel. All that advertisement and promotion money gets the game a minimum of an 8/10 even if its the worst game in the world. Come on everyone...... they gave COD Ghosts a 9/10 and that's one of the worst Call Of Duties ever made hands down. Looks like first person shooters are the only games in the West that get good reviews. Sometimes they are forced to give indies decent reviews but even these don't make any sense most of the time. They treated Guacamelee like it was a masterpiece and because of their most strident great reviews purchased the game both for my PS3 and PS Vita only to find out that the game was good but hardly worth a purchase rather than a rental considering the game can be beating within a few paltry hours.
  The very worst is the stated above bad biased treatment of imported games ( mostly from Japan ). These games are eagerly awaited from hundreds of thousands if not millions of fans in the West only to be reviewed by some nerd first person shooter junky thus destroying any chances of future localization in the West. These video game leeches have and will again destroy great import IP's with a single review forcing the Japanese developers to pass Western releases because they realize that these nerds only like first person shooters and even those have to be exactly like the FPS before it to get a good review.
  I have played hundreds of games that reviewers had giving horrible reviews only to find that the majority of these are just fine....... they just chose not to advertise or spend money to sponsor their games on these very reviewers  networks thus the low scores. Stop taking others people words for your own , after all these people have entirely different tastes in not only video games but movies, cloths, cars, ect......... be your own person and learn from your own mistakes, otherwise, your not your own person but a simple tool of another.

Sony : "No More 3rd Party Support For Vita" .

 Just the other day Sony made a rather nasty announcement concerning the Playstation Vita in that Sony will no longer be supporting 3rd party games for the handheld console. This is bad news for those like me who have invested heavily in the PS Vita. Sony announced that the Vita will focus mostly on indie titles and PS4 remote play. So now that the days of Persona 4 Golden and triple A Vita titles like Killzone Mercenary gone, what are we going to do with this $300 paperweight? Well, I have an idea....... invest in digital PSP titles. Still keep your hard copies of Dragons Crown and Gravity Rush, however, the Vita's PSP library is rather large and bursting with great games.
 Which PSP games should I get for my Vita you ask? Well, the answer to that question is easy even if you initially do not agree with me. I have spent over a thousand dollars on digital games from PSN, a majority of it for the PS Vita and I can tell you that some of the very best games for Sony's handheld are PS1 classics and PSP games. The digital collection of PSP titles are amazing and contain some of the best games of all time and are truly timeless in that you can never grow tired in playing them. These kind of games are the best because they can offer hundreds of hours of gameplay, many different endings and replay value galore. Who cares about AAA Vita games that you can beat in less than 5 hours when you can invest between $10-$20 on a timeless classic which never grows old and seems as though it was meant to be played in the palm of your hand for many, many months.
  One of the very best games that fall into the above category of timeless greats which offer almost endless play value is the classic PS1 game turned PSP remake "Final Fantasy Tactics : The War Of The Lions". This is the premier game of all time and if you never even liked Final Fantasy games .... its still all good because this does not play like a FF game in that it is a tactical strategy game and the best ever made on any platform. This game runs for $10 on PSN as a Vita download and I give you my word is one of the best boredom killers all of all time and is easily worth $20 instead of the $10 asking price. Sure, this game will kick your teeth in if this is your first ( or even second ) tactical RPG, however, if you can figure out the mechanics and master the first few stages after a few re-starts ...... you'll be on your way on one of the greatest video gaming adventures you have ever embarked upon.
 So, to make a long story short ...... Sony has turned its back on the Playstation Vita just as we all feared they would. They continuously fail to announce new games besides cheep indies and HD remakes. They announced that they will no longer support 3rd party AAA development for the handheld console as to focus on indies and PS4 remote play. So while your waiting for that AAA title or 3rd party game you want badly but shall never come..... why not pick up Final Fantasy Tactics  War Of The Lions and spend the next few months mesmerized with ways to create better classes with stronger magical attacks that shoot down from the sky in a cornucopia of colors.

The Scary Future Of Virtual Reality In Gaming

  If some people think now that video games can be overwhelming to certain people who take them far more seriously than they probably should just imagine the future of video games once this now tweaked technology is unleashed upon the masses. I love video games and probably play them more than I really should, however, I know others who go way beyond even that into the realm of video game addiction. Video game addiction is very real and I personally know a person who needed to get professional psychological help for such an addiction. There are actual cases where gamers have actually died playing video games for super long periods of time because their bodies shut down from total lack of sleep, food and water. There are even other cases where peoples kids have been neglected and some of these children even died from malnourishment while their parents/parent played marathon video game sessions.
  These sort of things do not happen all that often, however, there are fears that once highly advanced  virtual reality headsets like the soon to be released occulus rift hit store shelves that these rare and somewhat isolated instances of neglect whether to ones self or their children will spike. Not only is occulus rift in development and acquired by Facebook for use on their already addictive Facebook platform, but; Sony has a similar devise in development for use with the playstation 4 video game console and the project is well enough advanced to give people hands on experiences with this new technology.
 Just imagine how many 'not so happy with their lives individuals' shall become snagged in a world where one would have to really struggle to identify true reality. This new technology is destined to become the new age getaway for those who are not happy with their lives, reality, family or just simply looking for the thrills they cannot achieve in the real world. Sure, the idea is great and I cannot wait to purchase my first pair, however, at the same time, I wonder and to be honest, worry that this may lead to a worsening problem with health and obesity in which America is already struggling with. There is a real problem with obesity, heart disease, diabetes, ect here in the States and its really hard for any true realist not to see how this will turn out in the end. I only hope that this newly advanced technology can add to our general fun and not effect us in a negative manner. Sure, there are those who could benefit greatly from this technology such as people who suffer from paralysis or injury which effects  their ability to move around or get outside allot. This is just one of those things in which we must wait and see how it all plays out. In the meantime I'm going to hop back on my console for some Diablo3.

