Virtual Reality and Horror Games

 
                       
With the recent uprising of VR and AR(Augmented Reality) and horror games becoming popular over the last few years, I believe horror games will become a main marketing focal point.

      Let's face it, horror games right now can only be so scary because there's only so much immersion when you're not directly in the game. VR could change this completely because it puts everything right in your face. Now, this is going to change gaming in a big way even without horror games, but the horror aspect, I think, is what will change the most. Sound design will naturally get better and so will overall level design. The added scrutiny of being super up close to everything will definitely add another layer of polish to all of the newer indie horror games we've been getting lately.

     So far, though, VR is hard to experience from an outside perspective, because of the 2 different screens on the insides of the helmet, capturing the content and stitching together a video is quite laborious, thus few YouTubers have any decent content on VR. Obviously, the content we do get (Markiplier has some good videos) doesn't capture the full experience of being under the VR helmet, and the only way to get the full experience is to have the helmet on.

     The Oculus Rift already has horror games (as was implied in the last paragraph) and reception has been pretty good and also terrifying (reaction videos are hilarious). Overall, I think VR will change horror games and all games in a big way, but I also think it is another gaming trend, much like motion controls.

The Witcher: Wild Hunt

   
     It's a great surprise to me that I haven't written about the Witcher yet, which is my top consideration for Game of the Year so far, even over Bloodborne, which is the spiritual sequel to my favorite series of all time (Dark Souls). So, today I write about the Witcher Wild Hunt and why, even if I haven't beaten it, it is my top candidate for Game of the Year, so far.

     The story of the Witcher goes back to a time before the games, and I've read the first book in the series, just to get a little background of the protagonist, Geralt of Rivia, The Butcher of Blaviken. The lore is so deep that it may scare some of the people not caught up with it away from this game. CD Projekt Red (the devs) made the story of this game approachable to the point where someone who had never even heard of the Witcher could jump right in and be engaged in the story and even in Geralt as a character. Though, you have to dig deep into the in-game lore books to get a real great backstory to the game world and the secondary characters, it is not necessary, but recommended.

     Enemy design is unparalleled by most game currently in the market. It feels like every time I boot the game up and play I am running into a new, unique enemy and having to learn a strategy on how to kill it, and filling up my bestiary -- an in-game log, to keep track of enemies you've killed, their weaknesses, and their backstories -- which is very very helpful and interesting. Larger enemies, like Drakes, Griffins, and Cockatrices, are often large parts of intricate "Witcher Contracts", which are essentially hunts for money; kill this monster, collect the reward, go home. Each contract having multiple steps including collecting information about the beast or the instance, tracking the beast, and killing it, with other steps being a variable.

     Sidequests in this game are really something else. Each quest including deep characters, intricate plots, and engaging events. A lot of the sidequests follow suit of the original series's author Andrzej Sapkowski and resemble classic fairy tales, often with a dark twist. These quests often tie into the main story quests as well, whether it be in a small way like a person missing in a cutscene, or in a larger way like getting passage to a city because you sat down and had a drink with a random bar patron.

Quick aside, I have played this game for 140 hours (80 on PC and 60 on PS4), and still haven't beat it or experienced all of the quests or content this game has to offer.

      The graphics/visuals and art style of this are fantastic: the high fantasy and wide color palate make the visuals pop and stand out among all of the darker, gothic colors we've seen in this new generation of games. Enemy and character designs are stylized, yet realistic, and truly help with the immersion aspect of the game. Though, NPC facial designs aren't too different.

     Gameplay and combat, while a little clunky and hard to get used to, is deep and complex. Your five spells and two different swords are your main mediums of carnage, -- with a crossbow and bombs as a backup-- and can be used on most anyone. On top of that, you also have plenty of different potions and oils to use during and before combat, which add a depth beyond hack-and-slash action. Oils, applied to your weapon before combat, give you bonus damage to whatever enemy your oil correlates to. Potions can be used at any time and have many different purposes, like faster stamina regeneration, bonus damage, and even seeing in the dark, among other things.

