Video Games!

Dawn of a new day? I dunno I have had a lot of time to think over the last few months, weeks, days (Been on holidays. Not in Europe.) I looked at how my social media was going. Hell how the things I wanted to achieve were going and the answer was not well. Full of negativity, politics and such. I am a little barking dog. I see something I think is stupid and respond. The fact is I have to accept that some people will always be dumb and they will always think I am dumb. So what is the point? Let it go. I said that a few months back but this crazy world frustrated me and I didn't... Posted on a million things and there are still a million things I don't agree with BUT I am letting it slide. I have to. I am not actually moving toward any goals if I am always distracted with shit that doesn't matter. See if I was going to run for some office or something maybe I should be all over it BUT I am not. Hell I don't even know if I have a party I like. I am not going to get it through millennial's heads they don't have it rough and I am not going to get trumptards off trump. So fuck it for now, I cannot save the world. Or mold it in my image! I have always wanted to contribute to Pop Culture, so that is what I am going for. Movies, TV, Comics, Music, Books, Video Games, some hockey in there and so on. I looked at the people I admire who have succeeded in all that and I noticed that even though I am sure they all had politics, it was far from their main thing. So I am pushing it away..... Sort of. At least on social media. I do have a fairly political blog started that I am going to post. Maybe next week I will have it up. And yes I know it is in me to rant SO there will be political type blogs. I can't help it BUT the main goal is all things POP. So even if they are shorter, that is what I will mostly be blogging, for a bit AND like I said my social media is for pop now not stupid petty arguments. Unless it is pop culture and then I aim to not make it petty. SO after that ramble here we are, my first new pop blog......

Gaming! I thought I was a serious gamer, a few years ago when I didn't really talk to people about games. (Didn't want to be that strange guy who games....) WOW people out there game and it isn't small. Like there is a huge gaming world. I am going to break down the last few games I played and liked. PLEASE don't laugh as they are older. Told you I am not the gamer I thought I was, if you wanted new hot reviews sorry

SO I will start with Red Dead Redemption 2. I never played the original. Or the old, old Red Dead. My wife bought me this a few years back now to entertain me when my grandmothers passed away. I started it, twice never finished. Then a few months ago I started it again. For the last time, finishing it this time.... This time I planned on doing all the side shit, challenges and hunts. That honestly in my opinion is the way to go. (So each game I will try and say story and game. That's the two things that make a game.) First off, story all the way for me. Any game I have replayed has always been story driven. This one has it. Admittedly the first "chapter" is slow. You have to burn through it and then it is much better. Hell until chapter 3 it's a bit slow. The story is awesome. Arthur is a likable enough guy even being an outlaw. (Yes I know you can make him a dick but if you do that why cheer for him?) The camp is full of fun colorful characters. Hosea and Dutch (At that point) are like dads. John a little brother and even Keiran a dumb little brother. I won't name them all off but everybody except Micah are pretty likeable. Also the pinkertons are very hateable. It is well written. The highs and lows are great. Certain deaths actually hit you in the feels. Most of the side characters are entertaining. It has replayabilty. Is that a word? I doubt it is a spoiler but by chapter six when you know you are going to die it feels right. It feels like you should do the right thing. Which to me is good writing. I think they could have introduced the Wapiti tribe earlier, could have helped redeem Arthur more but either way it is a well written story. The epilogue is great to, specially for a late player like me who has no real history with John. Plus you get revenge which if your honest is great. I mean ya happy Arthur redeems himself but Micah has to go! The game play is great. I enjoy all the challenges, even if some are way too hard. The map is amazing. I have yet to find a full breakdown of all the side missions. Like I thought I found them all but then still had a couple random encounters. Which google did show a couple people found but I am not sure anyone has done them all. I am at 89% completion and I think less than 2% got 100% done. IF I was talking to a new player I would say DON'T get fast travel. Ride everywhere that's the only way you are going to get the full story. HOWEVER is there a full story? I am a bit annoyed with "Gavin" Does that dude ever find his friend? The missing princess? There are a few stories I cannot find an end to and that is very annoying. Seems incomplete. Also I understand Rockstar wants to make as many options as possible but when is too much too much? For example you help someone, they are thanking you or about to reward you and you hit the wrong button drawing a gun and they scream and run. Or riding around town you hit the wrong button and jump to the horse beside you instead of saying hi. Then you become wanted, lose honor and it becomes a blood bath! Yes some of that is on me for hitting the wrong button but it is annoying. Same as saving people in jail wagons. You kill two cops and honour goes down but then goes up for freeing them? Makes not much sense to me! BUT I love this game, was sad to finish it however moved onto the original so technically the right order and it is pretty sweet. 