Call Of Duty Is Doomed

    THE BEGINNING ....... and the end


   I know what you are thinking ...... "this guy is a major hater",  however,  I feel obliged to inform you that I have been one of the Call Of Duty franchises best and most hardcore supporter since the first online COD. As a matter of fact, I have run clans with thousands of members from all over the world and built a rather large following based around the COD franchise games. I have been blessed with great clan websites, partnered youtube channels, large facebook base and much more all because of Call Of Duty. With that being said and now out of the way lets get down to business shall we?
  I recently retired from playing Call Of Duty and verily running my successful COD clan MvK* ( Most Valuable Killers ) and now only play video games with new and fresh idea's to explore and have fun with. You see, Call Of Duty started out amazing, thus; the very large following, however, after many years of implementing stale idea's and repetitive gameplay the franchise has hit rock bottom. You may say to yourselves that COD is doing just fine, however, this could not be farther from the truth. In fact, the COD franchise has been doing rather bad as of lately with its last 3 releases. When the franchise began to move away from the original idea's that made the franchise great to begin with the fans noticed. Gone were the days of MW, World At War and Modern Warfare 2, the best COD games ever made and apparently never to be matched again.


 NEW RELEASE EVERY SINGLE YEAR .


  With a new Call Of Duty every single year the quality and vision has fallen to almost laughable lows. With tight schedules to keep and very little feedback from the most hardcore of supporters the new games roll out un-polished and lacking in almost every single way imaginable. The rushed games appear with horrible graphics using the very same engine that has been used for well over 7 years with what they refer to as "upgrades to the old engine" ..... in other words the same engine. The maps are always horrible with no real vision or imagination and utilizing gimmicks like "Missile Launch Sites" in the hopes that a missile taking off every few minutes will cover up the fact that the map is otherwise boring and not very clever. It seems that the developers solution to all of the yearly COD staleness is to make each new COD installment more and more "futuristic" leading to an even more out of touch game that the core supporters have come to like. Now, with the new "Advanced Warfare" game release imminent ....... it seems as though COD fans will be playing nothing less than a rip off of Halo, Titanfall, and Star Wars just to name a few. Since when did Call Of Duty which used to be based on actual warfare like World War 2 turn into a science fiction movie night for nerds who eat popcorn while watching old versions of Star Trek?


 OH NO .... NOT ANOTHER DLC.


 Now its time to really start hitting hard. The entire COD DLC con game is one of the very reasons I have decided to switch to indie games on next gen and triple A games on my new gaming PC. As soon as you buy a copy of the rushed new Call Of Duty game it begins to sell you the next maps that was removed from the full version of the game ( yes the DLC was made with the rest of the game ) that cost you the full price of at least $60 and attempts to sell you the rest of the partial game you already purchased. How does that make any sense? People actually get excited for the non stop DLC releases that just never seem to stop coming. In other words, after you buy a partial un-polished and rushed game at the full retail price of $60 you then spend an additional $15 per map pack (unless you get season pass also for a ridiculous amount) you in all honesty spend well over $100 for a single game. As if that wasn't bad enough ..... now COD is selling EVERYTHING , you can now purchase skins ( designs ) for your guns , a wolf instead of the usual dog and on and on it goes infinitum.


ANNOYING LITTLE KIDS
 
 I remember when me and my vast network of COD friend could play the game for days without hearing so much as a sqeek from an undeveloped 9 year old. Now, all you can hear on your mic (or through your Television) is the horrible sound of an ocean of little kids mad at their parents for not getting enough hugs yelling and screaming into their $300 headphones just so that everyone can hear the terrible sqeeking sound in full ear splitting HD sound. You will be hard pressed to find a single match of COD without a bunch of little kids who faked being sick so that they can stay home while their parents are at work and yell obscenities at the top of their little pink lungs which would lead to them being swiftly grounded if their parents were home to hear them. At thi9s point, it is very safe to assume that most mature older gamers have vacated COD for something a little more respectable.


