Category Archives: Games

I’ve been playing with a girl in Ukraine

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For reals.

Haha, it’s not what you think. It’s actually a lot more sombre, sadly.

Early on into my Warframe journey (it’s a free game and it’s taking over, download it here) I met a girl. Always refreshing in a shooter but over time I’ve realised Warframe’s community is 50% female/gay guys just as much into customising their frames to look good as well as kill efficiently!

Anyways, the game is super social. And just like The Division, sooner or later you end up talking a lot more about life than the game itself. Turns out this girl I’ve met lives in Ukraine and earns $120/month. In this game you can either grind for gear, or you can fork out cash for it. She’d been after this frame for months, farming hard, and one of the really nice things about this game is that when you’re in the shop, you see a little gift box icon which allows you to essentially buy anything for anyone in the game.

I gifted her Volt Prime, which costs 100 Platinum (in-game currency) which equates to about $8. Nothing for me, but something to her so that’s cool.

She’s since told me more about where she lives. She’s a developer looking to get out. The view out from her window is horrible, yes she can see those stacks and she tells me they glow at night.

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Xbox Elite Wireless Controller

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The New.

Darth Vader NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! The world is surely trying to tell me something…

My sexy Lunar White XBOX controller has died. It lasted a little over a year (I have been gaming pretty damn hard). And now I’m kinda glad I didn’t get the MUCH more expensive Elite version of it, as it turns out the issue is a common one (it’s all over the net with dodgy fixes DIY fixes, the left thumb stick creeps forward on it’s own).

I wondered if the premium version would last any longer, or whether I should just buy a bog stock no-frills, non-wireless replacement. I went to Facebook and more than a few people really recommended the Elite, that and it was on sale at EB right now so I pulled the trigger!

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Warframe – All Quests completed

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562 Hours in. I’ve clocked it.

I’ve always been a lucky person, and that’s a good thing when it comes to RNG! Quite a few veteran Warframe players haven’t finished all the quests, mainly because a few things needed in order to advance in some of these quests have as little as a 2% drop rate, which wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to do a shitload of hard work just to get a crack at the drop (in my case it was hunting down and killing at least a few infested Juggernauts a day, tough motherfuckers, until one would finally drop a blueprint).

This one last quest, The Jordas Precept had been driving me up the wall for weeks as the game kept on spitting out reminders that it was there, beckoning me to finish it. Being a bit of a completionist when it comes to games I just had to get it done. When I finally got the blueprint to proceed in the quest I was faced with having to defeat a Juggernaut Behemoth, and then an Archwing mission to kill a mega boss to make matters even worse (where your Warframe is flying in space, thus super frustrating clunky flying/X-Wing/Star Wars style gameplay).

The quest is one of the few that let you squad up, so I sent messages out looking for help but not one person had done the quest, and not one person had their Archwing gear up high enough to even attempt the mission, so what did I do? I tried to tackle the hugest boss in the game so far solo, and despite many on the forums screaming about the quest being too hard, or impossible in a squad of 4, I persisted and finished it all by myself.

Sense of accomplishment? Yeah, sure! I leaped off the couch, massive fist bump and yelled out all sorts of foul words, but sadly unlike other hobbies there’s really nothing to show for it. That’s the one thing about gaming that doesn’t quite sit well with me (this needs more thought!).

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Warframe Rhino Statue

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So I’m obsessed with Warframe. I’d wear it on my chest but I’m a less is more kinda guy with what I choose to wear so instead I bought the Rhino limited edition collector’s statue as I’ve been a toy collector my whole life. 

The package got to Australia really fast, just over 2 weeks. First thing I noticed was the model was a lot heavier than I thought it would be be. You’d think it was made of metal, but is in fact some sort of hard resin (very nice). The hand painting is awesome (can’t help but feel sorry for the person/s who had to paint all of these!). The weapons all come separate so you have to put him together to display, but glaringly obvious to me was that his sidearm is on the wrong side!!! They must have gotten confused with the moulding process? IE: Similar issue with people who have shocking Asian words tattooed on their skin in reverse as the tattoo artist put the transfer on without first ‘mirroring’ the design.

The site listing suggested that I get some digital freebies with the statue but nope, nothing in email. I contacted the shop and they suggested I look in the box, nope, then they suggested I contact DE direct as the shop support was separate to DE support. I did just that, but then DE told me I should have gotten the email. Once it was made clear I had waited the right amount of time, and that I didn’t get the email, DE then sent me some codes to get my digital freebies (helmets and a noggle!).

