Playstation 5 – Reveal and Games

On 11th June we finally got a chance to see the Playstation 5 and had an opportunity to see some of the games that will be coming to the console over the next few years.

After Microsoft got some criticism for a lack of games at their new console launch event, Playstation was taking no chances – showing more than 25 titles that would be coming to the PS5. The official Playstation YouTube channel has got all the trailers shown in one playlist HERE if you haven’t seen them already, or want to check out something specific from the below.

More good news came in the form of backwards compatibility. While not as broad as Microsoft’s offering, Sony confirmed the top 100 PS4 games would be playable on PS5. Obviously it would be great to have everything working backwards but I suppose if you’re limiting your efforts then the top 100 games is a good amount of titles.

I won’t be going too deep on all the titles shown at the event, especially already existing ones, but I thought it would be worth having a look at some of the games that caught my eye during the presentation.

Let’s start with some game series we were already aware of. Spiderman is back with a stand alone game featuring Miles Morales, which is great. Look forward to going back to the city and slinging some webs! It wouldn’t be a Playstation launch without Gran Turismo and, as usual, the racer looked phenomenal. Ratchet and Clank (above) are back, with a new time/dimension rift mechanic that shows off what the PS5 can do.

Sackboy returns in his Big Adventure, which should be fun. The trailer looked colourful and the four player co-op could be awesome. I loved the previous games so Hitman III was a highlight for me. More of the same but using the power of PS5 to create even better environments for assassinations! I haven’t been in the world of Resident Evil since game 5 but Resident Evil 8: Village looked interesting and might tempt me back.

There wasn’t a great deal shown for Project Athia but I thought the trailer, which showed a young woman in a fantasy setting with dragons and magical wolves, looked impressive. I’m not sure whether Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a game I’d pick up, it certainly looked stunning, almost like an animated film but the Pikmin-style gameplay didn’t really interest me. I did love the style of Goodbye Volcano High though, can’t wait to see more about that title.

I thought Ghostwire: Tokyo continued to look encouraging, for me it’ll probably come down to how the game handles and the moment to moment gameplay. Solar Ash had a great sense of style and the developer has made cool stuff in the past. We didn’t really get to see much of what Pragmata was about from the trailer, I enjoyed it but would like to see more on the game and what it actually is.

(Contains bad language and violence)

Deathloop (above) was the highlight of the show for me. Knowing the studio’s track record with the Dishonored series, I cannot wait to see a similar game in a different setting/world. The trailer exuded Tarantino vibes and I love the look and style of the game. Horizon 2 was also a huge highlight as I loved the first game and can’t wait to see what new things we will be facing off against and exploring. Bugsnax (below) was an unexpected surprise, coming from the makers of the brilliant Octodad. While I don’t know if I will play it personally, my kids are hyped so I expect it to get a lot of playtime in my house!

I think Little Devil Inside could be awesome, it looked bizarre enough and stood out from a lot of other titles. Stray, in which you play as a cat in a robot world, looks fantastic and could be brilliant, depending on how the gameplay works. Returnal had an impressive trailer (still can’t decide if I like the game title though!) and anything with a recurring time theme definitely has my attention. The other game to make an impression on me was Destruction Allstars (below). It’s been a while since we had a fun, multiplayer racer so I’m keeping this one firmly on my radar.

And of course they showed us the actual console, which… wasn’t what I was expecting. Having said that I like the design and don’t have a problem with it being bigger if it means the console is quieter. At times my PS4 sounds like it’s on the verge of taking off! It’s also interesting that there will be a disc-less digital only version as well.

So there you go, all that’s missing is the price. There’s been a lot of talk from Playstation about the value the console will bring, so my thoughts are that it will be expensive. I’d been hoping (perhaps unrealistically given the power of the new consoles) that £399.99 might be an option, or even cheaper, but I suspect we are now looking at £499.99 at launch for the PS5.

We’ll just have to wait and see!

. 

GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2019 Round Up

2019 was a big year for music, with the continued explosion of streaming and further disruption to how we discover and consume music. As time goes on I think curation, especially from friends, will have a strong focus – without guidance there is simply too much music being released to process. My favourite gigs from the year were Sophie and The Giants (Camden Assembly) and Carly Rae Jepsen (XOYO), both delivering fantastic sets and the chance to see a huge pop artist like Carly Rae Jepsen in a smaller venue was pretty awesome.

I have a playlist of the year’s music, which I’ll embed below, but in amongst that I’d love to highlight a few favourites – Michael Kiwanuka delivered, for me, the album of the year along with excellent LP’s for Lewis Capaldi and Sam Fender. Fieh got their debut album out the door, most definitely worth a spin. Billie Eilish was everywhere but for good reason and The Big Moon continue to develop into a really strong band – looking forward to their album shortly. If you need pop then look no further than the immense trio of Halsey, Julia Michaels and Sigrid. Julia Michaels is one of the most underrated pop stars of the last few years, in my opinion. On a slightly more indie focus I’d also recommend checking out Palace and Liz Lawrence’s latest efforts – beautiful. And a quick shout out to the game Forgotton Anne, whose soundtrack was absolutely stunning.

 

Highlights from the year’s films for me were Zombieland 2 (more of the same but still enjoyable), Eternal Beauty (a tough watch but very rewarding) and The Aeronauts (a well made and interesting story of exploration and adventure). However my favourites were Frozen II, somehow just as good if not better than the first, and Knives Out, a stunning murder mystery that is excellently written and delivered with aplomb.

Books-wise I read a few great titles this year – 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, Heartburn by Nora Ephron and The Psychology Of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas were all really enjoyable. On the graphic novel front Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson was cool but the stand out for me was Paper Girls (Vol 1) by Brian K. Vaughan. Brilliant and I look forward to reading the next volume that I got for Christmas 😊 I’m still making my way through the lengthy tome that is Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley but it is a fantastic look back at the history of pop music. My book of the year though is Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler, a thriller set on a boat as the protagonist attempts to stay alive for the duration of the voyage. I found it really gripping and would heartily recommend.

On the TV front it was a good year for returning shows – Barry, The Good Place and Stranger Things all came back with enjoyable seasons. Matt Berry is always a joy and Year Of The Rabbit, his Victorian cop show was great fun. Temple was intense but mostly thrilling and I really enjoyed Giri/Haji. For some light relief I found The Rookie to be a good slice of easy watching fun. Nathan Fillion continues his run as the good hearted, but out of his depth, leading man. Initially both Carmen Sandiego and She-Ra were intended to be shows to watch with the kids but I found myself enjoying them just as much, if not more! The animation on both are excellent and there are some interesting character arcs developing in both. Watchmen is brutal but brilliant, a different take on the universe which lays to rest concerns that the show couldn’t be made for TV. By, mainly, steering away directly from the comic the creators delivered a dark look at vigilante justice. My show of the year though came early in 2019 with Netflix’s Russian Doll. What a concept, what a story, what a soundtrack. The acting all round was great and Natasha Lyonne was amazing in the title role. It also didn’t outstay it’s welcome, a most refreshing change of pace from some of the bloated shows hitting our streaming services.

So there you go, a little look at the stuff I’ve been enjoying over the last twelve months. Gaming round up to follow!

. 

Top 10 Single Player PS4 Games

I often get asked to recommend games to people, especially if they have just got a console and are looking to jump into the best games on offer. As the PS4 generation comes to a close I thought it’d be fun to try and whittle down a Top 10 to recommend.

Quick disclaimer, obviously I haven’t played every game out there and some of the well regarded, bigger releases (Spiderman, for example) may well have made the list if I had played them. It was pretty tough to get the list down to a Top 10 of just the stuff I’d played!

As you’ll see, even the Top 10 isn’t just 10 games… here we go, in no particular order:

.

