Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Work has been hell of busy, but I've been doing a lot...Everything must go!
Games
Orcs Must Die! 2
I dig tower defense games, but they are usually top down, mobile and solo affairs. Orcs Must Die! takes the tower defense concept and puts into the third dimension. Instead of towers you place traps and control a war mage that is part of the battle as well. The controls are a lot like playing WoW and by that I mean I jump unnecessarily every two seconds. The later levels get hard and thankfully there is two player coop to solve for that. It is part of the latest Humble Bundle (which tomorrow). You get the first game too, which I might up playing as well.
Magicka
I jumped on this game when it first came out in 2011. It was awkward to control (but fun), quirky in it's presentation and a good laugh to play coop. The initial group didn't make it far. I'd call them casual gamers and mean it in the nicest way possible. I tried to continue playing it on my own, but the game gets brutally hard pretty quickly. Jump to this month in this year. The most recent Humble Bundle came with Magicka and all it's DLC. I got Skip and my brother to get copies and we've been playing it every night. The challenge for three players is perfect. We struggle through boss fights and laugh our asses off when we blow each other up.
COD: Ghost
This
franchise feels like it is on it's last leg. It is the tenth proper
game in the series that remains a cash cow, so they keep making one a year. The multiplayer is still fun,
but it might as well be a map and gun pack DLC. Save the fact that
the leap frogging developing cycle sees gaps in the feature set every year.
They made a huge deal out of the pick ten system in BLOPs 2. It was going to revolutionize the game. So of course Ghost made their own watered down/less good version this year. I still enjoy playing COD with my buddies, but there is nothing new or special about it anymore. Titanfall can't get here soon enough.
Tilt to Live 2
Tilt to Live was the first mobile (smart phone) game I spent an extraordinary amount of time with. The longest a game would take, if you were really crushing it, was 3 minutes tops. You control an arrow that is trying to avoid and destroy red dots. It plays a lot like Geometry Wars, but replace the dual sticks with tilting your phone. Your next high score is only a game away so keep playing forever! Or as long as you are in the bathroom. Sadly the follow up game doesn't introduce enough new stuff to make me want to play it like the first. That or I had my fill the first time around. If you've never played it, give it a shot. If you played and liked the first, this is more of the same.
Max Payne 3
The matrix and more importantly the public's introduction to bullet time came in 1999. Sadly the movie tie in games that followed were shit. In 2001 Max Payne released with a gritty noir story and game mechanics that captured bullet time in a way that was fun. Not a small feat. The sequel that followed in 2003 only added to that formula. Nine years, a terrible movie and a troubled development cycle later and Max Payne 3 came out. Gone is the noir feel, the semi understandable story and the bullet time. Cover mechanics killed what made the first to games distinct. Now when you jump out from cover and slow down time you will very likely land on the ground and get shot to death. Without interesting game play one would hope the story did some heavy lifting. Nope, the story has got better things to do.
Music
Clipse
After really digging the new Pusha T, I went and bought all three of the Clipse albums. I was late to the party, but now understand were all the admiration comes from. There is some incredible music to be unearthed here. A lot of Neptunes produced tracks that I was already familiar with, but didn't know were Clipse songs. Bravo!
Action Bronson - Blue Chips 2
My first listen to Action's new mixtape was mixed bag of good tracks and some stuff that was really off putting. I stuck with it though and it grew on me in the past month. Party Supplies produces tracks that are just plain fun. The result of which is Action taking that fun vibe and putting together raps that are creative and light in their flow. A great pairing. Starting out thinking I'd remove it from my phone and taking a turn to liking it has been great. It is somewhere in my mixtapes of the year now.
Reading
Storm Front (Dresden Files)
It is a bit daunting to start up long running fiction series. The Dresden Files will be up to fifteen books next year. Thankfully the first book is only 300+ pages, which for me is only 8 hours of audio. In audio Storm Front plays a bit like a radio narrative. The first person hardboiled P.I. story blended with the super natural (magic) world played great in 20-40 minute chunks. I can't wait to start the next one.
Avengers Arena
Another great comic recommendation from Ethan. AA stands on the shoulders of Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale, and Hunger Games to tell a similar story in the Marvel universe. It is a silly premise that is well executed. I wasn't familiar with any of the characters on offer, which I think made it better. The characters get quick, but meaningful introductions and then are set to surviving and killing each other. The writing is on point and it looks great too.
Showing posts with label iOS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iOS. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Weekend Review: Nov 2nd & 3rd
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Sawbones
Last years late September weekend review, included a podcast called Satellite Dish. A show about television from a husband and wife duo I was already familiar with. The show was rough around the edges and inconsistent when TV was inconsistent. Which was often. Thankfully the pair is back with a new podcast about medical history. This time around the humor is still very high and they have the content to match it. Focusing every week on a new subject they poke fun at often wild path that we have taken to get to modern medicine.
Pusha T - My Name Is My Name
Probably the biggest gap in my hip hop knowledge and appreciation is the Clipse. Their music is a total blind spot and they are from Virginia Beach. After just under a month of listening to the fantastic debut album from Pusha T, I am bound and determined to get up on the Clipse now. It is that damn good. Lots of great featured artist and an all-star listing of producers and beats. I posted the song Nosetalgia back in September and the full album lives up to it's potential.
Cycloramic
It is extremely rare these days for me to be surprised by technology. I'm increasingly becoming a cranky cynic in the space, especially when it comes to phones. Sure I will get a wow moment from the latest Boston Dynamics video, but what is surprising about more cores and higher megapixels? This weekend I saw something that actually blew my mind. If only a little. Cycloramic is an iPhone app for the 5 and 5s. It takes panoramic photos/videos and can do so completely hands free. Set your phone vertically on a smooth surface (e.g. dinning room table) and it will use the phones vibrate feature to rotate it around 360 degrees snapping photos along the way. What you get is less impressive. There have been apps for stitching together panoramas for years now. The novelty of seeing your little phone come alive however is totally worth sharing.