     Overall, what I've played of this game is a masterpiece, truly one of the greatest open world games of our time. I cannot wait to see how the story of Geralt comes to an end, and what goes on in the mean time.
   

No Man's Sky

  




   So, No Man's Sky is a game I've been following pretty closely since its announcement in late 2013, and ever since I saw the trailer, I've been infatuated by the concept, art, and mystery. Since then we've seen numerous videos on gameplay, the head of Hello Games (the studio that is developing No Man's Sky) and lead programmer Sean Murray has made multiple appearances at different gaming expos and cons. Naturally, I'm excited about this game, so I'm going to talk about it a little.

     The concept of this game, explore new planets, find new plants and animals, discover minerals and other materials, trade with A.I. and possibly other players, and ultimately make it to the center of this, almost infinite, galaxy, is extremely ambitious, and is a huge reason why people doubt this game. Each planet, animal, and plant is unique and if you, the player, discover them and upload their data, you can name the thing you discovered. On top of that, you can do basically anything you want.

     You can be a trader, moving from space station to space station, buying low and selling high; you can be a scavenger, picking up after failed pirate raids; you can even be pirates, raiding space stations for supplies. The gameplay styles are nearly endless, and they all revolve around the discovery of this seemingly endless galaxy. There is a functioning galactic police force, economy and (maybe) population of things that aren't  the animals roaming the planets.

     Basically everything in No Man's Sky is procedurally generated, so everything in this game is unique, and no two species are the same, and there seems to be no end to the uniqueness of the animals, plants, and planets. The game is utterly massive, hundreds of millions of stars, each star having its own system of planets, planets having its own unique flora and fauna, and every planet has its own moons. It's estimated that there is 18 quintillion explorable planets. The potential of this game is enormous.

     A quick update on what has happened today; Sean Murray tweeted about 7 hours ago thanking his team, does this mean something? Is the game going Gold soon? I suppose we'll know soon because No Man's Sky is the IGN First game this month, meaning a release date is imminent. Of course, we'll see a lot about the game and it's development throughout July.

 
 

Why Crowd Funding Is Great.

Extended Title:
Why Crowd Funding Is A Great Entry To The Gaming Industry.


     Newer sites like Kickstarter, Patreon, and Indie Gogo are Crowd Funding sites; basically you pitch an idea and people give you money in support of this idea. This is a good entry for indie game developers because it takes out the need for a publisher. Games like Bloodstained, a Castlevania spiritual successor being developed by Iga (The creator of Castlevania) has made $5.5 million. Shenmue 3, despite being funded by Sony as well, has made $4 million. Of course this also applies to basically anything, books, music, making a potato salad (yes that is a real think that was Kickstarted, and it made $55,000).

     There are flaws to crowd funding though, there is no insurance for your funding because it is technically a donation. There are people that make hundreds of thousands of dollars and just go dark, there are game developers that make millions and don't deliver on the product. These instances seem to be few and far between though because many good things have come from and, hopefully, will come from Kickstarter. Pillars of Eternity being one of the biggest Kickstarter successes made almost $4 Million and was many websites Game of the Year.

     Crowd Funding is a great idea but comes with risk. It is great for indie devs looking for a way into the game industry and even older devs looking for a way back into the industry.

Arkham Knight: Thoughts So Far

Disclaimer: I have not yet beat Arkham Knight, so I haven't experienced everything this game has to offer. I am also playing the PC port.


     Batman Arkham Knight released on June 23 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. While the PS4 and Xbox One versions worked fine, the PC version was plagued with bugs, downgrades, and performance issues. Since its release, there has been fan outcry against Rocksteady and WB Entertainment (Developer and Producer respectively) and the game was even pulled from Steam to prevent even more negative press. I will try not to let these factors affect my thoughts on the game (but they probably will).



The Good:

     Gameplay: The fast and responsive attacks, gadgets, and navigation make this game a good experience. The attacks feel powerful but not too heavy, the gadgets are cool and inventive, and the navigation (while it revolves around the batmobile) makes it fun to explore Gotham city on foot and in the air.

