Update 12/29/13, Happy New Year

On 12/29/2013 at 10:10 PM by F1r3inth3H0L3

Hello all, hope everyone had a great holiday. I have been laying low key and been trying to get as much gaming in as I can and boy have I been up to a lot.

First and foremost, I bought a Playstation 4 at the beginning of December. So we all know they are kind of “hard” to find. Stores having a lot of trouble keeping them in stock and eBay at outrageous price seems to be the only sure bet. I walked into my local Wal-Mart and there they were just sitting there. My inner-impulse buyer kicked in and I walked out with a PS4 with a game.

Here is everything I have been up to:

GAMES I BEAT

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (PS3)

With the imminent release of Metal Gear Solid V, I have felt compelled to play through the series again. I recently beat Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD and was reminded why that is one of my all-time favorite games. I remember liking this game a lot, especially the sniper fight with The End, which still is the highlight of the game IMO. It pretty much still holds up to my memories, except this game is pretty tough to play stealthily, lol. I made it through the game killing only two guards (by accident, slitting their throats during a grapple while under pressure). Only 2 kills made the fight against The Sorrow pretty easy.

The Rage was the toughest boss fight by far. Even when I knew what to do and how to approach the battle, he just kicked my ass. Great game, always enjoy my time with it. Now to try to get a play through of Peace Walker in.

Bioshock Infinite (PS3)

Shortly after beating MGS3, I kind of already knew which game I wanted to play, the game that I been waiting forever to play through. The first trailer for this game already had me sold, and it did not disappoint. I have heard a lot of bad things about the combat in this game, I loved it. There are so many options at your disposal. Can use powers, guns or teleport in help. The story was very interesting of course, I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute that I played this game. The story did get confusing at times and I didn't really mind too much, I enjoy having to think, lol. The ending of the game was especially confusing, I had to look up on the Internet after watching it just get the full picture of what just happened. It all made sense afterwards, lol. Great game, great series.

CURRENTLY PLAYING

Call of Duty: Ghosts (PS4)

This takes a little bit of explaining, lol. When I picked up my PlayStation 4, I originally bought Battlefield 4 with it. Now I am big fan of the Call of Duty series, take that into consideration. I picked up Battlefield because I wanted to change things up. Battlefield looks awesome, I mean look at the screenshot below:

I can honestly tell you that that's exactly what the game looks like (wow, right?). I ended up trading it in though because I started the campaign over again 5 times I believe before I got fed up with it. One play through in believe I was like 50%-75% through the game! There is talk on the internet of this problem, it was unacceptable to me. I dabbed into the Battlefield 4 multiplayer, it is nuts how much stuff is going on. I had fun but I like COD more.

So I traded that game in an end up getting Call of Duty:Ghosts (new) for like $7. Because of some special trade-in offer they gave me.

All I have touched so far is the multiplayer, yes I am one of those people. It is familiar yet different. I enjoy it immensely. It definitely has that next gen look.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)

I have not played many games on my PC since I bought the thing. It did set me back a bit, so I have decided to start to game on it more. I can literally play anything on Ultra settings with everything maxed out. The number one game on my list was Skyrim. I went and installed about every graphics mod possible and the results are stunning.

So I played about 15 hours of the game so far. Anyone that knows me knows that I get really tired of open world games pretty fast, especially when you have to "find" the story. And that is exactly what Skyrim is. I have officially put the game aside and am working on other games. The game looks beautiful but where is the story? I will pick up again sometime.

The Walking Dead (PSN)

I played the first two episodes of this game over a year ago when they were free on PSN. I bought the full version about a couple months ago. I figured that it was about time to get this thing played through, lol. I am on the third episode right now, I am enjoying it quite a bit. Wow, tough life or death decisions around every corner, I am regretting some events, but I will keep going. Awesome game!

Borderlands 2: GOTY (PC)

I recently beat Borderlands 2 on Playstation 3. I was able to pick up the game of the year edition on PC for $15. I also picked up all the headhunter packs on PC. Does this give you any indication of how much I like this game? lol. A friend of mine was able to transfer my save from PS3 to PC and I got to keep all my guns, keys and eridium. Pretty awesome! So I have been playing this co-op with a few friends.

Sonic All-Stars Racing: Transformed (PC)

I bought this in for $4, and it is definitely worth every penny. On PC, this game is visually gorgeous. The stage that stands out so far is After Burner. I like on the Steam version you have characters from Team Fortress. Great cart racer game.

