Back in Motion

It's been a lazy couple of days with reviews. Working on KH Remix 1.5 right now but as with all RPG games its a long grind and a review wont be done until all 3 titles in the remix have at least been sampled. I'll soon be bringing reviews on the LEAP Motion controller, Pokemon Y, Pokemon X+Y ds bundle unboxing/reviews, as well as many more october and november releases soon to come please look forward to them ^^ Thanks for reading guys and gals :)

GTA V Review delayed until PC release

While I do want to review the game I'm no longer a big console player and the modding community that supports PC games makes these types of sandbox games so much more entertaining. Hopefully Rockstar doesn't wait to long and keep us in too much suspense

Reviews will be slow

Reviews will be slow for a month or so most of the good games are coming out mid-late October- to early-mid November there won't be much to review till then. I will try to keep up with tech in the meantime as well as review a few free to play games in the meantime

Trading Depth for Depth XCOM The Bureau

If any of you have been interested in XCOM the Bureau lately hold your excitement and read this review. While the Bureau does bring a new approach to the XCOM series it fails on a few key categories detracting from the original draw to the world of XCOM. As with other titles in the series this one starts off with an alien invasion; this time the usually mysterious commander is given a name and a role in battlefield combat. William Carter becomes the focal point of the story in an unpredictable accident from that point on we get into the story. It's not much different from other invasion stories and XCOM hasn't really been known for its storytelling so much as its renowned tactical combat.

Pros:

• Combat is fun, new, and intuitive offering many solutions for each combat scenario
• Unlimited possibilities during combat allow you to fight the fight you want.
• Graphics are superb for and the animations are for the most part very smooth
• The challenge is there the difficulty jump from Squaddie to Veteran is worlds apart and Veteran will pretty much make you want to cry like a little girl if you're unfamiliar with XCOM's system or 3rd person shooters.

Cons:

• The story progresses far too fast, there are sadly too few missions and other things for my taste and reaching the tipping point in the story comes far too fast compared to other XCOMs.
• Decision making regarding missions tends to feel pretty limited there's only a few choices in what you can tell your HQ to do and build and they feel like they have no impact.
•  The upgrades are super simplified for this titles something that really made other XCOM's really really special.
• Enemies feel super recycled not from the series but within the game a good portion of it will having you fight the same enemies 10~ enemies for many levels. 

Neutral:

• It feels like Mass Effect, but more hardcore, this is not necessarily a good or bad thing but its formula detracts from what originally made XCOM. It plays like a 3rd person shooter but is far more tactical that the snap to cover systems we're all used to TPS using. Yet its not quite as free flowing since there's no actual jump mechanic and weapon customization is pretty limited.

Overall XCOM is a good game but it tries to be something its not and that really takes away from the hardcore XCOM fanbase. the lack of squad customization really hurts the game instead of helping the TPS element it introduced.  I give XCOM a 6.5/10 it tries but it falls a little flat and becomes a lonely title in the sea of RTS, TPS, and Tactical shooters.

League of Legends S3 World Champs starting!

I chose a funny time to post, its time to celebrate as today is the start of the S3 world championships for League of Legends. While I have been off the ranked/competition circuit for a while now and haven't been following the new META at all it's always fun to watch skilled players duke it out!
I'm rooting for NaJin Sword and TSM tune in to find out on Oct 4 who the champs will be!

The problem solved itself

For whatever reason the code broke and then hours later after much tinkering was fixed. But on to the more important news Amazon is having a sale on Saints Row IV for those of you who haven't purchased the game yet now would be a good time!

Get in on this rough sex romp! Don't miss out on the madness that defines the era get your copies now!

Photobucket not working?

I dunno what the fuck happened but apparently the photobucket code is fucked up, the result being that the SS of SRIV don't show up. If you click on view all images you should be able to see the full extent of the album please bear with me while I try to figure out wtf happened to my slideshow. The images are still in the album on my photobucket account but they don't display on the slideshow which is confusing.

On another note to my readers that follow my blog strictly through blogger I now have a facebook page that everyone can like and link to easier as I increase activity on blogspot I will also increase activity on the facebook site. The bulk of the review will still be done here but on the facebook page I will post random stuff I find :).

Saints Row IV Review

It's a shame I didn't pre-order the game sooner but I didn't really have any money to get the super wub wub edition or game of the generation edition. Both are great premium goodie packs and the fact that I missed out on getting them has made me rather upset but anyways on to the review!