Sawbones
Last years late September weekend review, included a podcast called Satellite Dish. A show about television from a husband and wife duo I was already familiar with. The show was rough around the edges and inconsistent when TV was inconsistent. Which was often. Thankfully the pair is back with a new podcast about medical history. This time around the humor is still very high and they have the content to match it. Focusing every week on a new subject they poke fun at often wild path that we have taken to get to modern medicine.
Pusha T - My Name Is My Name
Probably the biggest gap in my hip hop knowledge and appreciation is the Clipse. Their music is a total blind spot and they are from Virginia Beach. After just under a month of listening to the fantastic debut album from Pusha T, I am bound and determined to get up on the Clipse now. It is that damn good. Lots of great featured artist and an all-star listing of producers and beats. I posted the song Nosetalgia back in September and the full album lives up to it's potential.
Cycloramic
It is extremely rare these days for me to be surprised by technology. I'm increasingly becoming a cranky cynic in the space, especially when it comes to phones. Sure I will get a wow moment from the latest Boston Dynamics video, but what is surprising about more cores and higher megapixels? This weekend I saw something that actually blew my mind. If only a little. Cycloramic is an iPhone app for the 5 and 5s. It takes panoramic photos/videos and can do so completely hands free. Set your phone vertically on a smooth surface (e.g. dinning room table) and it will use the phones vibrate feature to rotate it around 360 degrees snapping photos along the way. What you get is less impressive. There have been apps for stitching together panoramas for years now. The novelty of seeing your little phone come alive however is totally worth sharing.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Weekend Review: Oct 26th & 27th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Gravity
I've never had a fear of space before. It is such a foreign concept, so abstract when presented through the lens of a book or television, that it never really occurred to me. Gravity is a fictional take on space that presents story first, but also uses visual effects and sound to make the vast emptiness of space tangible. Bullock and Clooney do a great job in their roles, but the third character is outer space. We saw the film in 3D and for the first time I felt like it actually added something. More stunning spectacle than zero calorie novelty. It was amazing and deserving of the stellar reviews it has received.
The Stanley Parable
What this is, is hard to describe. It's a game for the PC that spawned from a source mod in 2011. That much is easy enough. What the game actually does though is much harder. It is not a puzzle game, as much as it is a mind fuck. Most "gamers" have played enough to know the tropes, language and mechanics of a modern video game. This one turns all of that on it's ear. It constantly breaks the fourth wall and does so in clever and humorous ways. You explore the ins and outs a world that is masterfully narrated and never what you expect it to be. You should play it and will love it when you do. Very much like portal, but not like it at all, it's strange and wonderful.
Boson X
I've spent a surprising amount of time with the endless runner genre. Almost exclusively on mobile devices. Subway Surfers has been my on again off again sweetheart for a year now. So when a new kid shows up on the block I'm willing take a look. Boson X sets you running down the center of a particle accelerator, represented by swirling polygonal shapes. You jump left and right to keep moving and collecting enough research ("collisions") to discover a new particle and finish the level. It is harder than most runners and very akin to Super Hexagon in it's pace and sometimes brutal difficulty.
Gravity
I've never had a fear of space before. It is such a foreign concept, so abstract when presented through the lens of a book or television, that it never really occurred to me. Gravity is a fictional take on space that presents story first, but also uses visual effects and sound to make the vast emptiness of space tangible. Bullock and Clooney do a great job in their roles, but the third character is outer space. We saw the film in 3D and for the first time I felt like it actually added something. More stunning spectacle than zero calorie novelty. It was amazing and deserving of the stellar reviews it has received.
The Stanley Parable
What this is, is hard to describe. It's a game for the PC that spawned from a source mod in 2011. That much is easy enough. What the game actually does though is much harder. It is not a puzzle game, as much as it is a mind fuck. Most "gamers" have played enough to know the tropes, language and mechanics of a modern video game. This one turns all of that on it's ear. It constantly breaks the fourth wall and does so in clever and humorous ways. You explore the ins and outs a world that is masterfully narrated and never what you expect it to be. You should play it and will love it when you do. Very much like portal, but not like it at all, it's strange and wonderful.
Boson X
I've spent a surprising amount of time with the endless runner genre. Almost exclusively on mobile devices. Subway Surfers has been my on again off again sweetheart for a year now. So when a new kid shows up on the block I'm willing take a look. Boson X sets you running down the center of a particle accelerator, represented by swirling polygonal shapes. You jump left and right to keep moving and collecting enough research ("collisions") to discover a new particle and finish the level. It is harder than most runners and very akin to Super Hexagon in it's pace and sometimes brutal difficulty.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Weekend Review: Aug 24th & 25th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Theft of Swords (redux)
I wrote briefly about this series (The Riyria Revelations) back in 2012. I finished book one and was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm pretty green when it comes to fantasy novels. I spent high school reading classics for class and John Grisham for me. A bit of Redwall in 6th grade, but when I actually picked them up I started with ASoIaF and then Name of the Wind. Heavy ass hitters in the genre. So my expectations were fairly high. Seen through that lens ToS feels more like a dungeon master turning his pen and paper game into a novel. I gave up on reading book two on my kindle, but recent saw the series on sale at Audible and picked it up. This time I approached it by taking it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be, which was Rothfuss or Martin's next work. I enjoyed it. The characters are too black and white and the plot leaves nothing to the imagination, but it is great motivation for my own pen and paper planning (Dungeon World).
Spark Master Tape
Spark Master Tape is an enigma. He's dropped two fantastic mixtapes (Syrup Splash & Swoup Serengeti) in the past year and no knows who he is. He rhymes over really grimy beats with vocals that are chopped and screwed into anonymity. I've been listening to both tapes for going on three weeks now and Swoup is right up there with Run the Jewels for mixtape of the year. Give it a listen.
Plants vs Zombies 2
When I wrapped up the original PvZ I was a bit surprised at how abruptly it ended. It felt like it was just becoming a challenge and I expected and wanted it to go on for 2-3 more hours. That was three years ago and for three years I've operated under the assumption that I wanted more plants and zombies. In that time though I've played some stellar tower defense games (e.g. Kingdom Rush) and got slightly burnt out on the genre. So when PvZ 2 dropped last week and was almost entirely the same game play wrapped in new aesthetics I was disappointed. I don't want to start from the beginning of the difficulty curve and build my way up again. I have a skill set that makes these early levels tedious and joyless. No thanks.