Trials: Evolution (PC)

Trials HD was one of my favorite XLBA games. The sequel was on sale during the Winter Steam Sale for $5, no brainier if you ask me. I've played this when I am sitting around and waiting for something, lol. Great time killer along with Sonic Racing (above).

Resogun (PS4)

This is a free game on PSN. It reminds me a lot of Super Stardust HD on PS3. Cool game to pop in when you feel like playing it for 20 mins.

RECENT PURCHASES

Winter Steam Sale (my wallet hurts):

Dues Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Borderlands 2: GOTY Edition (and all Headhunter packs)
Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition
Trials:Evolution
Super Meat Boy
Castle Crashers
Crysis: Maximum Edition
Guacamelee: Gold Edition
Geometry Wars
Sonic Adventure 2
Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings Enhanced Edition
Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Actually spent around $60 for ALL those. Steam is addicting, lol. The sale is still going...

MY 2013 GAME OF THE YEAR

BORDERLANDS 2

With my backlog, I usually play games at my pace and tend to fall behind the curve a bit when it comes to new releases. I do own The Last of Us, which seems to be on a lot of lists, I just haven't played it yet. So with that stated, my game of the year is one released in 2012 and the best game I played in 2013.

The major thing that Borderlands 2 improves on the original is the story. Anyone who has played the first knows the disappointment of the ending of the first one. Another is customization of your character and also more variety. Borderlands 2 is an all around better game than the original and ends with clues for a third installment. It's funny, interesting and open world, but your constantly in a battle, not too much down time. You know me, open world games don't quite get my attention.

Even when you beat the game, True Vault Hunter Mode ensures for more challenging enemies and great loot! Combine that with the four DLC packs and three headhunter packs and playing with all classes and the possibilities are endless. Great game, recommend the GOTY version hands down.

CONCLUSION

As you can see I have been very busy playing a lot of different stuff. All those purchases above combined with all I am playing have kept me occupied. So what did you get this holiday season?

Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for reading!

KnightDriver

12/30/2013 at 12:35 AM

My buddy just got Borderlands 2 and I watch him play it every time I'm over there. I'm tempted to pick it up myself to keep up with him and maybe play some co-op.

F1r3inth3H0L3

12/30/2013 at 12:22 PM

Obviously I recommend Borderlands 2, the co-op is awesome. For every person (up to 4) that join, all the enemies get stronger and drop better loot.There is a battle arena as well where you fight waves of guys as well. The Game of the Year Edition was on sale during the Winter Steam Sale for $15.

12/30/2013 at 01:37 PM

I have to start looking at Amazon deals because I have a fat gift card I got at Christmas. I'll be looking for Borderlands 2 for sure.

Super Step Contributing Writer

12/30/2013 at 01:52 AM

Borderlands 2 is one everyone seems to love. I have no plans to play it, since I'm not much on shooters or RPGs; if you believe it, while I definitely enjoyed it, I decided not to hop on a Mass Effect/2 sales on Steam after downloading the demo for 2; but it's cool that so many people enjoy that game.

I need to play MGS3. I've only played the first two MGS titles, the Twin Snakes Gamecube remake, and the first few frames of the NES games online. Which is a shame, because I often hear 3 is people's favorite, but alas, it came out around the time my older brother had moved out and taken his PS2 with him.

I would have downloaded Bioshock Infinte on Steam if I had the recommended CPU. In fact, for anyone reading this, there's a flash sale on Steam for Bioshock Infinite right now: 75% off, or $9.99. I bought Tomb Raider with a lower grpahics card than was recommended, but I can live with running games on low settings; not so sure I'm willing to risk my processor not handling things. I do have the original Bioshock on my wishlist, though, and will likely download that before the 2nd/end of Steam sale. If you can't tell, I am far behind. I owned no consoles or handhelds this generation, and only this summer did I buy a laptop that could run games, and only just now have I bought any games for it.

I wasn't quite clear on what the issue with Battlefield 4 was. So are you saying it glitches at the 50-75% point in the game? Glad you were able to trade it in for something you like better, in any case.

As for Skyrim, you are making me jealous, because no way in hell is my laptop running that thing on "Ultra" settings. lol I have the minimum video card required, though. Maybe it's for the best, though. Like you, I prefer some story and mission-incentive to my games. I just don't get the same kick out of aimlessly wandering that other people seem to.

I'm not into zombies, but this TellTale game could be an exception, since I do like games with hard decisions, or at least I think I would. I actually bought Deadlight today on Steam, but in my opinion, that doesn't count, cause it looked more like Contra than a typical zombie game to me.