This is easily a great game however, there are some faults that really detract from the game mainly the graphics and the environment. The facial animations as well as overall graphical quality is pretty poor for this generation of game a lot of the characters faces that were well developed in sr2-3 have been severely mangled, mainly Kinzie from SR3 and Pierce from the main game line. Pierce doesn't even look like Pierce anymore (poor Pierce).

That being said, its hard not to have fun with this game at its core is mass murder, ridiculous antics, funny cliches its all there wrapped up in a pretty package. Here are some images of testifiable fun

Shooting aliens in the face, running around topless, killing furries yeah that's all in there. Oh did I mention there's more? Most of the stuff that made SR3 a well polished success are back genki bowl, ridiculous weapons, ruthless disregard for morality. Sadly this is also one of the detracting factors for the game. A lot of the game's elements feel slapped together from previous Saints Rows and while the re-addition of a particular gang member was welcomed the overall feel of the quests and missions felt disjointed. At times it even felt like it was poorly prepped. It certainly didn't help that mid-project THQ went bankrupt, this rendition felt rough, but because its a return to the insanity we all know and love it's still enjoyable. Saints Row IV gets a solid 7/10 :)

Phonebloks

While it's a little unorthodox for me to post about tech not directly following the main line of gaming.However, I felt that this particular idea/product was worth sharing since the mobile gaming market is one of the fastest growing. So how many times have you guys upgraded your phone in the past 3 years? How many times do you wish you could just hold on to the same platform but upgrade components to make your phone faster without having to trade your phone in, re register your contacts, your calendars,etc... I'm kinda tired even though the process has been made much easier with new phones it still become a headache at times, roll in the phoneblok mobile device.
It's a revolutionary new idea, In that it a compartmentalized phone that can be upgraded as pleased leading easily to a new way of experiencing your device. Here's a clip for you guys:

I've joined the movement to support the phone's development It seems like a promising new venture that can easily replace a lot of undesired functionality and build a phone truly custom to your likes and needs.

You can click on the website below for a bit more information!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://phonebloks.com/

I've been rather neglectful of the reader...

Lately I've felt I've lost readers for whatever reason. Whether it be poorly written articles or lack of content, etc... Anyways about a week ago I had considered a a referral program with the person with the highest referrals as the winner of a prize I am planning a competition for the near future with attractive prizes that you guys will love. Yes revel in those sexy prizes, anyways... As soon as planning is finished and the referral system is implemented I will begin this competition. Oh and when the game goes back on sale too.... Yeah that's kinda important right? XD

Just picked up SR: IV

I just picked up Saints Row IV on Steam look out for a review of the game soon in other news: I'm rather tired. Lots of reviews coupled with non stop practice on 3d modeling leaves a man very tired.

FFXIV: ARR In-Depth Review

Ok so it's been to weeks, I admit it has been a combination of laziness, business, and absorbedness ( yes I just made up a word) that has contributed to the lateness of this review.

FFXIV: ARR has been out for a week now and although every WoW fanboy has a stick so far up their ass that they can't appreciate how awesome FFXIV is, I in fact can. So lets get down to the nitty gritty, the game has come up as only one word in my mind and that is fabulous. This review will be different from my other ones which list general pros and cons and will outline four major areas of any game: Story, Gameplay, Sound, Graphics.

Story: The story in FFXIV: ARR without giving any spoilers is a reminder of what good storytelling can really do. As a testament to how good the story is most MMO gamers should realize this by now but most players skip the story it tends to be inconsequential, poorly written, and just an overall mess. For FFXIV this is NOT the case, while I have not finished the story yet (Lvl 40 MNK) the parts that I have finished are filled with wonder and amazement, not only is the story cohesive but it actually makes you want to pay attention. (Amazing, right?) While there are no sweet Final Fantasy super CG animated cut scenes, save for the opening, the ones that do exist are quite good and keep you locked into this emotional roller coaster in the story. I give the story a 9/10

Gameplay: As with any good game  good game play will make or break a game and while FFXIV:ARR isn't what most people would want as an ideal combat system, it certainly blazes its own little niche in game play. FFXIV revolves around tab-target combat. Hold on before you guys start screaming how old and boring this combat system can get give me a few minutes to elaborate. While the bulk of the combat is tab-target it isn't a stand-still hit-chu and take damage to the face kind of tab target (although I've seen a lot of players do that irregardless). The tab-target in FFXIV:ARR fuses with free-form open world movement meaning to dodge spells, AoE's, DoT's you actually have to use timing and your brain! (Yay brainpower!). Positioning becomes crucial for tanks and healers as the levels drag on and you'll see some elitism for harder dungeons because yes they are that hard. Aside from combat the game features dynamic events called FATES (which are currently everyone's gripe) since later levels require grinding these bad boys, as well as a well varied list of quest types. Although after a while the questing does become kind of repetitive, the well varied quest lists will keep you interested for a good long while. I give gameplay an 8/10, simply because I'm still not a fan of tab-target combat.

