Secondhand Opinion: Evolve

It costs over $200 to get all the downloadable content this game is offering. Seriously.

I did an article about Evolve's downloadable content scandal a little while back before the game came out, so now that the game is out we can truly see how much Evolve's obsession with DLC has harmed their reputation with gamers. While the PC version of Evolve currently sits 78 on Metacritic on the side of mainstream critics user reviews sit at a far less favorable 43. While Metacritc user reviews are often notorious for their extreme opinions it is honestly not hard to see why so many people would be angry at Evolve. The game costs sixty dollars at launch and has over a hundred dollars of downloadable content available on day one. The general consensus on the game seems to be that it has a strong foundation, but it simply can't hold up to the scrutiny that sixty dollar triple A games attract. Personally, I feel that the game would have been better suited for a free to play model similar to what Valve uses for their free to play games, but it was either too cowardly or too greedy to take that risk. It seems that Evolve is doomed to end up as the next Titanfall, a multiplayer focused game with a strong foundation, but no meat. I may pick up Evolve when the inevitable Game of The Year Edition rolls out, but given 2K Games's reputation with piling even more DLC on top of the Game of the Year Editions( I'm looking at you Borderlands 2) I will likely end up not picking it up regardless. So that's yet another next generation triple A game that fails to meet expectations and will likly be forgotten in a few months time. I'm just hoping to some divine power that Bloodborne doesn't meet the same fate.

Four Art Games That Are Actually Pretty Good

There are games out there that are designed with the expressed purpose to being considered art. Most of the time these games end up being pretentious walking simulators. Games like Anna and The Path which which use flowery dialogue and subversive or contradictory mechanics to waste the time of the players to show how "deep" and "meaningful" they are. However, there are several art games that are truly great and don't have to rely of obtuse complexity. I would highly recommend at least checking out of the the following games as they are truly great experiences and deserve as much attention as possible simply because of how.

Journey
Let's start with a game that has gotten a lot of attention including a Grammy nomination for it amazing soundtrack. In "Journey", you play as a mysterious pilgrim crossing a desert to reach a mountain in the distance. It sounds underwhelming at first but thatgamecompany's "Journey" is far more then simply getting from point A to point B. "Journey" is the human experience condensed into a single two hour interactive experience cycling through every emotion that you can possibly think of. "Journey" is also a game designed to be as universal. It has no dialogue, and yet it manages cross almost every cultural barrier imaginable. It is truly a magnificent example of what video games are capable of and how they can convey complex emotion in a way no other medium can.

Flower
Another game made by thatgamecompany, "Flower" is follows roughly the same formula as Journey. In Flower you play as the wind carrying flower petals and coloring the landscape and bringing it to life. It is a calm relaxing game that explores themes of nature and human explanation without a single word. While not as emotionally powerful as Journey, Flower is still well worth your time and I can tell you from experience that it is a game that will always make you feel calm and serene while playing it.

Thomas Was Alone
Who ever thought is was possible to write a story that makes you feel a deep emotion connection to a red rectangle and yet "Thomas Was Alone" manages to do it. "Thomas Was Alone" puts you into the role of Thomas and his friends, as they travel through the mysterious computer program they call home. The game has an extremely minimalist art style with characters literally being different colored geometric shapes and yet every single character is fully rounded, rich with personality, and unique to play as. This is due to the game's fantastic writing by Mike Bithell and the masterful narration from Danny Wallace. If there were any problems I could point out it that's the game tries to shove in a last minute antagonist that sorta conflicts with the rest of the game. But in spite of those flaws "Thomas Was Alone" is truly a testament to minimalist, interactive storytelling.

The Unfinished Swan
A game from little known developer Giant Sparrow, "The Unfinished Swan" is a minimalist first person adventure game that places players in the shoes of a boy named Monroe shortly after his mother's death. Monroe is allowed to keep only one of the hundreds of unfinished paintings his mother left behind and he chooses the painting of an unfinished swan that was always his mother's favorite. Then one night the swan comes to life and lead Monroe into a strange world rule over by a childish king. "The Unfinished Swan" is a fairytale that tells a very sad, but ultimately heartwarming story and, in spite of a few sections of the game that drags on, the game always has you doing something interesting and new every other level. If you looking for something interesting I highly recommend "The Unfinished Swan."

Well there are some fantastic art games that you can check out. All of these games are available on Playstation 3, "Flower", "Thomas Was Alone", and "The Unfinished Swan" are available on Playstation 4 with "Journey" on the way, and "Thomas Was Alone" is available on all major game systems.

