Xbox
The Day One Conundrum: No Man’s Sky Update and New Release Purchases
Don’t worry. I’ll wait. Grumpy Joe and I are good friends. We may jab at each other in podcasts and in real life, but we respect each other’s points of view. He sees me as the grizzled gaming veteran; I see him as indicative of the new gaming generation. The respect is begrudging but real. Still, Grumpy Joe has a major beef with me. And he is wrong. And it’s because of No Man’s Sky. Hi...[Read More]
Middle Earth: Shadow of War Microtransactions
You go to hell! You go to hell and you die! After the absolute delight that was Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, I was actually looking forward to the upcoming sequel. The trailers and written materials for Middle Earth: Shadow of War certainly had me intrigued. The inclusion of smarter Ogres in the Nemesis System that had more fleshed-out personalities and strengths/weaknesses sounded great. Plus ...[Read More]
E3 2017 Impressions: Ubisoft Conference
Vive la France! This was strange territory for me. For the first time in a few years, Aisha Tyler was not going to emcee the Ubisoft conference. I know she’s a polarizing person, but I grew to really appreciate her level of cringe. Without her, I have to depend on Ubisoft to step up. And I don’t like their level of cringe. Aisha, come back to me! Past that, I had little expectations from the ladie...[Read More]
E3 2017 Impressions: Bethesda Conference
Now in VR! After the doctoral theses that was the Microsoft conference (over 6400 words before I had to get the snippers), I was happy to tackle something shorter. Enter Bethesda and their conference. I honestly had very little idea what to expect from them. The day before, amazon.de put up a listing for Wolfenstein ahead of time, so I figured that would be mentioned. I also knew that Fallout VR a...[Read More]
E3 2017: Anthem
It’s Mass Effect starring Tony Stark Ever see something and swear it can’t be true? That’s me with Anthem. I don’t have a legitimate reason to doubt BioWare. When they are on their game. They are almost without peer. Some of my all-time favorite games – Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur’s Gate, to name a few – passed through their hands. Of course, when ...[Read More]
E3 2017: Crackdown 3
FIGHT GANGS WITH OLD SPICE!!! The next game is another true console exclusive, another oft-delayed game announced at E3 2014, and another game I’m itching to play: Sumo Digital’s Crackdown 3. The original game on the Xbox 360 is still a personal favorite. The sequel in the same console was forgettable. Sumo Digital and Crackdown fans hope the third time’s a charm. To that end, the gameplay seems t...[Read More]
E3 2017: Sea of Thieves
The pirate’s life for me! This game is a true console exclusive. This game is also about 715 liters of triple-distilled awesome. Sea of Thieves is a Rare-developed action-adventure co-op pirate game. That’s it. That’s all you need. You should be saving up pennies already for the eventual purchase. What is more awesome than co-op pirate play, I ask you? Fine, I’ll write more about it. Happy? ...[Read More]
E3 2017: The Darwin Project
Slaughter Studio’s The Darwin Project is a console launch exclusive. It’s a multiplayer asymmetrical battle royale game set in the Colorado Rockies. The premise is “half science, half live entertainment.” Another ice age is looming, and players are challenged to fight and survive. The fights are, naturally, televised. When the game starts, six players are dropped in the wilderness with only a bow ...[Read More]
E3 2017: State of Decay 2
Because zombies! That’s why! One of Big Lu’s most anticipated games, State of Decay 2 showed off a new trailer. This game, however, is a legitimate console exclusive, not a console launch exclusive. Set in yet another zombie apocalypse, the original game on the Xbox 360 asked players to manage a community of survivors while killing hordes of undead. The sequel adds online co-op, allowing pla...[Read More]
E3 2017: Assassin’s Creed Origins
Kill like an Egyptian After a yearlong hiatus, the mainline Assassin’s Creed series gets a new title. Fans of the series are no doubt hoping that Assassin’s Creed Origins eschews the stale gameplay that plagued more recent titles and returns the series to prominence. The game takes players all the way back to ancient Egypt, circa 49 B.C. You play as Bayek and make your way through the ancient land...[Read More]
E3 2017: Metro Exodus
In Soviet Russia, rats kill you! The first console launch exclusive was, to me, a welcome surprise. 4A Games’ Metro Exodus is the latest entry in a series that is pretty awesome. The Metro series is adapted from Dmitry Glukhovsky’s series of novels. They are based in a post-apocalyptic future where the survivors live in a network of underground subway tunnels. The newest entry, which takes place a...[Read More]
E3 2017 Impressions: Microsoft Conference
More than just TFLOPS Buckle up, kids. This is gonna be a long ride. Going into Microsoft’s conference on Sunday, there was one obvious thing the majority of people cared about: Project Scorpio. Microsoft’s mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox One was set to debut. My son, a confirmed Xbox fanboy, was foaming at the mouth thinking about it. I’m sure he wasn’t the other one. Right, Lou? Not me. My i...[Read More]