Theft of Swords (redux)
I wrote briefly about this series (The Riyria Revelations) back in 2012. I finished book one and was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm pretty green when it comes to fantasy novels. I spent high school reading classics for class and John Grisham for me. A bit of Redwall in 6th grade, but when I actually picked them up I started with ASoIaF and then Name of the Wind. Heavy ass hitters in the genre. So my expectations were fairly high. Seen through that lens ToS feels more like a dungeon master turning his pen and paper game into a novel. I gave up on reading book two on my kindle, but recent saw the series on sale at Audible and picked it up. This time I approached it by taking it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be, which was Rothfuss or Martin's next work. I enjoyed it. The characters are too black and white and the plot leaves nothing to the imagination, but it is great motivation for my own pen and paper planning (Dungeon World).
Spark Master Tape
Spark Master Tape is an enigma. He's dropped two fantastic mixtapes (Syrup Splash & Swoup Serengeti) in the past year and no knows who he is. He rhymes over really grimy beats with vocals that are chopped and screwed into anonymity. I've been listening to both tapes for going on three weeks now and Swoup is right up there with Run the Jewels for mixtape of the year. Give it a listen.
Plants vs Zombies 2
When I wrapped up the original PvZ I was a bit surprised at how abruptly it ended. It felt like it was just becoming a challenge and I expected and wanted it to go on for 2-3 more hours. That was three years ago and for three years I've operated under the assumption that I wanted more plants and zombies. In that time though I've played some stellar tower defense games (e.g. Kingdom Rush) and got slightly burnt out on the genre. So when PvZ 2 dropped last week and was almost entirely the same game play wrapped in new aesthetics I was disappointed. I don't want to start from the beginning of the difficulty curve and build my way up again. I have a skill set that makes these early levels tedious and joyless. No thanks.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Weekend Review: July 6th & 7th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Ginormous 4th of July long weekend wrap up incoming I've been heads down on work and home projects for two weeks now and dipped out on writing here as a result. So without further ado, the weekend review...and most of June too:
Games
Dead Ahead (iOS)
Another game I fell in love with in the endless runner genre. I get really wrapped up in the repetitive nature of "just one more run". Dead Ahead is a 2D side-scroller set in a zombie apocalypse. You play a protagonist on a dirt bike running from a zombie hoard. The only way to keep them back is to accelerate or shoot (risky) them (limited ammo). The obstacles ahead of you include more zombies (that will slow you down) and cars (that will end your run). The mechanics and controls are solid. The pixel art and animation has a chibi look and is quite pretty. All that and it is free. It is ad supported though, so I dropped the $0.99 required to remove them. Well worth the price.
Deep Dungeons of Doom (iOS)
Triple D looks a bit like the combat portion of a JRPG. You control a hero on the left side of the screen and the creatures you face appear opposite you. It is real time and all you can do is block and attack. That sounds basic and it is, but the beauty is in the timing. Creatures can block and attack as well and learning their tells is a big part of the game. That is made easier by the fantastic pixel art and animation (noticing a theme?). This is a another free one, but unlike Dead Ahead the model for profit is not based on ads. After 5-6 dungeons D3 presents a pay wall. Pay $1.99 for 6 additional dungeons in not one, but two instances. Each dungeon took me maybe 4-5 minutes to complete. At that rate, I was good with the hour I spent with the game, but did not continue.
Block, Block, Block (iOS)
Block x 3 is a simple and beautiful concept. It takes the match 3 puzzle genre and places a hard emphasis on the puzzle element. You presented with multiple squares in pastel tones and are asked to solve the puzzles by matching three. The challenge comes in when you are presented multiple colors and a limited set of moves to complete the puzzle. Crystal and I both spent multiple hours stumped on various puzzles over the weekend. Another free one by the way.
Don't Starve (PC)
Klei Entertainment, makers of Mark of the Ninja (ma jam!) made ma new jam too. Don't Starve is a 2D-ish (it's a 3D engine with 2D assets) open world game in the vein of Minecraft. That is to say it is a survival game where the environment you are in provides the materials you'll need to survive. What makes the game intriguing beyond being another open world survival game is the amount of trust placed in the player. The game opens with an unnamed man who instructs you to find food before night fall and poofs away. From that point on there are no instructions. The tool tips provided for left and right clicking different things in the world are all you have. What is good for you and what can kill is a trial by error process. The reward is mastering the consistent systems in the world, not starving and ultimately thriving. Bonus content: Great article and video about Klei
Card Hunter (PC)
I got into the beta of Card Hunter mid-last week and spent two plus hours with the tutorial and a handful of encounters. The game's concept is a novel one. RPG video games originated from the tabletop and quickly did away with any of the tangible elements related to it. Dice rolls where under the hood and the character sheets turned into UI elements. Card Hunter is a game that brings the tabletop back to the screen. Your powers are actual skeuomorphic cards and your party looks like character tokens stood up on a grided map. The narrator is a geeky DM who makes references to snacking while laying the story elements on really thick. It is great and the beta is free, after a short wait to get in of course. How long I play it will hinge on how much the multiplayer hooks me though. My kingdom for some co-op.
Music
Run the Jewels
Killer Mike and EL-P are two artist I can take in small doses most of the time. Too much and I go elsewhere with my musical taste. Combine the two though and you get a Reese's Cup of hip hop. Beats and raps from EL-P that are less experimental and a Killer Mike that is more consistent. I've listened to it on repeat for two weeks now and there is still a ton to love about nearly every part of this record.
Yeezus
My first listen to Kayne's much hyped and long anticipated new record was a good one. It was mostly listening to the beats and less so the lyrics. That is typical of how I usually consume music. I really liked what I heard at first. After three to four more plays though I started to focus in on the lyrics. What some might call controversial lyrics I found to be whiny. At this point he is a person of privilege. He certainly didn't start that way and he worked hard to make himself what he is now. There is a lot of complaining on this record for someone who has much more than probably 99% of those listening to it.