The Last Of Us Remastered

The Last Of Us originally came out at the tail end of the PS3’s life cycle but received a welcome remaster when the new consoles arrived. Even now this is still one of the games I’m first to recommend to new PS4 owners. It tells the story of Joel, a grizzled old survivor, and Ellie, a young girl, as they travel across America in a post-disease world where the majority of the population has been wiped out. A mix of action and stealth, along with a strong story and some excellent voice acting, drive the gameplay while the stylised graphics look fantastic, especially with the HD remaster treatment.

.

God Of War

Having already played six God Of War titles on the PS3/PSP I genuinely wasn’t sure I needed another game when they first announced the PS4 title. I was quickly reassured when I saw the footage as this new game is a masterclass in single player storytelling. Whereas the previous games had a fixed camera and were viewed from a distant perspective, the latest game is much more up close and personal. It is set long after the other games and Kratos now resides in Norse mythology as opposed to Greek mythology, which adds a nice spin on things. The story focuses on a journey that Kratos has to make with his son and the many characters they meet along the way. The gameplay can sometimes be frantic and challenging but it’s almost always enjoyable.

.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Guerrilla Games were most well known for the Killzone series of games, first person shooters with a sci-fi leaning. When they announced a new, open world third-person adventure game I was hopeful but had some reservations. Killzone had always been linear so could they deliver on an open world game? Thankfully the answer was yes, in abundance. In Horizon you take control of Aloy, an outcast who is looking to shed some light on her past. She lives in a world where most technology has faded and giant dinosaur-like robots roam the land and need to be avoided. The moment to moment gameplay in Horizon is truly fantastic – the way you need to plan encounters, especially for some of the bigger enemies, is a welcome change from the hack and slash of a lot of other games.

.

Grand Theft Auto V / Red Dead Redemption 2

I’ve included two entries under the same section here as this will boil down to your preference of genre. Do you prefer a satirical, current day gangster/heist setup? Or a lawless Wild West affair, with cowboys and Sheriffs? The gameplay isn’t too different whichever option you pick. Both are third person action adventure games with compelling stories told over tens of hours. Red Dead Redemption 2 is actually a prequel, wherein you take control of outlaw Arthur Morgan. You’ll see some familiar faces along the way but you don’t need to have played the previous game to appreciate this title. Grand Theft Auto V on the other hand sees you take control of three different characters as their lives intersect and unravel in various ways. The game features numerous heists, which I found to be great fun.

.

Uncharted 4 / Uncharted: Lost Legacy

Another entry with two titles, this time simply down to your previous experience with the series. If you’ve played the previous titles Uncharted 4 is a great game to play through as a final goodbye to the characters we’ve known/loved throughout the series. In Uncharted 4 Nathan Drake is retired but can’t resist the lure of ‘one more job.’ Will it cost him his marriage and every he’s worked so hard for? A globe-trotting adventure awaits! If you haven’t played the other games I’d probably recommend Lost Legacy as it doesn’t rely as much on previous knowledge of the other Uncharted games. Lost Legacy features Chloe and Nadine, both side characters from other Uncharted games. It’s well written and more concise than the mainline Uncharted games. Both titles have similar gameplay, with lots of exploring, climbing and gunplay. Both are graphically superb and would be a great addition to your collection.

.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

I’ve always been a fan of Metal Gear’s over the top gameplay and story. Metal Gear Solid V continues the tradition with a story that I’m still not 100% sure I understand. Once you get past the slightly sluggish and bizarre opening section the game opens up and the fun begins. The gameplay here is some of the best the gaming world has to offer – there is such flexibility that almost anything is possible. The game does an amazing job of letting you escape from situations, as opposed to killing you quickly and giving you a game over screen. The story doesn’t make much sense and the game, in my opinion, makes a serious mis-step in it’s treatment of Quiet, one of the female characters in the game, but overall MGS V has some of the finest gameplay out there.

.

Dishonored 2

Another title that gives you a lot of freedom to carry out your objectives is Disnohored 2. The first choice you make is whether to seek revenge as Corvo, the male character from the original game, or Emily Kaldwin, the Empress of Dunwall. Both have different abilities and approaches to the game. Even within these differing disciplines you still have the option of stealthing through levels as opposed to fighting everyone you see. For me, most missions started as stealth and developed into combat when things went wrong 😀 Set in a steam punk-like future and with a very distinct visual art style, Dishonored 2 is a game that you shape around your playthrough and choices you make along the way. The abilities you gain are very inventive and fun to use and it’s different to almost every other game out there.

