Games I Beat: Until Dawn

Until Dawn
Story Driven Horror
1 Player
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Supermassive Games
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: September 2nd, 2016

I don't technically enjoy this game. Until Dawn isn't really a game though. The bits I enjoyed were the same sort of bits I enjoyed in Telltale's Walking Dead series. Getting to take part in a movie is an interesting experience, but unfortunately it doesn't have any staying power. Being worth experiencing while not necessarily being worth owning can pose a bit of a problem. Although Red Box exists, but I've never used one and don't know how quickly games get removed from their catalogs. This is weekend rental movie, game, is what I'm trying to say.

DLC I Beat: Fallout 4 Season Pass

Fallout 4 Season Pass
Open World Shooty "RPG"
1 Player
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: August 31st, 2016

It's a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in. In regards to how RPG's have become streamlined action games. In regards to Bethesda continual slide into mediocrity. In regards to how downloadable content is handled. In regards to the practice of overpricing games and downloadable content. In regards to the lack of communication in the world of video games. In regards to the Fallout series as a whole. In regards to the current elections. Truly, this is a time of chaos.

Fangasm: Super Smash Land

Super Smash Land
1-4 Players
System: PC
Developer: Dan Fornace
Year of Release: 2011
Download Here

The concept of the "demake" has always fascinated me. Trying to take a modern-er game and scaling it back to a previous generation can be an interesting experiment, both as a final product and as a learning process for the creator. Dan Fornace took his love for Super Smash Bros and trimmed it down to what is essentially an original Game Boy game. And it works.

#SaveConstantine

When Constantine first aired I really enjoyed the show. I recall thinking less favorably on some episodes, but overall I saw nothing but the basis for an excellent show. For anyone who paid it any attention you're probably aware of the drama surrounding it's possible cancellation and the (allegedly) immense fan outcry against that. Thus, #SaveConstantine was created and used to communicate just how many people enjoyed the show. It was one of the few times I bothered using a hashtag,  because Constantine could have, should have, grown into an excellent series. I planned on writing about the series then, but before I could they announced the show was officially cancelled and by then I didn't feel like thinking on it any further. Having re-watched the first, and only, season over the last couple of weeks I realize only now that Constantine didn't just have potential to become excellent, it already was.

DLC I Beat: Sunset Overdrive Season Pass

Sunset Overdrive Season Pass
Open World Hardcore Parkour Murder-fest
1 Player (More online)
System: Xbox One
Developer: Insomniac Games
Year of Release: 2014/2015
Beaten: July 8th, 2016

Having picked up Sunset Overdrive on the cheap, beating the game over the course of a few, long session, nights and loving the game (for the gameplay at least) lead me to really want to pick up the DLC once I realized there was actual content packs available. For twenty dollars you get about four hours of additional gameplay and a pack of weapons. For me, this was very much worth it, and to save you time, if you liked the base game, especially if you picked it up for the low ten dollar price point I managed to buy it for, this is well worth it. The only downside is the relatively short play time, but that's just kind of the times we're in now isn't it?

Games I Beat: Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive
Open World Hardcore Parkour Murder-fest
1 Player (More online)
System: Xbox One
Developer: Insomniac Games
Year of Release: 2014
Beaten: June 29th, 2016

From a strictly game play perspective this is exactly what I've been needing for a while now. You know when you're yearning for something in particular, though you aren't quite sure what that thing is? Sunset Overdrive scratched that itch for me. I don't know why this game wasn't more critically acclaimed. I guess it's because of how incredibly obnoxious every bit of the plot is, but seriously fuck all that. Playing Sunset Overdrive is pure fun fresh squeezed out of freshly picked joy.

Pit of Despair: The Crew

The Crew
Open World Racing Game
1 Player (More online)
System: Xbox One
Developer: Ubisoft
Year of Release: 2014

It's disheartening when you're playing a game and in order to keep yourself plugging along you find that you completely disregard the story and characters opting, instead, to substitute your own goals. So it was that The Crew, for me, was more about finding my way home from Chicago. How I got there, I'm not certain, but the Pacific Northwest was calling to me. The journey didn't take that long, but something was off. I couldn't find home.

XNA: PLATFORMANCE Castle Pain

Here’s a real gem of a game! Platformance: Castle Pain revels in how old school and punishing it is. See it’s deceivingly simple, and honestly the easier difficulties don’t prove to be much of a challenge at all. But once you crank up the difficulty, it becomes a gauntlet of countless deaths and infinite frustration. And it’s glorious.

XNA: Nuclear Wasteland 2030

I really want to open with "this game is garbage", because as much as I really hate this game, it's not technically garbage. Pointless, not great.. but not garbage. The main problem is that this game has no real reason to exist. It's an FPS for a dollar, and boy do you get what you pay for.

XNA: Breath of Death VII

How about we kick this off with the game that cemented my faith in the Indie channel in the first place? Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, a retro style RPG that parody’s pop culture and the RPG’s of days long gone. It might not sound terribly exciting, and truthfully I’m one of the few people who still really enjoy JRPG’s, but it really is amazing.