MMA
UFC 162 (Spoilers)
Anderson Silva finally got caught fucking around. He is an amazingly talented fighter. Arguably the GOAT in a very young sport, but he likes to openly mock his opponents. Most have no where near the talent as him, but instead of putting them away he sometimes extends rounds and whole fights just screwing around. It was disrespectful for sure, legitimately impressive and made for some awful main cards. Either age (he is 38), the level talent or luck caught up with him Saturday night. A moment after he pretended to be wobbled by a punch, he bobbed and weaved his way back into left hook from the young and talented Chris Weidman. The now former champ went limp to the mat, eyes rolled back in his head and saw an embarrassing end to his 10 fight title defense.
Ginormous 4th of July long weekend wrap up incoming I've been heads down on work and home projects for two weeks now and dipped out on writing here as a result. So without further ado, the weekend review...and most of June too:
Games
Dead Ahead (iOS)
Another game I fell in love with in the endless runner genre. I get really wrapped up in the repetitive nature of "just one more run". Dead Ahead is a 2D side-scroller set in a zombie apocalypse. You play a protagonist on a dirt bike running from a zombie hoard. The only way to keep them back is to accelerate or shoot (risky) them (limited ammo). The obstacles ahead of you include more zombies (that will slow you down) and cars (that will end your run). The mechanics and controls are solid. The pixel art and animation has a chibi look and is quite pretty. All that and it is free. It is ad supported though, so I dropped the $0.99 required to remove them. Well worth the price.
Deep Dungeons of Doom (iOS)
Triple D looks a bit like the combat portion of a JRPG. You control a hero on the left side of the screen and the creatures you face appear opposite you. It is real time and all you can do is block and attack. That sounds basic and it is, but the beauty is in the timing. Creatures can block and attack as well and learning their tells is a big part of the game. That is made easier by the fantastic pixel art and animation (noticing a theme?). This is a another free one, but unlike Dead Ahead the model for profit is not based on ads. After 5-6 dungeons D3 presents a pay wall. Pay $1.99 for 6 additional dungeons in not one, but two instances. Each dungeon took me maybe 4-5 minutes to complete. At that rate, I was good with the hour I spent with the game, but did not continue.
Block, Block, Block (iOS)
Block x 3 is a simple and beautiful concept. It takes the match 3 puzzle genre and places a hard emphasis on the puzzle element. You presented with multiple squares in pastel tones and are asked to solve the puzzles by matching three. The challenge comes in when you are presented multiple colors and a limited set of moves to complete the puzzle. Crystal and I both spent multiple hours stumped on various puzzles over the weekend. Another free one by the way.
Don't Starve (PC)
Klei Entertainment, makers of Mark of the Ninja (ma jam!) made ma new jam too. Don't Starve is a 2D-ish (it's a 3D engine with 2D assets) open world game in the vein of Minecraft. That is to say it is a survival game where the environment you are in provides the materials you'll need to survive. What makes the game intriguing beyond being another open world survival game is the amount of trust placed in the player. The game opens with an unnamed man who instructs you to find food before night fall and poofs away. From that point on there are no instructions. The tool tips provided for left and right clicking different things in the world are all you have. What is good for you and what can kill is a trial by error process. The reward is mastering the consistent systems in the world, not starving and ultimately thriving. Bonus content: Great article and video about Klei
Card Hunter (PC)
I got into the beta of Card Hunter mid-last week and spent two plus hours with the tutorial and a handful of encounters. The game's concept is a novel one. RPG video games originated from the tabletop and quickly did away with any of the tangible elements related to it. Dice rolls where under the hood and the character sheets turned into UI elements. Card Hunter is a game that brings the tabletop back to the screen. Your powers are actual skeuomorphic cards and your party looks like character tokens stood up on a grided map. The narrator is a geeky DM who makes references to snacking while laying the story elements on really thick. It is great and the beta is free, after a short wait to get in of course. How long I play it will hinge on how much the multiplayer hooks me though. My kingdom for some co-op.
Music
Run the Jewels
Killer Mike and EL-P are two artist I can take in small doses most of the time. Too much and I go elsewhere with my musical taste. Combine the two though and you get a Reese's Cup of hip hop. Beats and raps from EL-P that are less experimental and a Killer Mike that is more consistent. I've listened to it on repeat for two weeks now and there is still a ton to love about nearly every part of this record.
Yeezus
My first listen to Kayne's much hyped and long anticipated new record was a good one. It was mostly listening to the beats and less so the lyrics. That is typical of how I usually consume music. I really liked what I heard at first. After three to four more plays though I started to focus in on the lyrics. What some might call controversial lyrics I found to be whiny. At this point he is a person of privilege. He certainly didn't start that way and he worked hard to make himself what he is now. There is a lot of complaining on this record for someone who has much more than probably 99% of those listening to it.
MMA
UFC 162 (Spoilers)
Anderson Silva finally got caught fucking around. He is an amazingly talented fighter. Arguably the GOAT in a very young sport, but he likes to openly mock his opponents. Most have no where near the talent as him, but instead of putting them away he sometimes extends rounds and whole fights just screwing around. It was disrespectful for sure, legitimately impressive and made for some awful main cards. Either age (he is 38), the level talent or luck caught up with him Saturday night. A moment after he pretended to be wobbled by a punch, he bobbed and weaved his way back into left hook from the young and talented Chris Weidman. The now former champ went limp to the mat, eyes rolled back in his head and saw an embarrassing end to his 10 fight title defense.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Weekend Review: June 1st & 2nd
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
I dig unreliable narrators. Usually that comes in the form of a book, comic or movie. It is rarely executed well in a game. Gunslinger is the 4th game in a series that has had a rocky past. Thankfully it is uncoupled from the triple A story line. It follows a retired bounty hunter sitting at a bar recounting the tales of his past. He forgets details, occasionally exaggerates the truth or gets questioned by his audience. All of these elements play out in the game visually. Someone might jump in with a "the way I heard it..." and you play out that alternate past, then the game rewinds and you play what actually happened. The environment shifts and changes in real time to suit the story. All that and it looks pretty too for $15.