.

Persona 5

Full disclosure I haven’t actually finished Persona 5 at this stage – I’m around 40 hours in though so feel confident enough to strongly recommend it in the meantime. The Persona series of games have been around for some time and the fifth instalment continues the series tradition of turn based combat, where each member of your party and the computer each take it in turns to attack/defend during each round of the battle. Some of the fights are over quickly while others take a bit more strategy. You play as a school kid who can turn into a superhero-type in an alternate reality. So as well as saving the world you’ll also be dealing with the day to day of school! One of the big draws of these games is the graphical style, along with the music, and Persona 5 doesn’t disappoint. With a cast of characters including a talking cat this is definitely a game you’ll love or hate. One word of warning though, as I mentioned at the top of the paragraph – it’s a looooong game. Likely to be over 100 hours to get through, this isn’t one for a quick playthrough.

.

Detroit: Become Human / Until Dawn

Both of the entries here feature the ability to create your own story. There are no game over screens on these games – you continue to make choices, both good and bad, until the credits roll. It makes for a fairly seamless gameplay experience but the fact is your version of the story might be wildly different from someone else. Perhaps a character survived that died in someone else’s playthrough? Or maybe because you chose not to intervene in a situation it escalated and had a knock on effect further down the line? The gameplay in these titles is very similar, locked in camera angles and lots of exploring areas looking for clues. There is also the odd chase and action scene thrown in for good measure but these games are all about the story. The reason I’m recommending both is down to your personal taste – Detroit is a sci-fi thriller set around Androids in the near future and Until Dawn is a horror game where a killer is stalking a bunch of kids staying in a remote lodge. Take your pick (or play both!) and enjoy the ride.

.

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky is what I always hoped that games could be when I was growing up. The game is essentially a randomly generated universe that is ready for you to explore. Once you repair your spaceship in the game’s tutorial you can start making your way across the universe and start your adventure. It has a brilliant visual style and the randomly generated planets really can spark a sense of awe. There is a story path to follow but you can ignore that for the most part and just check out the different planets, mining for materials or discovering new creatures. The game is so huge and over the last few years a lot has been added, base building and underwater exploration for example, that I feel it’s easy to recommend as there is something here for everyone!

——————————————————————————————————-

So there you go, my top 10(ish) recommendations. It was really difficult to narrow this list down and so I have plenty of Honourable Mentions: Hitman, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate/Odyssey, Life Is Strange, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, The Order 1886, Transistor, Valiant Hearts and The Sexy Brutale all deserve a shout but ultimately missed out on making the list.

.

The Everything Else of 2018

I’ve decided to mix things up a little bit with my end of year round ups, for a start I’m moving away from the ‘award’ format itself but also I’ll be splitting things in a more simple way. One round-up for games and another for ‘Everything Else’.

So without further ado, let’s get into The Everything Else of 2018!

Musically it’s been a phenomenal year – full of big beats, guitars and wonderful pop. My Spotify round-up playlist is embedded below but some highlights were: Jade Bird, who continues her rise as one of the UK’s most under-rated female singer/songwriters, Billie Eilish, who delivers material well beyond what you’d expect from a 16-year-old, Sigrid, who is currently one of the best pop stars out there, Greta Van Fleet, who are on a mission to bring fun guitar music back, Robyn, who returns with another stunning single, Bobby Sessions, who brings a sense of levity and some political musings to proceedings and Carly Rae Jepsen, back again with a huge slice of pop goodness in ‘Party For One’.

. 

. 

I managed to do quite a bit of reading last year, a mix of fiction, fact and some great graphic novels. Of course the Overwatch graphic novel series continued with some really fun moments that help to flesh out the back story of the world and characters. The first volume of Lumberjanes was super fun, a nice collection of characters, it’s all about a group of girls at a summer scout camp. Everything is not as it seems though as strange creatures and otherworldly events transpire.