(Once I get proper permissions for youtubers I will link combat here for now please settle for a picture of combat).

Sound: This is sadly where I think FFXIV: ARR falls the shortest and also is one of the highest, it'll make more sense as you read. A lot of the cut scenes are unvoiced this is really sad since the JP release has full voiced cut scenes there also is no option to change to a JP voice pack so those of us who don't have those voice samples are sadly missing out on a lot. To add to this is the lack of NPC voices, some might consider this annoying but a part of me wishes shopkeepers, main quest line npcs, and background npcs had a say in things even if they're stupidly reused lines. Ok now for the highpoint the soundtrack in the game is one of the most beautiful in a long time long time. MMOs have really struggled to make music enjoyable especially when you hear the same damnable song 2000 times but FFXIV does a spectacular job. I've listened to the Chocobo riding songs at least 600+ times now and I'm still not tired of it. Because of the lack of voice overs and proper npc audio I have to give sound a 7/10. :(

 

Note: I do not own this music, nor did I publish it I just wanted to give you a sample.

Graphics: Graphics, while not important to some; I'd say to a lot of new generation gamers is important. For me its a pretty big factor whether or not I become immersed in a world, is largely due to the graphical beauty in a game. FFXIV: ARR delivers in most senses. environment looks spectacular in all zones, the maps are varied, the weather is well optimized (for PC at least), the textures are stunning. etc... The thing the graphics fall short on right now is character models/armor models and textures. The Elezen look horribly mis-proportioned (I'm not talking about heights, etc... its the relation of head size to body size and its completely out of whack, whether or not this was an artistic choice I don't know but my Elezen female has a body far too big for her head. The armor models and texture is another big thing lots of reused armor models from lvl 1-30 and the textures on some of the armors are really bad. At close range even on maxed settings on PC they look horribly under-textured. I'm hoping this in large part is due to the choice to release FFXIV:ARR in DX9 script instead of DX11 and hopefully with the PS4 release of the game will be rectified. Graphics get an 8/10, despite the problems it really is a beautiful game to look at.

This reviewer gives FFXIV: ARR a harsh but fair score of 32/40 or 8/10. It's an amazing game and any true mmoer will be drawn to play it. I have been in love with it since I started and with more amazing content to come in patches later on FFXIV: ARR will have a long long life span.

Also I understand that digital sales have been restricted and are still restricted but when the game finally goes back on sale if my readers could help support me please purchase below.

Razer Naga 2014 (R)

So after much delay and testing here comes the review for the Razer Naga 2014 Right hand mouse. I specify right hand because there is a left hand edition that I obviously can't review, I'm not ambidextrous :(. Anyways on to the bulk of the review. The Naga 2014 is in a word fabulous.

Pros:

• New 2014 ergonomics feels amazing, much better than the old Razer Naga design with the swappable side plates
• 12 angled mechanical buttons are amazing compared to the original non-audible response squishy buttons.
• hooks in with very little problems, almost all plug and play you'll still want to download razer synapse 2.0 but very much bug free.
• response times are spot on, the mouse operates latency free which is big when you need every millisecond to count toward your DPS.
• Fully customizable buttons, the synapse software takes the Naga to the next level.

Cons:

• The lack of swappable plates makes the mouse a little bulkier than the original on the width side. With the original Naga you could swap for one of the less defined side plates. 
•  The Naga Epic has not reached to the 2014 edition so the mouse is sadly wired only. :(
• Back light on the mouse is not color adjustable. You figured they would have changed this by now but I guess not.
• It does not recognize right ctrl vs left ctrl. So to speak it does not differentiate the position of the keys it binds to.

Overall the quality of this mouse is great. It doesn't feel flimsy, the button presses are crisp and clear defined, the ergonomics feel amazing. This reviewer gives  the Razer Naga 2014 a 9.0/10. It's got a few faults but the mouse comes out in spades in most aspects. Clearly Razer has outdone themselves in revamping one of their all time best mice.a

To come soon is a review of FFXIV: ARR I've been so absorbed lately with 3D Modeling and other stuff that I've been unable to play properly. 

Just an update

With all the stuff going on in life I haven't had time to post a review or anything lately. Don't be worried I haven't forgotten about my blog. Coming soon is a tech review accompanied by the FFXIV review I promised so sorely to you guys. I'm having trouble tearing myself away from that game to do much of anything else in life.