99% Invisible
The guys from Tested made a reference to a podcast they both listened to late last week. It was the story of how basketball went from peach baskets to an open net. I downloaded the episode of 99% Invisible and really enjoyed it. Like really really enjoyed it. I listened to a backlog of 15 old episodes over the weekend. They are short, think 15 to 25 minutes and they cover design. A lot of which is architecture focused,but there are many like the basketball episode too. Ten episodes in, to my random selection, the host (Roman Mars) made mention that his podcast was heavily influenced by The Memory Palace. Another podcast I love, that covers history in a very similar format. So consider that two recommendations.
Warhammer Quest
In the last year I've occasionally day dreamed of a mobile game that captured some of the joy that is table top gaming. Not dice rolls and beers with friends, but at least the dungeon crawling grid-ed maps. Then someone made just that. Warhammer Quest is a top down, turn based, dungeon crawler that lets you control a party of four. It dabbles a bit with a story, but the meat and potatoes is the tactical game play. Enter a dungeon, clear out the baddies and collect the loot. Of course there is an leveling system, loot upgrades and a handful of other mechanics too. It is pretty well rounded, but fells a bit repetitive already. Probably because I've spent too much time grinding on side quest. It is still worth $5 and your time.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
I dig unreliable narrators. Usually that comes in the form of a book, comic or movie. It is rarely executed well in a game. Gunslinger is the 4th game in a series that has had a rocky past. Thankfully it is uncoupled from the triple A story line. It follows a retired bounty hunter sitting at a bar recounting the tales of his past. He forgets details, occasionally exaggerates the truth or gets questioned by his audience. All of these elements play out in the game visually. Someone might jump in with a "the way I heard it..." and you play out that alternate past, then the game rewinds and you play what actually happened. The environment shifts and changes in real time to suit the story. All that and it looks pretty too for $15.
99% Invisible
The guys from Tested made a reference to a podcast they both listened to late last week. It was the story of how basketball went from peach baskets to an open net. I downloaded the episode of 99% Invisible and really enjoyed it. Like really really enjoyed it. I listened to a backlog of 15 old episodes over the weekend. They are short, think 15 to 25 minutes and they cover design. A lot of which is architecture focused,but there are many like the basketball episode too. Ten episodes in, to my random selection, the host (Roman Mars) made mention that his podcast was heavily influenced by The Memory Palace. Another podcast I love, that covers history in a very similar format. So consider that two recommendations.
Warhammer Quest
In the last year I've occasionally day dreamed of a mobile game that captured some of the joy that is table top gaming. Not dice rolls and beers with friends, but at least the dungeon crawling grid-ed maps. Then someone made just that. Warhammer Quest is a top down, turn based, dungeon crawler that lets you control a party of four. It dabbles a bit with a story, but the meat and potatoes is the tactical game play. Enter a dungeon, clear out the baddies and collect the loot. Of course there is an leveling system, loot upgrades and a handful of other mechanics too. It is pretty well rounded, but fells a bit repetitive already. Probably because I've spent too much time grinding on side quest. It is still worth $5 and your time.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Weekend Review: May 4th & 5th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Assassination Vacation
On a weekend where my body was riddle with sickness, it was nice to catch a few moments to myself and listen to a new book. Sarah Vowell's work is not new to me, I read Unfamiliar Fishes last summer and The Partly Cloudy Patriot ages ago. I've been meaning to catch up on the rest for a while, so when my new Audible credit dinged it was an easy pick. Though probably not the most efficient use of my subscription. It is short, but full of the humor, interesting facts and true tales that I love about her writing. It covers the three assassinated presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley) and admittedly I knew nothing of them, save Lincoln of course.Fun Gruesome fact: Robert Lincoln (the oldest son) was present at all three assassinations.
Star Command
FTL was fantastic little indie game that came out last Fall. It was a roguelike in space, with pixel graphics that was fun to replay over and over again. All that and I put in for maybe four hours of it. It was a PC game that should have been a mobile game. Every time I sat down to play there were a handle full of more substantial games waiting to be played. Star Command beat them to the punch. Making their own pixel game in space. It is not a roguelike, it actually has a story, but the game play mechanics feel very similar. How much replay value there is I have yet to see, but all it takes is 10-15 free minutes on the couch to have a go at it.
Guacamelee!
Another indie game and another piece of gaming vocabulary for you dear reader: metroidvania. Guacamelee is just that with 2D vector art that pops off the screen. A labyrinth to explore and conquer with a hero brought back from the grave by a magical luchador mask. It has a certain charm that my four year old son and I love. You learn new combinations from a giant chicken and get new powers from an elderly man disguised as a goat. Plus the controls are tight and the difficulty is hard, but not bone crushing. Worth a play if you have a PS3 sitting around collecting dust.
Assassination Vacation
On a weekend where my body was riddle with sickness, it was nice to catch a few moments to myself and listen to a new book. Sarah Vowell's work is not new to me, I read Unfamiliar Fishes last summer and The Partly Cloudy Patriot ages ago. I've been meaning to catch up on the rest for a while, so when my new Audible credit dinged it was an easy pick. Though probably not the most efficient use of my subscription. It is short, but full of the humor, interesting facts and true tales that I love about her writing. It covers the three assassinated presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley) and admittedly I knew nothing of them, save Lincoln of course.
Star Command
FTL was fantastic little indie game that came out last Fall. It was a roguelike in space, with pixel graphics that was fun to replay over and over again. All that and I put in for maybe four hours of it. It was a PC game that should have been a mobile game. Every time I sat down to play there were a handle full of more substantial games waiting to be played. Star Command beat them to the punch. Making their own pixel game in space. It is not a roguelike, it actually has a story, but the game play mechanics feel very similar. How much replay value there is I have yet to see, but all it takes is 10-15 free minutes on the couch to have a go at it.
Guacamelee!