So all is good in the hood!

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Captura

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My dog ZEN.

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My latest frame: Loki Prime.

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Then, from out of nowhere, a player I met recently invaded my Captura session! CRAZY! Freaked him out too as he had no idea you could do that (IE: Have screen grab sessions with your mates!).

Turns out Warframe has the best in-game screen grab app I’ve ever seen in a game (they call it Captura). I’ve only just started playing with it, but you get to choose a scene, and shoot in real time, controlling camera angles and progressing in movement frame by frame (if you like), not to mention lots of camera adjustments too.

I then realised that if you progress far enough with a faction you can unlock a green screen for Captura hells yes I’ve unlocked it! Think the construct in The Matrix, it’s fucking awesome!

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400+ Hours into Warframe


I’m with these guys… scarily.

Go hard. Son. My little feature is up on ZEN Blog: http://www.zengarage.com.au/2017/09/warframe-ninjas-play-free/

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Project Cars 2

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Hey all, the full feature from my day playing the latest build of Project Cars 2 is up on ZEN Blog: http://www.zengarage.com.au/2017/09/projectcars2/

Awesome timing as this image just got sent to me last night!

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Legends!

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Warframe – I’m addicted

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200hrs in 2 weeks. So addicted to this game right now!!!

This morning I log in and get a message to say there’s a special ribbon I can wear on my character. What it represents:

Help us support those with Leukemia.

This September we’re introducing an item to the Warframe community that tells a story.

A wearable orange ribbon – signifying Leukemia awareness month – will be given to all players with the option to equip it and show support in game.

Why?

Cancer is a devastating disease – even more-so when support is unavailable to those suffering. At Digital Extremes we’ve committed to learning everything we can about helping those with Leukemia as it is a cancer that has hit very close to home.

This month we’re asking you to show your support and spread awareness about helping organizations support those with Leukemia. Wearing this ribbon will do just that.
If you’re able, we’re also setting up a DE team for the Light The Night Walk on October 14 in our hometown of London Ontario. As a company we are matching any donations made to our team.

Tenno, we ask you to consider supporting one of our own however you can. Your Harmony Ribbon is waiting for the month of September in-game and will be removed when September ends. All you have to do is log in starting September 1st at 11 a.m ET.

Our team: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?langPref=en-CA&TSID=789140

Further Reading: http://www.llscanada.org/leukemia

Thank you, Tenno!

NOW THAT IS AWESOME! Great Devs, great community, great game! The game is free too, check it out: WARFRAME.COM

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Final Fantasy XV – Finally Popped my Final Fantasy Cherry

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Says 33hrs on the certificate I got on completing the game (cute). That’s doing a few side missions, but I did more of them in the beginning of the game than towards the end (IE: there are a billion more quests left for me to do in the game).

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Cindy’s hot, got bolt on boobs, and is your Regalia’s mechanic. She ends up upgrading the Regalia so it can fly, and man, after not being allowed to drive for the entire game (it’s auto pilot), being able to fly post game is NUTS and makes me wonder why I couldn’t fly from the start (and that the games developers are crazy and I love it!)

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Post game activities, flying around the gorgeous world in the Regalia.

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As much as I hate the crazy auto pilot driving, it was also so strangely relaxing and enjoyable in a watching post race rendered vids of a race in Gran Turismo kinda way.

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I’m gonna miss you bros. It’s been emotional. Sunsets were awesome in the game, and the game really makes you fear night which I thought was a cool touch.

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Speaking of darkness, the Pitioss Ruins. The most hardcore platforming puzzle shit I’ve ever done, those who know know! Massive high 5 to anyone who completed the fucker!

I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game. As much as I love most Japanese culture, I’m not into the pink and cutesy girly Anime stuff which is how I’ve always looked at Final Fantasy. A billion people out there can’t be wrong though, and their latest game (which was in development for 10 years!) had me intrigued as it’s an open-world JRPG (music to my ears) where you play a character who has 3 close mates who set about on an American style road trip.

It’s trippy as all hell as it’s so Japanese, but the world is so Nevada. I love the world LOTS. I love all the silly fetch quests too. I really enjoyed playing with my 3 bros along side me, so much so that in later missions when I was separated from them I missed them. The cheesey music got to me in to me in the end, the lore did too (the open world gameplay to the lore specific bits are so juxtaposed it’s almost like 2 different worlds, but it still worked for me). It’s a road trip but you don’t get to drive, or do anything much in this game really. Driving is like teleporting, and you can beat all enemies by mashing a button, or if you’re too lazy to do that just hold the button down. Yup. Final Fantasy is an EASY game. It’s like a movie game, but I hear people complaining more than ever that it’s just too hard, and maybe that’s why I like it, because if it was any easier it would be ridiculous.