NHL2020. Okay EA basically makes the same game over and over. So think of this as the last 5 NHL games. First I like the new system how you earn you upgrades. It actually makes sense that as you do things you get better at them, like real hockey. I don't like how some things you can't really improve though. Wrist shot power? Like ya I have 99 wrist shot accuracy but 80 power without going and spending skill tree points? Also not sure if I like the skill tree..... The game play of course is awesome. Although it might actually have gotten to real. Like toe drags, wow. Like in reality those are hard to do. It shows me my age I guess. I remember being the young cousin playing something like Ken Griffey Baseball and being the best. Now I play younger people and they have the control stick down pat and I am just poke checking with X or whatever button it is. It sure has come a long way. My big beefs are the stupidity of it. WHY when I lead the league in everything do I get bumped back a line every year. Just change the story up for that! Instead of being the best player in the NHL and being bumped down every year cause your not doing enough, have the coach say something like they want to mix up lines. I know this isn't a story game but just a pet peeve! WHY is the difference between play levels so high. Like the second highest I am getting 5 points a game highest level maybe a point and usually sent down to fourth line. Makes no sense either too easy or to hard.... Change it up! The whole game. No I am not a designer so I don't know how but you have released the same game 20 years now. I like how you can play juniors and get drafted but change it up. Instead of memorial cup do WJC. That's a change. I should put a disclaimer I have only been doing career mode for the last 5ish years. So I can't really comment on more than that. Yes GM mode or whatever used to be amazing, we used to make teams with ourselves sit and drink and play this game. I imagine that is still around and fun to do. I just haven't had the desire to do that when I am playing without roommates. The thing with that I would have worked on was trades. None of them made any sense at all. Also I can't remember what year it was but they kept what you had made in your career and you could get promos and stuff. That was neat, it should be brought back. 

OF course if you follow my blog at all you know Witcher 3 Wild Hunt would be here. Like I said story is the most important to me and this one has maybe the best story I have ever played. The only other one I remember liking this much was Final Fantasy IV. (I am not sure if I would love it as much now but I think for decades that was my fav story) Anyways the first time I wrapped this I had none of the backstory and was still SUPER impressed with the story. Finding Ciri actually became important to me. Deaths were actually sad! I was attached to these characters. Then I got the books and it became even better! Blew my mind! I will give you having great base material does make for the writing to be better but this is EPIC. The story is so well done. If you have played it or not I would get into the books. It will add a lot to the game. The other thing is the game play. I like it. There isn't much I can complain about. Sometimes the sign wheel gets a bit off and when you want to cast one thing and something else happens but other than that I don't have many complaints. Witcher sense is well done, better than say Eagle Eye in RDR2. The open world is massive each time I have played it I have found new side quests. Gwent is actually fun, play it and make the real witcher armour. It is way better and cheaper. Get the DLC and do it while playing main game. The biggest issue is how easy things get. Do quests I guess as they come if you can. Other than one werewolf they are doable at what they recommend but if you are higher level it can get boring. I mean there is no way to avoid this, you will level up and still have lower level quests. I just think do as many at the right level if you want a challenge. However later on some things will be stupid hard. Like wild boars can kill you..... 

Mafia 3 is another game with a great storyline. It really is the best reason to play this game. Lincoln is amazing. His story was well thought out, the tragic events leading up to the main game are a great set up. Hell the villains are hateable! Very much so. The way it is kind of broken up and told from a few points of view, like everything I like about this story. The game play is good, sure BUT repetitive. Like each area is almost the exact same. The story for the boss or why you are after them changes. So that is cool and setting is awesome, they do a great job of capturing the time and the place. (Though who knows it might be cancelled soon too) Dunno why I have this fondness for the bayou when I have never been there.... Also it isn't nearly as open world as many games are. I mean there are a few side quests but nothing crazy. However it is the story that saves it. The developers of GTA should hook up with the writers for Mafia and then man would you have a game.....

I won't break them down game by game but I have to mention the Arkham series. See the only things I have really played up until Asylum would have been either, NHL, GTA or a few Wii games. It blew my mind the first time through as a Batman fan. Story was great, game play was great (Not too open world) The riddler challenges and trophies are much cooler in this one than any other. Like I said I am not much of a gamer but had I not played this one I doubt I would be a gamer at all. This was like a re-intro to the fact games could be amazing. I have played it through a lot now and here is my beef. You have to go back. If you want to get that 100% complete, you have to go back. With gadgets as they come along. I am fine going back if you miss something, that's part of the game BUT not being able to finish I don't like. It's another one I am in the 90% complete area but did get bored going back. From there it is down hill. City I want to like, MAYBE I will replay it and try to get into it but I never really did. I can't tell you why, but it did not have the draw for me Asylum did. It should, it's bigger with more iconic Bat villains. So I guess maybe I will have to give it a retry. I can tell you the riddler challenges aren't nearly as cool. I can tell you I did not like the end. Killing the Joker is literally killing Batman series. Sure you can make a game without him, or a movie but NO other villain will live up to him. (Look at the Dark Knight Rises....) Origins I liked. I wasn't hooked but I did enjoy it and I am fairly upset it isn't available for Xbox 1. Had I played it through again I may have actually liked it. Year 1 being one of my fav Bat storylines. They did not have to bring the Joker into this but they did. I know it is kind of going against what I said earlier but they could easily have teased him throughout the game. It does pull some lesser known villains and didn't get the hype the other games did but I might actually put it as my 2nd fav in this series. Knight, what to say about Knight. I hated the batmobile. If I wanted to play world of tanks, I would have bought world of Tanks. Scarecrow being the villain that brings down Batman blows my mind, weak. I like Scarecrow but him being the one who finally takes down Bruce Wayne? Also Jason Todd?? Yes he would be the Knight but MAYBE there should be any introduction to him in the prior 3 games? I know Jason Todd, sure some of my readers who are into comics know him but how many people not into Bats would know him? I will say the lay person knows Dick Grayson. There is no build up to him. So I did put more words into each game than I planned but I do have to say without this series I wouldn't be writing this blog....