My favourite graphic novel this year though was Reborn from Mark Millar. Telling the story of Bonnie Black, an elderly lady who passes away on a stroke ward and suddenly finds herself in a new, younger body in a weird place called Adystria. Not only is this world some sort of limbo, it looks like she is the chosen one – here to save the world. It’s a standard fantasy set up but the art is lovely and its a clever idea. Word in the Summer was that Netflix have optioned Reborn as a TV series/film, should be an interesting watch!

In terms of factual books, I thoroughly enjoyed Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier – a fascinating look behind the scenes on some of the industries biggest and most interesting titles. If you’re into games, this is definitely worth your time. But it’s hard to look past the epic tome that is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s a big read but this look at how the world has been shaped by Humans is in equal measure spellbinding and horrifying.

Once I got past the heavy cockney accents in Gaie Sebold’s Shanghai Sparrow I found it be a really great read and look forward to exploring more titles in the series soon. I managed a double-header of Lee Child books in 2018; Night School and The Midnight Line, both of which I thought were good. It’s nice to see Child has diversified slightly from his well-worn (if enjoyable) formula to mix things up a bit. Another double was parts 2 (Authority) and 3 (Acceptance) in Jeff VanderMeer’s fantastically creepy trilogy that had started with Annihilation. I loved these and would recommend to anyone looking for something a little bit different. Probably my favourite books of the year, despite their unsettling nature.

I also stepped up my reading of some classics: Old Man and The Sea – Ernest Hemingway, The Trial – Franz Kafka, Chess – Stefan Zweig, Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton and Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Gabriel García Márquez. These were all great (they are classics for a reason!) but for me Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton was my favourite. I also really liked Chess and The Trial but the ending of Kafka’s story was just too much of a let down for me personally.

On the TV front it was another great year. I enjoyed Erased, a Japanese show about time travel but wasn’t sure about A Discovery of Witches, which I just struggled to get into. There were plenty of shows that continued to be a good watch – Jessica Jones, iZombie, Legends Of Tomorrow and Blindspot all veered between the sublime and the ridiculous but kept me entertained. While I enjoyed Legion it definitely felt like a hard watch at times, the confusion from the first season continued but this season was even darker than the last. I caught up on seasons 3 through 5 of Marvel’s Agents Of Shield which, while still enjoyable, has got weaker as time goes on. The flip to space lost me but (as usual!) it is the time travel stuff that keeps me on board.

My favourites from the year though were The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, The Bodyguard, Glow, The Good Place, Howard’s End and Dark. Sabrina had the right amount of camp and scares for me, The Bodyguard was intense and full of twists, Glow was depressing and hilarious in equal measure, The Good Place continued to be a highlight, Howard’s End was a completely unexpected delight and Dark was a German language sci-fi show that crossed genres in different and strange ways.

Film-wise I saw lots of interesting things this year. I loved the book so was really excited for the film version of Annihilation. While it was definitely a visual spectacle I really felt that perhaps Netflix might’ve been better to do the whole trilogy as a TV series. The Aftermath was a brilliant film, with great performances from Keira Knightly and Alexander Skarsgard. I thought Lean On Pete, the story of a young kid who gets into horse training but can’t let his horse go, was heartwarming. The London set musical Been So Long was a vivid, vibrant look at life in the capital. Meanwhile, Blue Iguana was a crime thriller with a more grounded trip to London.

I was also fortunate enough to see a couple of films that will be out in 2019 but were screened at festivals in 2018. Driven, the true story of DeLorean creator John DeLorean and Wild Rose, the fictional story of a country singer from Glasgow who dreams of visiting Nashville. I thought both of these were great but I did work on them music-wise so take that as you will 🙂

I loved Bohemian Rhapsody, it was a really uplifting look at one of the world’s biggest bands. Just before Christmas I saw The Grinch, which I thought was a fun festive film and The Christmas Chronicles, in which Kurt Russell delivered the Santa I never knew I needed! I really loved this and suspect it will become an annual viewing experience in my house. My absolute favourites of this year though were The Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2, both of which I thought had some great writing, music and (of course) visuals.