    Batmobile: The new Batmobile has received a lot of negative press due to the amount it is used, and while I understand those complaints, it is still a well designed mechanic and vehicle. You feel powerful in the Batmobile and it is fast and fun to drive.

     Story and Characters: So far, about 4 hours in, the story is pretty cool, although a little cliche and the Arkham Knight is a great, menacing character. Though DC Comics have had about 50 years to build up a lore and story around Batman, this game expands on it in a great way.


The Not-So-Good:

     Performance Issues: The game is buggy though none so far affected gameplay in a huge way, mostly just weird physics on things. With my PC build, I should be able to run this game at 60fps with no frame rate issues hitching, yet, the optimization in this port is so bad I can't run it for more than 4 hours continuously without it crashing (i.e I'm running it at 48fps with interactive fog turned off to prevent frame rate hitching). Also, some textures have been downgraded and this game looks like it would run fine on last-gen consoles.

    Batmobile: Simply too much content and missions revolve around the batmobile, and while it makes sense story wise, it gets a little stale using the same mechanics over and over again.


The Ruling So Far:

     This port is Bad; there is hardly any optimization, it was very obviously downgraded to meet time constraints, and we had another AAA title release in terrible condition. I have faith that in a few months this game will be in great condition, and if you can stand the performance issues, occasional crashing, and the negative press around this game I would certainly play this game.
 

How Good Is... Dirty Bomb?

What Is Dirty Bomb?

     Dirty Bomb is a free to play multiplayer based, fast-paced first-person shooter currently in open beta. Fast gameplay, the ability to wall-jump, and not needing aim-down-sights makes this game reminiscent of older first-person shooters like Doom or Wolfenstein. Currently, there are 5 playable maps, 13 different playable Mercenaries, 3 different subclasses, 2 game modes, and a competitive mode.


The Good:

     Gameplay: Fast, twitchy gunplay makes for intense one-on-one skirmishes and the ability to wall jump only adds to the intensity. Wall Jumping adds a layer of depth in the navigation and evasion aspects, and if used correctly, can give you the upper hand against your target.

     Gunplay: The 29 guns split over 6 different archetypes add a decent amount of variety to the game though some are class-specific. The guns in this game feel just as good as any AAA shooter. They're tight, responsive, and fairly well balanced.

    Maps: The objective-based maps in Dirty Bomb add a ridiculous amount of depth. They're well designed and very complex. The maps have a team-based objective, that when completed, make the map evolve. These map evolutions open up, what seems to be, a whole new map; most maps have 3 different stages, each stage as big and complex as the last.


The Not-So-Good:

     Loadout System: The loadouts are a little like a Card-Collecting-Game, and to me, they take away the satisfaction of creating and testing your own loadout. The cards are split into 6 different rarities: Lead, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum and each comes with 1 Weapon, 1 Sidearm, 1 Melee Weapon and up to 3 different perks (Lead has no perks, Iron 1, Bronze 2, Silver 3, and Gold/Platinum 3). While not necessarily a bad system, it just seems like it is playing directly off making money (I'll cover the monetization system soon).

     Balance: Disclaimer: Dirty Bomb is currently in beta, so the balancing is subject to change. A lot of the Mercenary specials in this game seem over powered. Bushwacker's turret, when there are 3 of them on a team can block any and all access to an objective. Rhino's minigun is like the turret, except with added mobility because it is actually equipped by the player and not a computer. Kira's Orbital Laser wreak's havoc and there is not a way to stop it.


The payment model of this game is a like any other free to play game but, I think it is a little better than most. You can buy additional characters and loadouts to get the edge on your opponent. Cases, Elite Cases,(containing any random loadouts) and boosters can be bought to even further your edge. Characters are a little overpriced for my tastes at $10 per.


The Ruling:

     After hours of gameplay and countless matches this game is Good, the map design and fast gameplay make this game stand out among other modern FPSs but balance issues and the loadout system take something away from Dirty Bomb.