Secondhand Opinion: The Order 1886

"Gears of Yore"

"The Order 1886" was a game I was hoping would be good. I'm a big fan of alternate history fiction, and the idea of exploring a Victorian England inhabited by supernatural creatures like werewolves and vampires and fighting them with crazy steampunk weapons sounded awesome. Sadly, it would seem that the The Order 1886 is yet another next generation title that has disappointed. It currently sits at 65 on Metacritic and is considered by many critics to be Sony's attempt to copycat of Microsoft's "Gears of War" franchise. From what I have seen from Let's Plays that assertion is most certainly correct. The gameplay is literally just another third person shooter with absolutely nothing setting it apart and on top of that it is loaded with Quicktime Events of the worse kind. It is also a game that wants desperately evoke a cinematic style at the cost of making the actual game feel good to play. The game looks great with some rather fantastic art direction and amazing graphics, but it simply doesn't look fun to play through. If the story the game telling was at the very least interesting I might have still considered picking it up when the price drops, but the general consensus I have been hearing is that the story is basically a set up for a sequel and that was the final nail in the coffin for me. I just want one game that can stand on its own two feet without having to wait for a sequel that will fix all the problems. I wanted this game to be good, but I guess I shouldn't be that upset about it. After all, "Bloodborne" is coming out at the end of March, so all "The Order 1886" did was just end up saving me money for what looks like a much better game. Let's just hope that "Bloodborne" will be good and not another disappointment to add to the pile.

Grim Fandango Review: A Film Noir Masterpiece with One Fatal Flaw

Grim Fandango is a game that I wanted to love. I grew up playing LucasArts adventure games, my favorites being the excellent Monkey Island games. Grim Fandango was one I never got to play and never could get my hands on after it disappeared from the world at large during the adventure game genre’s decade long remission. When it was announced that Grim Fandango was going to be remastered and rereleased after being lost for fifteen years I was excited. However, after playing I was half disappointed. I say half disappointed for the most part I loved this game, but there was one fatal flaw that damn near ruined the game for me. So let’s get to this shall we.

Let’s start with what I loved about this game. The story is one of the most creative and imaginative ones I have ever had the honor to experience. You play as Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead whose job it is the reap recently deceased souls and give them travel packages to their final reward based on their deeds in life with saintly souls getting tickets to go on the Number Nine, a train that leads to the Land of Eternal Rest in four minutes instead of four years. After going through a rough patch of getting less than saintly clients, decides to steal one from his rival Domino only to discover that she, despite of being one of the most virtuous souls imaginable, seemingly does not qualify for anything but a long walk. This tips Manny off that there's something wrong in the Land of the Dead and so begins his four year journey to uncover the corruption that is stealing the just rewards of saintly souls, meeting lots and lots of interesting characters along the way.

All Character Models have gotten updated textures, thought you can switch to the original textures at anytime by pressing L3 and R3(PS4 Version).

The story is simply brilliant and one of the best film noirs narratives in any form of medium. The writing is brilliant and combined with the stellar voice work every character feels vibrant and alive(despite the fact everyone is dead). Almost every character is memorable and I can guarantee you will remember their names long after playing. The art style is beautiful combining the harsh shadows and gritty atmosphere of film noir with colorfully, beautiful architecture inspired by Art Deco and Aztec designs to create something truly gorgeous to behold. Finally, the soundtrack is perfect capturing that film noir tone with a latino twist and is a joy to listen to. All in all, the story, characters, art style, and music are enough for me to recommend this to anyone.

New dynamic lighting makes Grim Fandango's already fantastic presentation and makes it even better.

However, Grim Fandango suffers from a fatal flaw and that flaw is that it is a horrible game. Grim Fandango is an adventure game and the goal of most adventure games is to solve simple puzzles to move along to the next story bit. Modern adventure games like Telltale's The Walking Dead have very simple puzzles the player must complete before the next story beat will begin. Grim Fandango has puzzles to solve to get to the next story beat, but they are anything but simple. I am going to say that Grim Fandango without hyperbole has the worst puzzles I have ever had the misfortune of playing in any adventure game.

Grim Fandango's art style takes inspiration from Art Deco and Aztec architecture.

To properly communicate how bad Grim Fandango’s puzzles are let me tell you how to solve one of the game’s earliest puzzles. You need to get into the mailroom to steal one of your rival’s clients so how do you get in. Lockpick the door, trick the mechanic into letting you in, nope first you have to get two deflated balloons from a clown outside your office building, next you have to go into the packing room and fill the deflated balloons with two different chemicals, then you have to put the balloons in the pneumo tube in your office to get the mechanic to go into the mail room, and finally while the mechanic is distracted unlock the door so that when the mechanic leaves the door stays open. There is no logic in that puzzle, no flow to follow, only madness and every single puzzle in the game is like this. It is simply unbearable.