 THE MEANING IS LOST


  In the Call Of Duties of old gamers competed for the number one spot on the leaderboards seeking fame and fortune and many a gamer has achieved these things. Not any more........ the meaning of COD is lost forever and where gamers used to make names for themselves for being great at the game or doing something big on COD is now a huge empty void. Simply put, nobody cares anymore. The old days of famous gamers like codemajic (just an example) are now lost forever  in a sea of sludge where every single little sqeeky 9 year old thinks himself the greatest in the world no matter how bad he is or how much he yells into his mic when his Mommy is not home. Call Of Duty youtube video's have hit a brick wall lately with only the usual large channels making any money or getting any real views while everyone else uploads gameplays that nobody wants to watch anymore. The old days are gone ...... welcome to the future and I hope you enjoy playing Advanced Warfare with your new headset on mute 100% of the time..... after all,  that's your only option unless your some kind of sicko who enjoys listening to little kids scream non stop obscenities about your family.

Please Stop Making Assassin's Creed Every Year

WARNING : This blog entry contains the ravings of a man who despises Assassin Creed games. All hatred towards the franchise is only of the author himself and his own personal opinions. If you don't like these opinions then please create your own blog and share your own idea's.




 Please Stop Making Assassins Creed Games Every Year.




 I will just be honest here because that is what this blog is about anyway.... independent thinking and views. I am not a fan of the Assassins Creed franchise, as a matter of fact, I hate these games with all of my being. I picked up and played the first Assassins Creed and enjoyed the experience so you cannot just argue that I am a hater. I must admit, it was hardly the best game I ever played nor was it even the most creative, yet, it was good enough to pass the time.
 The first Assassins Creed was a huge hit with gamers and sold a lot of units to say the very least. It was obvious that a new franchise was born with new releases regularly. You see, this is where things go astray. Video game developers, wanting to milk the fans and franchise itself of everything they are worth, decide that popular video game franchises should have "yearly releases" for some reason. It is at this very point when the decision to make a "yearly release" of a franchise that the before mentioned franchise becomes defiled.
 Any good triple A video game developer (or any developer) knows that it takes more than a year to create a solid, polished and lengthy video game. All this yearly franchise model crap does is create an atmosphere of desperation with impossible time schedules and over working of the creative staff which in turn destroys their motivation to create something special instead being forced to create something which meets the giving time frame. All of this adds up eventually to a video game franchise that slowly over the years becomes less, and less of the great game it used to be and more of the game it has had to adapt to be to meet demands of big corporations and their charts.
 Every yearly franchise tries to have their next franchise installment around Christmas so that all the little kid fans will bother their parents and ask for the latest rushed copy of their beloved video game franchise, thus ; ultimately selling more copies. The next step of the franchise defilement process begins when the developers run out of idea's and with little time to deliberate begin to come up with horrible idea's in the hopes to keep the game fresh and not stale. With Assassins Creed this lack of fresh ideas and original content shows in the form of the game moving from one time period to the next, back and forth, so that Pirates (how original) can be thrown in the mix along with bland Revolutionary War setting ......... Revolutionary War? Are you serious? The subject that put almost everyone I ever knew slap asleep in history class as the subject of a triple A video game? Ok, I'm even more disgusted now that I'm banging this out on my keyboard rather violently.
 In the end ..... the original Assassins Creed was a good game. Making the game into a franchise was a great idea because that is what some fans want and I respect the opinions of other gamers and their games. The true problem lays in the fact that these franchises should spread themselves out over a period of every two to three years to assure a unrushed, original and fresh approach to the game franchise.  In my opinion ..... waiting a few years for a new installment is worth it when the game released has the full potential to be so much more polished and full of original top notch content. That's just my two cents.

Watch Dogs Released / Review's

 Reminder : Today is the long anticipated 27th of May 2014 ..... the launch date for Watch Dogs.

  I'm going to pick up my pre-order copy right now so my review of the game itself will not be up until Thursday. Until then however, I can say that other reviewers are giving this game a average of 8 out of 10. Polygon has scored the game an 8 as well as gamespot and destructoid. Also important to note is that Forbes had some very harsh things to say about Watch Dogs which makes me wonder if I didn't just waste two years waiting for this game to release. I will quote from the Forbes review here "Like GTA5 before it, sometimes it's not enough to simply be big and well made. Watch Dogs feels like a collection of promising concepts with nothing solid holding them together" and also quoted from Forbes " The characters are so uninteresting they're almost unsalvageable, and though gameplay is polished to a mirror shine, it just doesn't do enough to stand out in the genre" end quote.
 So in other words basically everyone is giving this game a score of 8 out of 10 the only reason being for the 8 instead of the 6 is because its "polished". Sounds like they keep making excuses for a bad game because the people who invested in this game via stock bond holders don't want to loose any money. While we are just being brutally honest here ..... they even had an extra 6 months when they delayed the game as to make it better. With a delay of 6 months to make the game better and still end up with a bland story and characters is a huge let down and the 8 out of 10 "I feel sorry for you but its polished" reviews says it all.