. 

So there you have it – 2018 in a (large) nutshell. As always feel free to comment or reach out on socials to let me know what your highlights have been from this year and what I missed but should check out.

. 

 

Playing Games Like You Watch TV Or: Why It Took Me Over Two Years To Finish Dragon Age: Inquisition

I’ve spoken about my gaming habits plenty in the past but I’ve noticed another shift in the last year or so. If I have an hour spare now in the evening I’m much more likely to play an online game, not something single player based.

While it sounds contrary to the above, I feel like I want to invest more time in single player game sessions than ever and really lose myself in that world, which conflicts with my gaming schedule – essentially the odd hour here and there in the evening. I’m finding that I don’t want to play something story based for 45 minutes or an hour. Or at least that’s how I feel about open world games, I’m certainly still happy to play an hour long session to complete a chapter of Uncharted or a main mission in Tomb Raider. More linear games still lend themselves to that style of play. I’ve always played those kind of games like TV shows anyway, a chapter or two at a time over the course of weeks rather than days. I’ve never been a gamer who will rush through a 15-20 hour game in a weekend.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a good example of this new play style, a game I likely would’ve rushed through before is now a title I’m planning to play over the course of months rather than weeks. Crucially, I also feel like I’m getting more enjoyment out of the game by taking the time to explore and discover smaller content along the way.

I think there is an accompanying parallel change in multiplayer games, which are doing a much better job of getting you to come back and play more often. There has been a positive change in a huge amount of games whereby new content (new levels/maps or characters) is being added free of charge for all players. This is important because, firstly, it means the player base isn’t split (some that paid have the new content but others don’t and they can’t all play together) and secondly it gives people a strong reason to come back to games they might not have ever returned to before this trend. In addition a lot of games are rewarding players for logging in and playing, which keeps people interested for longer.  I also feel like there are a ton of pick up and play online experiences that last 5-10 minutes per game, which align perfectly with the time I have available.

If I only have 30-45 mins spare why waste my time on an open world title and have to turn it off just as I’m getting into the rhythm of the game? I’d rather play a few rounds Overwatch and a game of Rocket League. It’s also occasionally quite nice to play something that has a set beginning, middle and end. I guess it’s similar to watching a really good eight episode TV show knowing it only has one season and tells a complete story within that.

Big, sprawling open world titles are definitely still attractive to me, Horizon is one of the best games I’ve played in the last 4 or 5 years, but I just need more time to play and invest in them. Dragon Age: Inquisition took me over two years to finish. Why? I suspect the TV season-like structure helped, along with the change in my own gaming habits. What I loved about the structure of Dragon Age in particular was that your main hub in the game was your ‘War Table’, where you and your colleagues/advisors would plan your next tactical move and which mission to take on. On this table you had a selection of smaller missions, including favours for your colleagues that would reveal more about them and strengthen your relationship with them, but also one bigger mission that moved the main story on considerably. So for me, the game became like a TV show in so far as I would spend a few weeks playing side missions, levelling up and getting some character development for my team before doing the big, climatic ‘end of season’ mission and then putting the game down for a month or two.

Another huge title in terms of scale is Fallout 4, which I’m still playing 18 months after I started. Why? Well for similar reasons to Dragon Age but with the added decision from the outset not to follow the direct path for ‘character reasons’. I decided to make my character more selfish than my usual created characters, for example my elf Inquisitor from Dragon Age or Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect. In Fallout, Bella would be a character that was, for the most part, more interested in her own current affairs than any grander goal – which has been great fun and I’d recommend everyone to try playing a character like it at some stage!

Another issue with mainlining games is burnout, doing the same thing over and over again is certainly not fun and can severely lessen your enjoyment of a game. However, I think there is a huge difference between repetitive gameplay over a longer period of time in hour sized chunks and repetitive gameplay experienced in bigger 3 or 4 hour time slots.  I genuinely believe that the reason I still enjoy long running game series like Assassin’s Creed, where you are essentially doing the same thing in every iteration of the game in a different setting, is because I’ve never really sat down and played them for 4 or 5 hours at a time.