Mercedes "Meche" Colomar is a saintly soul denied her ultimate reward by corruption plaguing the Land of the Dead. 

After that massive rant I pulled about Grim Fandango’s puzzles you may think that I would not recommend it, but like I have said the story, characters, art style, and music more than make up for it. If you plan on getting this game print out a spoiler free walkthrough and just use that to solve the abysmal puzzles. No sane human being can solve those puzzles without help. Grim Fandango deserves to be experienced, its just a shame that the game part of Grim Fandango is so horrible compared to everything else the game has to offer. Grim Fandango is available for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and PS Vita for $14.99.

Some So Bad It's Good Movies You Might Not Have Heard Of

(While this is a blog that primarily covers video games, I will from time to time talk about something else just for the sake of having a little more variety. Please Understand)

I am a big fan of movies that can only be classified as so bad it’s good. Movies that are so horribly shot, so horribly acted, so horribly written, or all of the above that it is amazingly entertaining as opposed to just terrible. Movies like Birdemic Shock and Terror, The Room, and Troll 2 that are incredibly entertaining precisely because they are so bad. But, the so bad it’s good movies I have already named seem to be the ones that always get all the attention, so I want to bring to light ones that you might not have heard of. So let’s get started then.

Birdemic 2: The Resurrection

One might find it hard to believe with Birdemic Shock and Terror's place in the so bad it’s good movie pantheon that the sequel would fly so under the radar. Most people that have seen the first Birdemic either aren't aware the sequel exists or have seen it and think it’s not as funny as the first one. I for one love the sequel even more than original. Mainly because of the even more randomly insane non sequiturs like the giant jumbo jellyfish, caveman zombies, and prehistoric birds brought to life by red global warming rain. Even better is that James Nguyen, the director of both Birdemic films is still under the delusion that he is the next Hitchcock. If you haven’t seen the first Birdemic then start here. You will likely regret it, but you’ll enjoy doing it regardless.

The Amazing Bulk

This movie is completely indescribable, but I will do my best to put it into words. Imagine if you will An Incredible Hulk parody shot entirely with green screen, using stock animations rather than making anything of their own, and performed by actors that don’t have any grip on reality whatsoever. It is amazing and I laughed myself silly throughout the entire thing. Just watch the trailer yourself. No words can truly do this film justice.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

Troma Entertainment Inc. is one of the oldest independent film makers best known for The Toxic Avenger and a huge number of exploitation films. Yet the funny thing about Troma’s films is that underneath all the sex, violence, and gore there is often some kind of social commentary, usually anti corporate in nature. Poultrygeist is a film that makes fun of hippy protesters, fast food restaurants, zombie movies, and pretty much every member of the human race. It never takes itself too seriously and it is just a whole lot of fun if you can get past the gore and sex.

Those were some so bad it’s good movies to check out. They're not for everyone and I can safely assume that many of you will probably hate them. But, I firmly believe that everything has some kind of value and should be shared even if that value is only “don’t be this.” hope at least a few of you can find enjoyment in these movies like me.

Monument Valley Review: Journey Meets M.C. Escher

Monument Valley is a beautiful game.

The mobile gaming industry has pretty much gained the universal destain of the mainstream video game culture. Where once the mobile gaming sector showed great promise with fun and fresh games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, now is almost completely consumed by greedy exploitative “free to play” games like Dungeon Keeper and Final Fantasy: All the Bravest. Games whose sole goal is to psychologically manipulate the player into giving them as much money as possible with as little actual game to play as possible. It’s so bad now that freaking South Park devoted an episode making fun of it. However, in spite of all the crap in the mobile gaming market it is still possible to find gold. Monument Valley is one of those pieces of gold.

The mysterious crow people often act as obstacles.

Monument Valley is a simple, yet deviously brilliant little game that tells the story of a silent princess named Ida as she travels across the ruins of a long forgotten civilization. Aside from the text introductions of each of the ten chapters and the dialogue of a mysterious ghost character the story never spills the beans on what exactly is going on leaving much of the story up to interpretation. That is perfectly fine with me as I feel that more vague stories help the player feel more connected with the world as they are not being told what to think or what to feel and are aloud to create their own little stories.

Well...that's a little strange.

Anyway, the goal of the game is to get to the end of each of the levels and revive each monument you explore. Sounds simple enough and for the first few levels it is, but the thing that Monument Valley does brilliantly is slowly introduce it’s non-Euclidean puzzle designs in a way that does not overwhelm first time players. Later levels can get extremely mind bending with some very complex M.C. Escher inspired levels, but the answer is never more than a few taps of the screen away and will leave you feeling very satisfied when you get the solution. All in all, Monument Valley is a game best experienced as blind as possible and all you have to know is that you are in for a mind bending treat.