Another indie game and another piece of gaming vocabulary for you dear reader: metroidvania. Guacamelee is just that with 2D vector art that pops off the screen. A labyrinth to explore and conquer with a hero brought back from the grave by a magical luchador mask. It has a certain charm that my four year old son and I love. You learn new combinations from a giant chicken and get new powers from an elderly man disguised as a goat. Plus the controls are tight and the difficulty is hard, but not bone crushing. Worth a play if you have a PS3 sitting around collecting dust.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Weekend Review: Apr 6th & 7th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
BioShock Infinite
I never played System Shock, maybe I'd be going deeper into the origin of the Shocks if I had, but the first BioShock game holds a special place in my heart. It is nearly a perfect game. Great storytelling, both directly and through it's rich world, interesting game play and stellar art design. It had flaws, but they were easy to look past. So Infinite had a tall, as tall as can be, order looming over it. Be better than it's best in class big brother.
Thankfully it did, it took the depth and lived in world of BioShock and made it feel open. You are still mostly on a rail, literally in fact, but the open skies and floating world of Columbia create the illusion of an open environment you could go anywhere in. Some of the story is still delivered in recordings, but the major change is an ever present companion in Elizabeth. She has is not an escort quest, she pushes the story along and you can live through her well acted emotion (though thankfully your character has a voice too). The whole game is a masterpiece, high praise, but not hyperbole, it is seriously that good.
Ridiculous Fishing
The same day I picked up Super Stickman Golf 2 I also picked up Ridiculous Fishing. SSG2 has been a household (my brother, my 4 yr old and me) and trip (Pittsburgh last week) favorite, but Ridiculous Fishing is pretty good too. Part bullet hell, shooting gallery and all around weird, it is glued together with a minimalistic art style that just works. Like Super Hexagon you can start and end a round in under a minute usually, unlike Hexagon a less than world beating performance is still a net gain. Earning you cash toward gear upgrades that should make the next run just a little easier.
G.I. JOE: Cobra Civil War
If a future-me showed up in 2012 to let past-me know that I'd be burning through G.I. Joe comics at a ravenous pace and enjoying every moment. Past-me would first ask for the Super Bowl winner, but then he would walk away from future-me in disbelief. I am absolutely loving this run of Joe comics. Throw out the childhood memories and franchise recognition and it is just fantastic military and espionage writing. In this arc IDW used three different books (Snake Eyes, G.I. Joe and Cobra) to tell one huge story of multiple character arcs and overlapping story lines that ended in a new Cobra Commander being picked. The numbering was mildly confusing, but the whole thing was great.
BioShock Infinite
I never played System Shock, maybe I'd be going deeper into the origin of the Shocks if I had, but the first BioShock game holds a special place in my heart. It is nearly a perfect game. Great storytelling, both directly and through it's rich world, interesting game play and stellar art design. It had flaws, but they were easy to look past. So Infinite had a tall, as tall as can be, order looming over it. Be better than it's best in class big brother.
Thankfully it did, it took the depth and lived in world of BioShock and made it feel open. You are still mostly on a rail, literally in fact, but the open skies and floating world of Columbia create the illusion of an open environment you could go anywhere in. Some of the story is still delivered in recordings, but the major change is an ever present companion in Elizabeth. She has is not an escort quest, she pushes the story along and you can live through her well acted emotion (though thankfully your character has a voice too). The whole game is a masterpiece, high praise, but not hyperbole, it is seriously that good.
Ridiculous Fishing
The same day I picked up Super Stickman Golf 2 I also picked up Ridiculous Fishing. SSG2 has been a household (my brother, my 4 yr old and me) and trip (Pittsburgh last week) favorite, but Ridiculous Fishing is pretty good too. Part bullet hell, shooting gallery and all around weird, it is glued together with a minimalistic art style that just works. Like Super Hexagon you can start and end a round in under a minute usually, unlike Hexagon a less than world beating performance is still a net gain. Earning you cash toward gear upgrades that should make the next run just a little easier.
G.I. JOE: Cobra Civil War
If a future-me showed up in 2012 to let past-me know that I'd be burning through G.I. Joe comics at a ravenous pace and enjoying every moment. Past-me would first ask for the Super Bowl winner, but then he would walk away from future-me in disbelief. I am absolutely loving this run of Joe comics. Throw out the childhood memories and franchise recognition and it is just fantastic military and espionage writing. In this arc IDW used three different books (Snake Eyes, G.I. Joe and Cobra) to tell one huge story of multiple character arcs and overlapping story lines that ended in a new Cobra Commander being picked. The numbering was mildly confusing, but the whole thing was great.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Weekend Review: Mar 23rd & 24th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Skyfall
It is rare that we get to catch movies these days (I repeat this a lot). 2012 is a laundry list of movies we missed on top of the stuff I have not seen from 2011. I decided to tackle Bond first, because I love Bond. After swooning over Casino Royale and taking a swift gut punch from Quantum of Solace, I was ready for another great one. Skyfall is that by a mile. The story moves, but not without giving itself room to breathe. Javier Bardem is an ultra creepy villain, though I already knew that. All around it is a fantastic movie and also a great addition to the Bond series.
Super Stickman Golf 2
I never got down with the first game from Noodlecake Studios. Nothing against them, but "stickman" games are usually throw away flash novelties and just the word golf makes my eyes do back flips. Luckily a drought of iOS games had me looking last week for something new. SSG2 just so happened to come out and get great reviews. It is a golf game, but it is a golf game with a complete disregard for reality. Upside-down swinging from a rotating platform with a magnetized ball kind of disregard. It is great, a perfect fit for the iPad and a lazy afternoon of March Madness watching. There is asynchronous multiplayer too, but I have yet to try it. Get at me!
G.I. Joe: COBRA
My childhood was filled with G.I. Joe toys, shows and pajamas. Outside of the rare return from the past though, I don't have much time for dem Joes these days. Nor would I think to read a comic series about them. The COBRA series is barely Joe story though. After five trade paperbacks I can't remember one red or blue laser. It is set in the world of G.I. Joe, but the story is fully self serious. It focuses on Joes going undercover to infiltrate Cobra and the messed up twist and turns that they face along the way. It is superb writing laid on top of great art, definitely worth a read.
Skyfall
It is rare that we get to catch movies these days (I repeat this a lot). 2012 is a laundry list of movies we missed on top of the stuff I have not seen from 2011. I decided to tackle Bond first, because I love Bond. After swooning over Casino Royale and taking a swift gut punch from Quantum of Solace, I was ready for another great one. Skyfall is that by a mile. The story moves, but not without giving itself room to breathe. Javier Bardem is an ultra creepy villain, though I already knew that. All around it is a fantastic movie and also a great addition to the Bond series.