Episodic gaming kind of solves this play style problem, although it doesn’t always necessarily do the best job. Titles like The Walking Dead and Life Is Strange are great games, although each episode usually runs the length of a film which runs into the same problem for me time-wise. Hitman, which is perfectly suited to the episodic format, is another title with lengthy levels (a positive when I have the time to invest) although the inclusion of smaller one off assassinations does mean that is a game you can also dip into here and there.

Some people are quick to mainline these huge games and I just don’t get it. Why would you want to rush through these big titles? Where Uncharted is like a film, games like Skyrim, Mass Effect or Dragon Age are like having 10 seasons of a TV show in front of you. Finishing these open world games as quickly as possible by doing just main quests would be like having a cut down version of the TV show that just focuses on the main character and no-one else. Sure you’d get to experience the story at the centre of the show but without any focus on other characters. Imagine a Buffy The Vampire Slayer without any development of Willow or Xander? Or an Orphan Black with no focus on Donny or anyone except Sarah? Indeed, imagine a Mass Effect that didn’t bother to flesh out your crew but just double downed on the main story.

I’m as guilty as the next person of binge-watching TV shows but I do feel that for games it is a little different – as I mentioned above my confusion isn’t really based on people playing games quickly, it’s what you might be missing along the way. Even if I binge something like Jessica Jones I am still seeing all the story the creators put in there and want us to see. If you mainline a game you could be missing a wealth of interesting content and potentially things that might be integral to the wider plot of the game.

Even in this age of on demand binge watching it can be nice to watch a TV show week by week – one of the biggest luxuries of the ‘old’ approach to watching TV or playing games is that you have time to think about and appreciate the content you’re consuming. I’ve found that in games but also in TV. Recently, Legion was a delight to watch week by week and I actually think I needed that time between episodes to process what I’d seen. Sure, there is a rush from getting through something you’re enjoying – it can exhilarating knowing that you are just a click away from another episode or main mission but I’d recommend giving slower paced gaming a shot. It’s definitely a different experience and one, for me personally, that means I’ve gotten more enjoyment out of open world games.

.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Review (PS4)

Adam Jensen is back. Following the events of previous title Human Revolution, Jensen finds himself running ops for a branch of Interpol – with one mission in Dubai going south very quickly. In the immediate aftermath, Jensen isn’t sure who he can trust and with rising tensions between augmented and non-augmented citizens approaching breaking point – it seems like the World is on the brink of collapse. So can he stop the madness?

Deus Ex titles have always been about choice and Mankind Divided delivers some interesting ideas, including a couple of my favourite type of game choices… The type where you literally have to choose one or the other, you can’t do both. While some of these are obvious to the player, others are based around what you choose to do during gameplay which is cool.

As usual Jensen is equipped with a full arsenal of augmentations that you can use to get around levels and complete objectives. Some of these will be familiar to regular players of Deus Ex, with some new additions to spice things up. Stealth is still the main priority, which was good for me as I found the shooting to be quite lacklustre and unenjoyable. It’s a shame because it would’ve been nice to have the flexibility of something like Metal Gear Solid V when missions move from stealth to action. More often that not here breaking stealth meant death. I also felt that I never had enough ammo or charge for my abilities, which meant some missions became a rinse and repeat of running to cover, waiting for stealth to recharge, run to next cover, wait for stealth etc.

I didn’t really think the overall story was great, though there were some great missions and some of the side content was quite strong. There were some interesting characters and it was nice to see some familiar faces. Also shout out to Peter Serafinowicz in his role as Duncan MacReady, as a fellow Brit it was great to hear such a natural vocal performance.

Graphically the game is a powerhouse, it looks exactly like a sci-fi game should. The oppressive atmosphere is effective and while we’ve seen it done before the overtly aggressive policing going on around you certainly has an impact. For the most part the game runs smoothly on the technical side but every now and again, almost always when moving unconscious enemies, glitches would crop up. The last thing you need when trying to hide a body is for it to melt part way into a wall and start moving violently in a vain attempt to free itself!