How will Ida reach the top?

My only real problems with the game is that it’s a little too short barely clocking in at an hour and the really meaty puzzles are only really found in the expansion Forgotten Shores, but frankly the game is very cheap and so is the expansion and quite frankly six bucks(counting Forgotten Shores) is a fair price for a high quality game, which is much less than so called “free to play” games would have you pay in the long run. Much less. Monument Valley is available on the iTunes, Android, and Amazon app store and can be played on most mobile devices.

6 Games To Keep An Eye On In 2015

I have already gone into detail about how 2014 was a generally crappy year for video games in my first blog post. Thus for this one I decided to take a look at what 2015 has in store for games. This is not meant to build up any hype for these games, I merely think that these games look interesting to me. It is not out of the realm of possibility that these games will suck when they are released. Also keep in mind that my taste in games is different than yours. If I don't put a certain game on my list it likely because it doesn't personally appeal to me as much as it does to you. Another thing is that I want to do put the spotlight on games that for the most part haven't had any real attention so you won't be seeing any big budget or high profile indie games like Batman Arkham Knight and No Man's Sky on this list. Now that I got the formalities out of the way let's get on with it.

SOMA
The next game from Frictional Games, the creators of Amnesia The Dark Descent, SOMA is looking to be quite a follow up to the game the revived the survival horror genre. It is a science fiction narrative driven horror experience set in an underwater research facility dealing with themes of consciousness and existentialism. Early previews have shown people within the game world getting trapped in mechanical bodies and mechanical horrors hunting the player in the flooded parts of the facility. SOMA is looking good and is due out sometime this year on PC and PS4.

Severed
A dungeon crawler role playing game that is exclusive to the PlayStation Vita and made by Drinkbox Studios, the ones behind the fantastic Guacamelee. Severed tells the story of a girl that has had everything taken from her, including one of her hands. She now must travel across a surreal and dangerous world to get revenge. So far, Severed looks likes exactly what the PlayStation Vita needs right now. A new, unique game made by a talented studio making use of everything the Vita has to offer. Definitely look out for this one when it comes out later this year.

Ori and The Blind Forest
The debut title of Moon Studios. This platform adventure game is looking to combine the gameplay Metroid and Castlevania with the somber artistry found in Team ICO games. You play as a guardian spirit named Ori that finds his simple life shattered by an unknown evil. Very little is known about this game outside a few details and quite frankly that a good thing. The less you know about something the more it can surprise you. Let's just hope my gut feeling is right about this game. Ori and The Blind Forest is coming out on PC and Xbox One on March 11th.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Personally I feel that people hate on The Chinese Room a little too much. Yeah Dear Esther was really pretentious and Amnesia A Machine for Pigs had some pretty big faults, but I like The Chinese Room's aesthetics and their music, composed by Jessica Curry, is some of the best I have ever heard in a video game. If only they could take their strengths and iron out their weaknesses and craft an experience that took advantage of their somber, minimalist style. Well that is what Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is seeking to do. Not much is known about this game outside the fact it is open world
and set during the last hour of the world. Let's hope that The Chinese Room can finally deliver on their potential. This game will be exclusively for PS4.

Volume
From Mike Bithell,the man who made the minimal, but brilliant Thomas Was Alone, is about ready to release his new game. A science fiction take on the classic tale of Robin Hood, players take the role of Rob Locksley,a petty thief that somehow comes into the possession of device called "Volume" which contains simulations of how the corrupt Gisborne Industries took over England. Using the data and a helper program within the device, Locksley reenacts the crimes in an effort to show the people what happened in hopes of sparking a revolution. The game is shaping up to be a fantastic experience and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Volume is due out this year of PC, PS4, and PSVita.

The Witness
Another game made by an auteur designer. Jonathan Blow was the first put in the limelight with his time bending platformer Braid which deconstructed the traditional hero save princess from monster cliche that dominates gaming. His next game is an open world first person puzzler set on an abandoned island as a sort of spiritual successor to Myst. However, Jonathan's goal with this project is to communicate the puzzles solutions in ways that can only be done by a video game. It's a ambitious goal to say the least, but only time will tell if it pays off. The Witness is coming out sometime this year on PC, iOS, and PS4.

Those are the games I wanted to talk about. There are a lot of great games out there that fall under the radar because of big budget behemoths hogging all the attention. I hope I have brought to light games that fall outside the mainstream to at least a few people. Because games like these really need to be covered more.