Super Stickman Golf 2
I never got down with the first game from Noodlecake Studios. Nothing against them, but "stickman" games are usually throw away flash novelties and just the word golf makes my eyes do back flips. Luckily a drought of iOS games had me looking last week for something new. SSG2 just so happened to come out and get great reviews. It is a golf game, but it is a golf game with a complete disregard for reality. Upside-down swinging from a rotating platform with a magnetized ball kind of disregard. It is great, a perfect fit for the iPad and a lazy afternoon of March Madness watching. There is asynchronous multiplayer too, but I have yet to try it. Get at me!
G.I. Joe: COBRA
My childhood was filled with G.I. Joe toys, shows and pajamas. Outside of the rare return from the past though, I don't have much time for dem Joes these days. Nor would I think to read a comic series about them. The COBRA series is barely Joe story though. After five trade paperbacks I can't remember one red or blue laser. It is set in the world of G.I. Joe, but the story is fully self serious. It focuses on Joes going undercover to infiltrate Cobra and the messed up twist and turns that they face along the way. It is superb writing laid on top of great art, definitely worth a read.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Weekend Review: Mar 2nd & 3rd
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
I know I am getting old. My kids have slowed me down by making me hell of busy and my hair is escaping from the top of my head at an alarming rate. When my two year old Asics gave up the ghost a month ago, I decided the best move was to just get the same exact shoe again. Cause I'm old. I couldn't find them anywhere online, granted I did not look very hard. So I had to pick out something new. Hence the kicks linked above. I dig them hard.
Bourbon Sidamo
Saturday was the celebration of Mike's birthday and of the release of Hardywood's bourbon barrel Sidamo coffee stout. Mike was kind enough to host the events in the same venue. We raised our glasses to the man of the hour, drank our fill of craft beer and munched on food truck treats.Where the regular coffee stout has a strong, but not over powering coffee flavor, the bourbon aged one makes room to mix coffee and bourbon. It is well matched blend that tasted delicious at 10.3 ABV.
Mailbox
Admittedly, when Ethan told me about a new mail app for iOS I turned up my nose. The Gmail app Google put out a while ago is pretty great. Clean and a more applicable interface than the built in "Mail" app from Apple. Mailbox also came with a cheap marketing trick in the form of a waiting list to use it. You can download the application, but it will throw you in a queue. I had 300,000 people in front of me. I buried the app on the back page of my phone, checked it once or twice and forgot about it.
A text from Ethan two weeks later let me know he got in. Which meant my time in the queue would be short lived. When I did get in I decided it was worth trying out. Turns out it solves a problem I hardly knew I had. I use my inbox first as a way to communicate and second as a make shift to do list. Always starring emails I need to take action on and leaving them in my inbox until I do. It means I sit at around 10-15 emails usually. Inbox zero is a rarity, only showing it's face once or twice a year when the stars align. Mailbox has changed that. I can send away to-do emails, to only return at a time of my choosing. I have been at inbox zero for a week and it is like a pressure lifted off my shoulders.
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
I know I am getting old. My kids have slowed me down by making me hell of busy and my hair is escaping from the top of my head at an alarming rate. When my two year old Asics gave up the ghost a month ago, I decided the best move was to just get the same exact shoe again. Cause I'm old. I couldn't find them anywhere online, granted I did not look very hard. So I had to pick out something new. Hence the kicks linked above. I dig them hard.
Bourbon Sidamo
Saturday was the celebration of Mike's birthday and of the release of Hardywood's bourbon barrel Sidamo coffee stout. Mike was kind enough to host the events in the same venue. We raised our glasses to the man of the hour, drank our fill of craft beer and munched on food truck treats.Where the regular coffee stout has a strong, but not over powering coffee flavor, the bourbon aged one makes room to mix coffee and bourbon. It is well matched blend that tasted delicious at 10.3 ABV.
Mailbox
Admittedly, when Ethan told me about a new mail app for iOS I turned up my nose. The Gmail app Google put out a while ago is pretty great. Clean and a more applicable interface than the built in "Mail" app from Apple. Mailbox also came with a cheap marketing trick in the form of a waiting list to use it. You can download the application, but it will throw you in a queue. I had 300,000 people in front of me. I buried the app on the back page of my phone, checked it once or twice and forgot about it.
A text from Ethan two weeks later let me know he got in. Which meant my time in the queue would be short lived. When I did get in I decided it was worth trying out. Turns out it solves a problem I hardly knew I had. I use my inbox first as a way to communicate and second as a make shift to do list. Always starring emails I need to take action on and leaving them in my inbox until I do. It means I sit at around 10-15 emails usually. Inbox zero is a rarity, only showing it's face once or twice a year when the stars align. Mailbox has changed that. I can send away to-do emails, to only return at a time of my choosing. I have been at inbox zero for a week and it is like a pressure lifted off my shoulders.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Weekend Review: Jan 12th & 13th
Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Star Wars #1
Continuing my 2012 man crush on Brian Wood, I read his new Star Wars book over the weekend. I have had little success in the past with Star Wars books or comics (save a few exceptions), but this seems to be another exception. Wood's Star Wars takes place in the three years between episode IV and V though and it is actually good. Leia and Luke are out hunting for a new rebel base and the emperor is shouting at Vader. All on the back drop of art that looks great and not like it was overly referenced from the movies.
Hundreds (cont.)
Back in October I posted about a flash game that would eventually become an iOS game. That thing happened this week and it grew from it's core concept to something even better. New mechanics are slowly doled out every few levels and then iterated on in cool ways. It is more puzzle than twitch timing. Maybe not worth the $4.99 price tag, but I got it on sale for $2.99. What the fuck am I saying, that is the price of a cup of coffee, just get it already. Then again, is it one cup of coffee or five $0.99 apps? Apple you have both fucked and grown the gaming market place with your bargain basement pricing. I'm so confused!