   

GTA V I have to put on here, just to talk about the failure of it. It is an amazing game. The open world potential is amazing. The graphics, the gameplay all amazing. The writing is boring. I am not sure if it is the 3 person idea or just overall not well written. I played through once and that sadly was enough. Other GTAs were worth a few playthroughs. I FEEL and I may be wrong that this was made simply to make money. Meaning sure buy it, play through and then hopefully go online and pay a ton more $$$. I am sure it does, still see weekly ads for in game purchases. I feel gypped by that. I paid a lot of money for what I thought would be an amazing game. Not a lot of money to pay more money for years after. I won't lie, when 6 comes out I will buy it BUT I hope Rockstar puts a lot more effort into making it good for people who don't want to play online.

If I had the $$$ I would buy or would have bought Telltale games before they went tits up. (Can I still use that term?) EVERYONE likes a good cut scene, or so I assume. It is usually how the story moves forward. As I stated story is the main thing for me and these games are literally just cut scenes you control. No I did not get to deep into the catalog but the games I did play I did really like. Trying to remember but I THINK Game of Thrones was my first one. I ALMOST didn't get into it. A certain part outside the Red Wedding kept killing me only a few minutes in and I almost walked away but I did pass it and then it got really good! It is amazingly well written and when Ramsay Bolton is the villain, well you know it will be good. The real tragedy is like some other titles, it never got finished! I get they were waiting on the actual show but it ends on a cliffhanger all over... Then I tried Walking Dead. First one was great until the store. I have actually read  a few people got stuck and quit there. I did. I wish I hadn't as the games went on but I did. Then I moved onto Wolf Among Us. This was amazing, again like GoT and TWD it had great source material. I actually picked up some Fables books after that. I don't know why they failed. I mean I do, not everyone wants to play out a story but I am thinking somehow shit was mismanaged. How can you have the two biggest pop things going at that time and fail?? The Walking Dead did get much better. I would say that was the flagship. Even after the bankruptcy? they finished TWD and it was worth it. Batman was also a decent series. I won't say amazing BUT it was a nice reimagining of some of the characters. I did buy Guardians and to be honest I didn't even finish the first chapter. I don't think I likely will. Anyways I figured I should mention this studio as I would still be grabbing everything they put out if they were still here! They got me back into games as well.

Mario party is something we have played a bit recently. I like it! Not sure how I never played before. I do have to say yes it should be played with a few people and  maybe with a party atmosphere! The games are nice and easy and fun! I couldn't imagine really playing it alone though. Tried both the gamecube and wii version. Think I like Wii better.  

So I guess I will end with my gamer pedigree lol. See I know most my reviews are old and you are likely saying this guy ain't a gamer. Well your right! But I used to be and maybe I will try a few more! But here is what I grew up on, yes I was a big nintendo guy! First off Mario, every Mario Bros! This is like the Disney of video games. Just wholesome fun! Then the Final Fantasy games for SNES. 4 and  6 I guess. Those really made me love story based RPGs. There was Mario Kart, who doesn't love that one!! Way better than real racing, you can shoot shells! Kid Icarus back in the day. Aladdin and ducktales! There was street fighter and TMNT. A big wrestling game guy for a long time. Who didn't love Golden eye??? I got into resident evil much later but did really enjoy the old ones. We had a Wii for a bit. Liked sports and wii fit, not sure if that counts as gaming. Tetris and paperboy on the gameboy. And Zelda. Those got way better as time went on. 

So that went on longer than I thought. Still not a gamer I dont think, compared to many lol. But i do think it is funny I think I am in the older end of gamers. I find people say 5-10 years older than me gaming just doesn't happen. I mean yes there are some but overall I am saying 50 ish is the cut off but younger well everyone is a gamer. And as they improve like the VR stuff I am sure we will see more and more... So here is the end of my long rant, do you make games? I want to write them! Lets work together lol! Hope I have enough gamer cred for that.