Having said that. I finished the game and got into the story more than the gameplay. Basically everyone dies. They make you fall in love with people, then they kill everyone then you kill yourself. I had a gut feeling that this was what Final Fantasy was all about; LOSS, and yup, it’s a pretty fucked up story, but it’s a really fun game! Again, love the juxtaposition, it’s truly unique.

PS: Once you finish the main story you can return to the open world, from there you can do post game activities and one of them is the Pitioss Ruins, a secret dungeon that you have to fly to (you car can be modified to fly, it’s actually pretty damn epic!), it’s only marked with a tiny yellow line on the map, and that yellow line is a runway. The runway is so short I crashed out a few times trying to land (super frustrating as this game has LONG load times!), and once I landed I had to wait until night for the secret door to open. Then I was thrust into the most hardcore platforming game I’ve ever played, made super hardcore because there’s a sever gumminess to Final Fantasy XV’s character control.

Push your controller forward and your character takes 3 steps forward, this makes it nearly impossible to do precision jumping/tightroping in puzzle like environments, but one evil fucker at Square Enix designed this monster of a maze, and it took me almost 5 hours to complete (in the end I had to use an online guide too). Amazing a game can be so easy all you do is press a button to win it, but then you have this thing… it’s crazy! You go through the pain to complete the dungeon to get lots of loot, but one pice in particular which lets Noctis, your character auto-dodge enemy attacks (as if the game wasn’t easy enough as it is!!!).

The crazy thing is that once I checked out the guide, and read the comments below the guide video, I read that a fair few people also struggled with the dungeon, and also spent 4-5 hours in there, then on completion, and resurfacing they hopped into their Regalia (our flying car) only to crash on take-off as the landing strip is too short, losing all 5 hours of gameplay and all items looted in the dungeon. Holy FUCK that would make me rage SO damn hard! I’m SO glad I read the comments and made sure to save straight after completing the dungeon (I even paid to get the car towed to the garage rather than even attempting to fly off the strip!).

PPS: Steam has a HUGE sale on right now and pretty much every single game I’ve got on the wishlist is half price now, or even less. I ended up pulling the trigger on Borderlands 2, which should be Co-Op fun with Ved, and also Dark Souls 3 to fuck my life.

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NIOH – Done and loved it

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“The Demon King Revealed” is the final (and best) mission in the game and is my go to farming mission when I need to gather more amrita to level up.

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Love that my character gets rendered into the cut scenes ( in whatever it is I chose to wear and wield/shoot).

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My end game stats.

I’ve finally finished NIOH, and man it was awesome, so much so that I even kept on playing into New Game+ and I’m the one who’s starting to help other players level up now at shrines.

I’ll just leave some punchy afterthoughts:

Positives:
– The lore. Man, Japan.

– The orchestral soundtrack is so deep; juxtaposing demonic rumbling loops to zen tranquility on stage screens helps to set the tone so well I had to leave it on (I usually turn music off in games).

– “The Demon King Revealed” mission is so good I’ve played it daily since finishing the game, also “The Iga Escape” mission makes all your Ninja fantasies come true.

– Just when you think you’re done, the game gives you more and more sub-missions. Easy 100 hours (can’t be sure as PS4 doesn’t track your game time… silly I know). That’s being a completionist though (yup that’s me!).

– Best melee action game I’ve ever played as the stances and combos give you so much more than just button mashing. Feels good to play but not as connected to the controller as “The Surge” (which felt SO good).

– Hardcore RPG (more complex than most RPG games I’ve played) but totally intuitive. The game is so well paced. When you spend amrita on levelling up, or gold at the blacksmith post mission you’re always left with a little bit within reach of the next upgrade, so in you go again and again. It’s super addictive!

– Summoning visitors at shrines for help, or helping others (and never knowing what mission or stage within a mission they need help with) is a huge part of the game for me. I prefer playing NIOH with a companion than without (the missions with NPC companions are absolutely awesome too!).

Negatives:
– Just can’t get over low res textures/graphics on the PS4. I really really wish this game came out on PC.

– There’s no “base” or “home” and I wish there was.

– I would have loved this game even more if I could create my own character.

– It’s awesome that you can re-skin any piece of armour or weapon in the game at any time, but the thumbnail previews are so small, a live preview would really make dress-ups more fun.

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