Search Results for: the division

Actual screen grab. Old school cool!

I’ve spent the weekend in Bolivia, playing Ghost Recon and it’s been AWESOME fun! The closed beta mission was short lived and the map was small, replayability wasn’t that great but I did find myself logging in again and again just to fly around and check out the world, which looks absolutely awesome from in the air, and amazing on the road at night, especially when it’s raining. That said I had a lot of discussions with players comparing Ghost Recon to The Division, and what we love about The Division is that it’s an Role-playing Game. Out of curiosity I did a little search for the best RPG’s of all time and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) popped up time and time again for being the best Star Wars game ever made, period. I’m a Star Wars fan, but this game came out in 2003, that makes it 13 years old!

I did a google on running KotOR on Windows 10 and quite a few people had succeeded in getting it to work (though many couldn’t even get past the loading screen). I pulled the trigger on the game (it was $10 on Steam), and had no issues getting it to run on my new PC (it’s only crashed once and sometimes the audio stops but a quit and reload fixes that). It’s so old school the video cut scenes are tiny 640 x 480 vids! I can’t use the controller so I have to use the keyboard and mouse, but I’ve been playing a little Unreal Tournament as well which has been great fun (I’m so much better on the keyboard and mouse than the controller still!).

Loving the story so far! Love it that old school games make you work for it; I didn’t get a lightsaber until at least 3-4 hours into the game! Gameplay is super old school, but the fact that it is adds to the charm. I usually hate music in games (I always turn it off), but this is Star Wars, and the soundtrack, as well as SFX blasting out of my bass heavy Logitech surround system really does make the game feel more current and immersive.

If you’re a Star Wars nerd you’ll love the Knights of the Old Republic story. As with all games, there’s a lot of gameplay and walkthroughs on YouTube. Try watching THIS movie.

Or if you prefer commentary, this guy does a great job. If you like what you see 10 minutes into either video, stop it and just go buy the game!

I’ve upgraded all the textures in the game with VIVID Textures, and God Daym! Look at it now!

I’ve got Ved’s PC back to play The Division, but SO many people have come back to play The Division due to the new SURVIVAL DLC being launched, that we can’t even load into a server to play a game (bad Massive, BAD!)! Ved and I then thought we’d try Watch Dogs 2 multi-player, only to find we couldn’t do the main story co-op (that would have been awesome!), and the multiplayer action just wasn’t engaging us in the same way that The Division does, primarily because the shooting mechanics just weren’t up to par in Watch Dogs 2.

I couldn’t resist buying Fallout 4 on the PC (through Steam). It was damn expensive for an old game, but I knew MODS would make it new again, and holy shit now I know what PS4 guys have been missing out on!

I’ve discovered Nexus, and using the Nexus Mod Manager makes modding the game crazy easy. I’m up to 80 mods now, each and every one of them are awesome, and have changed the game for the better (some small changes, some epic ones!). I’ve also completed a few new quests made by fans, a couple of which took hours to finish, and were just as good in quality as Bethesda’s own quests (blows my mind!).

I’m now contemplating buying the most modded game of all time, Skyrim for PC, because there’s so much more you can do with that, due to the HUGE modding community, than Fallout 4! Enjoy some of the screen grabs below.

Watching the awesome animation of getting into and out of Power Armour will never get old, it’s even better now when you command your naked companions to do it.

Everything looks amazing now, flying over to that bridge, etc, it’s all about discovery and the boost in graphics quality has upped the immersion, big time.

And yup, every item is lootable in Fallout 4. So cool, wish The Division did the same (such a shame to waste all that detail in the world!).

The textures change SO much. The roads especially. I’ve also added a whole lot of greenery to the entire world, not over the top like some mods, keeping within lore, just enough to make it feel like time has passed on and everything is starting to grow back.

Skyrim inspired Power Armour! You can mod it at the PA Station with the remains of animals you’ve slain. It also comes with a sword and battle axe.

Optimus Prime Power Armour, then there’s Batman, Superman. Yup, you can pretty much be whoever you want to be, do whatever you want to do with mods!

The Iron Man armour lets me fly, which has been the best way to re-discover The Commonwealth.

So much fun to be had! I’ve got a weed farm going on now.

If you’ve not played Fallout 4, or Skyrim, consider buying either one through Steam, then the Nexus Mod Manager and get busy modding! You might regret it?!

Oh noes, not fist pumps! The cut scenes are a bit cheesey, but the characters are complex and likeable enough.

Watch Dogs 2 is a game about hacking, it’s got a really fresh young vibe going on, the game tackles current affairs and it’s overall been a really fun (not so serious, scary, or full of doom and gloom) game to play.

I’ve watched just about every hacking related movie and doco there is to watch. Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, The Internet’s Own Boy (Aaron Swartz’s story on Netflix, must watch), so I was instantly curious about Watch Dogs 2; a game about hacking, and just how would the developers make hacking the primary part of the game (and how would they make it fun?).