Sonic Racing looks fun; I was bummed I didn't have the CPU for Generations. That game looks great to me. I only got into Sonic starting with the Adventure games, and I loved the Sonic portions of those games; they'd be great without all the baggage characters, I think.

And as you can tell, Steam has impacted my wallet as well, lol, although I am still well below the $50 spending mark. That will change, though. I need to buy Super Meat Boy as well, before the sale ends.

12/30/2013 at 12:50 PM

I can understand if Borderlands 2 or Mass Effect 2 don't appeal to you. I mean, it seemed as though Skyrim was the greatest thing since sliced bread to everyone, but not to me. Mass Effect 2 is probably my favorite game of this generation, lol. The loyalty missions are the best part of the game.

MGS3 is great. Personally I think the original Metal Gear Solid for Playstation is the best in the series, because of the story mainly. In terms of gameplay, I enjoyed MGS2. Don't get me wrong though, MGS3 is still awesome, definitely worth playing.

My gaming PC is a laptop as well. I dropped ALOT of money on it, lol. It was a bountiful work situation, so I didn't mind dropping the cash at the time. I was kind of frustrated with myself that I haven't played anything on it. The Steam Winter Sale will fix that. BTW, Steam also has a sale on a Bioshock Collection for $15 (All 3 Bioshock games).

The issue with Battlefield 4 on PS4 was that it would continuously erase your campaign progress, like it could never "hold" it. After starting the campaign over and over again, I was fed up. If you look around online, this is an issue among others with the game. I believe it may have been issued a fix by now, but I am more of a Call of Duty fan anyways.

The Walking Dead is pretty awesome. It is an adventure game (point and click), which I never play or got into in the past. This one is great though. Like I said, tough decisions that play a role further down in the story and even some characters lives depend on them.

12/30/2013 at 09:42 PM

Ok, that's what I figured was going on with Battlefield 4, but for some reason, wasn't quite sure. I sometimes read blogs in a very tired state.

And yeah, ME2 gets a lot of praise from a lot of people, hence why I downloaded the demo, but I just couldn't get into it. If it offered controller support, I may have felt differently, but what can you do? I'm just not a keyboard and mouse person, unless it's a simple platformer. I know that sounds odd, since people swear by that set up for shooters, but I just don't find it as comfortable.

I don't think I'd have my laptop if it weren't on sale this summer, but I'm glad I got it, and I was also mad at myself for not gaming on it, which the sale is also fixing. lol Thanks for mentioning that combo pack, by the way. I saw that, but figured I may only want Bioshock for myself, but I might reconsider.

12/31/2013 at 11:27 AM

Wow, just noticed that Mass Effect 2 doesn't have controller support on Steam. That really bites, can't say I don't blame you then. I do not play any PC game unless:

1) It has to be on Steam [no Origin or uPlay stuff for me]

2) It has to have controller support.

There is a pretty cool controller keyboard "emulator" that I have had to use in the past called JoytoKey. You basically program buttons on your controller to keys. I've had success in the past with it.

jgusw

01/01/2014 at 08:42 AM

The first time I saw a trailer for Bioshock Infinite, I knew had to played it. I beat it not long ago and it was great. One of these days, I'll go back and beat the first game.

Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed is a game I've been waiting to drop in price for a while now. I'll probably breakdown and buy it this year.

01/02/2014 at 11:46 AM

The first Bishock is such an awesome game. It has been a while since I played through it, maybe I can squeeze in a playthrough sometime.

I had to buy Sonic Racing Transformed, it was only $4. It is pretty fun. I like how colorful and creative the levels are.

transmet2033

01/02/2014 at 10:10 AM

After playing an hour or so of Ghosts' multiplayer I realized why I like Halo's multiplayer the best. I liked knowing exactly who I need to shoot because they are going to be red or blue. I have second guessed myself way too many times and died way too much because I do not know which players are on my team or not.

The Steam Sale burned its way through my pockets. I picked up a dozen or so games this year. I think that it is about time to build a new computer.

01/02/2014 at 11:53 AM

One thing that the Call of Duty series has spoiled me with is ADS aiming (looking down the scope) and the compulsive need to continually unlock new guns, perks and equipment. That and alot of my PSN friends I have met through the COD series. I know what you mean, once you play it enough though, it becomes a lot easier. I always have that problem when a new COD game comes out and I jump into the multiplayer for the first time.

Too many killer deals on the Steam Sale. Bought more PC games this winter than I ever though I would, no problem though. It is about time I start using that expensive paperwieght, lol.

PixlBit