Overall I found Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to be an enjoyable experience and that is down to the writing and freedom of choice it allows. Unfortunately for the majority of the game it just wasn’t that fun to play and at times it really felt like a slog, with the gunplay in particular leaving a lot to be desired.

Rating: 6/10

7 x 7 Link Award

I have been bestowed with the honour of receiving the 7×7 Link Award from the lovely The Warning Sign.

I don’t often get involved with this type of thing but as a break from the reviews I’ve been putting up recently – here goes!

.

THE RULES:

.

1. Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.

2. Link to one of the posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-Worthy Piece.

3. Pass the award on to seven other bloggers.

.

PART ONE:

In my younger days I once played a full 62 lap race on a Formula 1 game in one sitting – my knees literally cracked when I went to get out of the chair. Not a healthy attitude to gaming, although it was a one off!

.

PART TWO:

1) Most Beautiful Piece: In terms of content I would say my Great Game Openings piece – some of those are stunningly gorgeous.

2) Most Helpful Piece: My Top 50 Single Player Games remains very popular and hopefully is still helpful to people looking to pick up some games for offline action.

3) Most Popular Piece: My Killzone 2 review went down really well and still gets plenty of views to this day.

4) Most Controversial Piece: Not a specific piece but any ‘Top’ lists usually garner some feedback on what people felt should’ve been in the list. Certainly not a bad thing.

5) Most Surprisingly Successful Piece: My review of Dante’s Inferno – the original prose as opposed to the game. Up there among my most viewed posts – still surprised by that everytime it pops up!

6) Most Underrated Piece: Sad to see that my end of year Music round up from 2011 has only had a handful of views, although it’s not a great surprise as I’m mainly a gaming blog.

7) Most Pride-Worthy Piece: Thankfully my most pride worthy was also a popular one! I really worked hard on my Top 100 Games ever articles.

.

PART THREE:

Pass the award on to seven other bloggers: some of these guys haven’t blogged in a while so I’m hoping this might give them a little kick start 🙂

1) Beyond The D-Pad

2) Stacey Storey

3) renxkyoko’s space

4) What Now?

5) That’s Just Me

6) Liam’s Lions Outlook

7) Action Flick Chick.

Sharing The Web Love…

As usual I partook in some Follow Friday action on Twitter today, where people suggest other folks who are interesting/worth following and I thought maybe it would be a nice idea to extend this into sharing a handful of great websites I regularly use for info, entertainment etc.

I’m not doing this every week so don’t panic but here are some sites you may or may not have heard of:

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/ – My main source of gaming goodness – best place I’ve found for footage of new games (and it’s not all just trailers).

http://www.curiousonion.com/ – Really good gaming site with plenty of reviews and features.

http://breagrant.com/blog/ – The blog of actress Brea Grant (Heroes/Friday Night Lights) who always come up trumps with music recommendations and plenty more besides.

http://beyondthedpad.wordpress.com/ – A more personal gaming blog, very well written – the reviews are always unbiased and honest.

http://www.ps3vault.com/ – Great source of info for PS3 matters, lots of reviews/features etc.

http://actionflickchick.com/superaction/ – Only recently discovered ActionFlickChick but her reviews are great and she has some really interesting features with stuntmen and the like.

http://zeonmusic.blogspot.com/ – A really good music blog, featuring loads of great tracks and some brilliant cover versions that are hard to find elsewhere.

http://www.aintitcool.com/ – A great source of film info, the original and still one of the best.

http://www.allmusic.com/ – If you need any music questions answered this is a great place to start. Sort of like a music wikipedia.

f*ckofffilm.com/ – *Warning* This site contains very strong language, that’s the point of it. Film reviews peppered with obscenities – my good friend Hollow Snake writes reviews for it.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ – Stuck on a game? Gamefaqs is the place to head for help. With cheats and walkthroughs galore.

 

So there you go, check ‘em out and let me know if you’ve got any recommendations as well.