Ubisoft has done an awesome job of re-creating San Francisco. I hope that one day Sydney will feature in an open world game of this quality.

Lots of graff all over the city.

Some worth taking a selfie with.

On loading, the game throws you into the deep end right away (Metal Gear Solid’esque action scenario), and the movie intro actually begins a fair bit later. Refreshing change from games which have much slower tutorial style intros. You’re Marcus, a chill dude who ends up hooking up with DedSec, a bunch of hacker mates. The enemy is tech company Blume and their ctOS computer system and the world is set in the Bay Area of California, which is absolutely huge, and looks amazing in game (I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and was sold).

Meet the crew.

There’s a real fun, neon punk graphic design aesthetic which carries throughout the short videos which support and break up missions.

To me, Watch Dogs 2 instantly feels a little bit like The Division; familiar HUD graphics and action mechanisms, but graphics are even better in general, especially in regards to the main character’s detail and movement. The characters you meet are quite developed (more like characters in Fallout 4) and stealing cars, bikes and exploring the streets feels a lot like playing Grand Theft Auto V, which isn’t a bad thing, right?!

Cars are pretty cool in the game (I love the in car first person mode), hardly any traffic means you have much less to hit (and cars are super easy to control so driving is never frustrating).

All sorts of clothes shops to visit!

Marcus’ phone is his primary weapon and tool to launch apps which control all sorts of stuff like starting new missions, taking selfies and playing tunes (as you’d imagine). He’s also got an RC car and Quadcopter to play with (which is essential and super fun but also crazy expensive so you’ll have to do some driving side missions and hack people’s accounts in order to cash up to buy it). Marcus can also hack terminals, cameras, cars and more. Failing a mission a few times helps a lot in getting familiar with the hacking tools, which are an essential part of the game, but then there’s shooting too.

Selfies, gaining followers and making guns with the 3D printer. How very “now”!

Watch Dogs 2 primarily focuses on moving stealthily and hacking, but Marcus can use a 3D printer to create various guns. I’m not sure the game becomes more convincing when a hacker starts shooting his way through missions, but hey the option is there to play the game how you like, and that’s a good thing I think (as I really enjoy shooting games and running in guns blazing is always more my style).

PS: I got a pre-release retail PlayStation 4 copy of the game provided by Ubisoft. At the time of review the PlayStation 4 version of the game has a major multiplayer bug. Ubisoft are well aware of this bug and expects to have it fixed by the time the game launches for the public (it’s now available!). I’ll be buying the PC version of the game when it launches at the end of this month so I can test out the multuplayer with Ved!

For more info, visit: http://watchdogs.ubisoft.com

My copy of the remastered Skyrim for PS4 is here! The game only came out today, and I leave for LA tomorrow morning so I thought I’d come home to it in a week’s time… but NO! Thanks Bethesda for express posting me a copy to play today.

Being truly done with Fallout 4 (until mods come out for it on PS4!), and struggling to get back to The Division after downloading the 1.4 update (which after a few hours play really feels like how the game should have been from launch). I’m going to give Skyrim a good go despite not being a huge fan of magic/fantasy like realms.

I’ve only spent 2-3 hours on the game but I’m enjoying it so far! Really helps that the Fallout 4 familiarity is there with the controls, and general gameplay too. Sure, the graphics aren’t as great as Fallout 4, but one thing I’ve noticed is that the game loads SO fast! Loading screens flicker past in an instant, unlike the 30+ second wait at times when opening a door into a building in Fallout 4 (worst way to kill immersion IMHO).

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

I’ve not so secretly been pretty excited about the re-release of DOOM. Bethesda, developers of the game sent me a copy for PC which I’ll be playing soon (once I figure out which PC gaming laptop I want to purchase!), but included in their care package was a copy of Fallout 4 for PS4 so I thought I’d give it a go (game has been out for almost a year, but better late than never, right?!).

I’m new to RPG’s but I’ve had a great introduction to the concept via 1400+ hours on The Division, so I wasn’t at all daunted by the sheer amount of things you can do in the game straight off the bat. I’ve done a couple of things to help me “catch up” though; one is setting the difficulty on easy so that I waste less ammo (as ammo isn’t that plentiful in Fallout 4’s post-nuclear landscape), two is watching a bunch of YouTube clips on tips and tricks which end game Fallout 4 gamers wish they knew when starting out to help me avoid investing into the wrong perks.

Intro: Fallout 4 is set in a post-apocalyptic Boston in the year 2287. Your character emerges from an underground nuclear fallout shelter and subsequently explores the world to look for his son.