Eberron
I'm mid-swing on a bunch of my 13 in 13 activities already. Running in January when it is almost 70° out is easy peasy, but scheduling table top time can be the hardest part of the hobby. So I just did it. In late February I am hosting a D&D Next game for 6 players in the Eberron campaign setting. There is no Eberron Next yet, but I am mostly using it for flavor and home-brewing 4e Eberron when I have to. It will be all warforged and airships come the end of next month. Planning it out has got me pumped to roll dice.
Star Wars #1
Continuing my 2012 man crush on Brian Wood, I read his new Star Wars book over the weekend. I have had little success in the past with Star Wars books or comics (save a few exceptions), but this seems to be another exception. Wood's Star Wars takes place in the three years between episode IV and V though and it is actually good. Leia and Luke are out hunting for a new rebel base and the emperor is shouting at Vader. All on the back drop of art that looks great and not like it was overly referenced from the movies.
Hundreds (cont.)
Back in October I posted about a flash game that would eventually become an iOS game. That thing happened this week and it grew from it's core concept to something even better. New mechanics are slowly doled out every few levels and then iterated on in cool ways. It is more puzzle than twitch timing. Maybe not worth the $4.99 price tag, but I got it on sale for $2.99. What the fuck am I saying, that is the price of a cup of coffee, just get it already. Then again, is it one cup of coffee or five $0.99 apps? Apple you have both fucked and grown the gaming market place with your bargain basement pricing. I'm so confused!
Eberron
I'm mid-swing on a bunch of my 13 in 13 activities already. Running in January when it is almost 70° out is easy peasy, but scheduling table top time can be the hardest part of the hobby. So I just did it. In late February I am hosting a D&D Next game for 6 players in the Eberron campaign setting. There is no Eberron Next yet, but I am mostly using it for flavor and home-brewing 4e Eberron when I have to. It will be all warforged and airships come the end of next month. Planning it out has got me pumped to roll dice.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Annual Report 2012: Twitter
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Frequency
There was a steady trend upward in overall use from Jan. to Sept. and then a sharp decline there after. This can be a attributed to a bug in October that broke the link between Instagram and Twitter on my phone. Without sepia tone pictures of hamburgers to bolster my original content there was a marked decline. Daily frequency saw Tuesday and Saturday running neck and neck right up through December. Tuesday edged out Saturday when Christmas day fell squarely on Tiw's Day.
Content
Before the above mentioned Instagram bug my feed was three parts square photos, DailyMile humble brags and the occasional witty comment. I often use Facebook purely for announcing family updates (e.g. "Who had a baby? We had a baby!") and save Twitter for jokes that might as well be balled up and thrown into the ether. It is a great service, but for the most part I consume and do not create. The common relative and family friend do not seem to have an interest in the service. Which is a blessing and curse. Blessing in that I can say some funky ass shit for a select few followers and my second cousins won't see it. Curse in that when I want to share news with everyone I have to do it in two places.
Retweets
One fourth of the tweets I usher unto the web are just recycled witty comments and jokes from other people. Over the past year I have attempted to curate that list to people I finding interesting and who do not spam their followers. My number one retweeted account though is of my own making. Unashamedly self marketing my restaurant review blog once a week-ish. Check out 100 coming soon! After that though there is a solid mix of comedians, video game and sports writers, scientist and a few friends and family too. This curation led to a steady increase in retweets through the year, that I anticipate will continue in 2013.
*Instagram is owned by Facebook, now panic and freak out!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Annual Report 2012: Gaming
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Speaking of Steam, 2012 was the year of the PC. Even for games I would have normally played on the console (e.g. Darksiders 2
). I picked them up on the PC instead, piped them through to my 
. PC ports don't suck anymore and the hardware in my PC is not going on eight years old. It renewed my faith in the platform and even sold me on upgrading this coming Spring. Even with the looming 720 and PS4.Most Disappointing Game: Diablo 3
I made my peace with the disappointment Diablo 3 brought on my house a while ago, but the after taste still lingers to this day. Considering I put 71.2 hours into it before finally settling on "this sucks", there must have been some merit right? Certainly the art direction was great, the nostalgia it preyed upon was welcoming and seeing old WoW friends again was fun times. Then it turned into a grind, maybe it was the same grind in Diablo 2, but in 2012 that shit don't fly. It was unbalanced in the late game, the auction house vs. crafting was junk and nothing about it screamed "play me more". Total bummer!
Honorable Mention: Assassin's Creed III
Best Broken Game: Hotline Miami
I wanted to love this game. Small indie developer with a vision for a game that it got right in some many aspects. A dope sound track that I spun in my car more than I heard it in game. Graphics that were retro because they felt right for the game, not just because they are easier and cheaper to do.Twitch game play that felt odd at first, but became crisp and tight over time. All the makings for a potential game of the year, but than it ran like shit on my modern personal computer. I was turning off print spool drivers and sacrificing goats over the keyboard, but nothing would raise the frame rates to a playable level. Boo hiss!
Game of the Year: Dishonored
Stealth gets me going. Good, bad or otherwise I gravitate towards the mechanics of sneaking. Dishonored is all the stealth I want from a first person perspective, but what makes it my game of the year is all the other stuff it does. It creates a world I want to return to, rich in implied and direct story telling. The art direction was unified, stylized and beautiful. It was all that and a great stealth game. Standing on the shoulders of games like Thief and Deus Ex and doing them one better. Making the stealth work and the fail state of having to fall back on combat not feel like a fail state. Heres to the story DLC that should be coming in the first quarter of 2013!
Honorable Mention: Mark of the Ninja
Best Multiplayer: Black Ops 2
Every year I tell myself I won't get the next annualized Call of Duty game. That it is a money grab, that the DLC situation on the PC is total bullshit, that it is a tired franchise that needs to be put out of it's misery. And then I end up buying it. I buy it because they make the same game every year, but that same game is a great one. The multiplayer is fast paced, quick and fun. If I die it was because of the poor decision I made in the split second I had to make one. Then I get to try again, over and over and then I usually get it right. If I was no good at them I would quit, but I usually log 100+ hours over the course of the year (post release) and I always get better. The class building, leveling and prestige systems are the added carrot to the stick.
Honorable Mention: Journey
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