I generally hate game intros, and I kinda hated this one too. Installing the game took a very LONG time on the PS4, perhaps longer than any other game I’ve ever played, and the story intro was just so forced, linear and boring that I found myself nit picking at the character realism (lack of) and environment (say the house interiors, furniture, TV’s etc), which initially to me just really looked and felt like a 90’s PC game.

It’s not too long though before Fallout 4 sets you free in it’s huge open world, and before you know it you’re looting, exploring and getting sidetracked left right and centre en route to specific locations. The various YouTube guides I watched helped me to get to level 10 pretty quickly and I’ve distributed my perks into lock-picking so I can crack more safes to stock up on ammo, being able to carry more inventory and gun smithing so I can mod my guns for more damage. I’ve already gotten a few powerful weapons and also a few power armour suits, which are so so cool! The animation of getting in and out of them tickles me, lots!

Characters: Meet Dogmeat, he’s my loyal companion! You can choose various companions as the game goes on, but he’s my fave so far, roaming the scary post-apocalyptic world would be super lonely without him!

Looting: You can pretty much pick up everything in Fallout 4’s open world. Managing the weight of your inventory is a constant pain in the ass though. Once you’re overloaded you can’t run and this has to be the single most frustrating thing about the whole game for me so far as I just want to pick absolutely EVERYTHING up!

Shooting: There’s always a bit of adjustment that needs to be made when hopping from one shooter to the next. Fallout 4’s crazy guns feature crazy crosshairs, all of which take some time getting used to. Fallout features an auto aim feature called VATS, it’s a kind of bullet time slo-mo thing which I find absolutely frustrating so I’ve avoided it completely and I’m relying on aiming with the controller. I’ve found that going in guns blazing works much better for me than taking cover and executing sneaky kills. Running out of ammo mid fight is a common thing though so I tend to save VERY often in order to proceed through harder quests.

Crafting: Building up settlements is pretty finicky in the game, and a bit of a steep learning curve with lots of trial and error, but it’s bottomless. What some people on YouTube have done with their settlements, turning them into amazing towns, is waaaay beyond me! I’m determined not to get caught up in a SIMS like game experience though, and have been crafting just the basics to get going; harvesting water, food, making beds, adding power, just the simple things to help me level up.

Diamond City. Don’t quit the game until you get here, at least.

I’m sitting on level 16 now, and I’ve managed to reach Diamond City, which isn’t exactly where the game starts, but it feels that way as the story of your missing child kicks into high gear and there’s a lot you can do from the city, and it acts as a great marker to let you know you’ve at least played the game past the “intro”.

Design: Man, the worn out retro graphic design and steampunk-esque weapon designs in this game are made with SO much love. I can’t get over it, and how much awesome art there is in this game!

The Pip-Boy is green screen (reminds me of old macs!) device you wear which you will be using a LOT in the game as it’s your main interface to pretty much everything. You can even change the colour of it. I’ve changed mine from green to Zen Teal! #findyourzen

Hours: Gaming is grinding, especially when it comes to RPG’s so I’m not sure how many more hours I’ll be putting into developing my character, or environments, but I can say that it’s been a great play so far. So, better late than never? Definitely the case when it comes to Fallout 4!

EDIT: I’ve since put in a fair few more hours into Fallout 4 and focussed on the story missions, and within a few days I’ve almost completed it! Be warned though, the story gets pretty heavy and there’s more and more dialogue as you go, but I’m enjoying it and I think I’ll finish the game (and perhaps even do a few more side missions in future!).

My 1.3 Tactician build.

On the run.

Love my roadie jacket!

How do you like my airmaxes?

900+ hours. I’ve well and truly clocked the Division, and it’s looking like the game is dying, as I have less and less “friends” online to play with. It’s been real fun though, and like anything I choose to get into I think I’ve gotten good at it, but unlike other things I’ve been obsessive compulsive about; gaming is different in that there’s nothing to show for all I’ve put in.

Do what you love, sure, but I can’t help but feel a bit of guilt and general imbalance in playing games for 8+ hours a day. Maybe it’s because there’s less to share in comparison to other hobbies of mine (say for example making music or taking photos), or maybe it’s because it’s a bit further outside of the art realm?

Gaming is a beast. You grind, hard, and sure, some people have managed to make a living out of it (I’m amazed at the quality of the videos the gaming youtubers create, namely MarcoStyle and Skill Up), but it’s not for me (I’ve got to get back to the real world!).

PS: Can’t not mention the community workings around the game. Reddit, specifically The Division Reddit has been an integral part of enjoying the game. I’m a Reddit noob, but seeing the games developers utilise Reddit, youtubers, a community manager, and Twitch over Facebook, Instagram and everything else we do with Zen has been an eye opener.

Came in a sexy black box.

Box in a box! Lovely on Sennheiser to include a carry case!

Tight details. When you lift the mic up it mutes the mic, very nice!

I’ve been using a Gamecom Plantronics gaming headset recommended to me by the staff at EB Games, but people in The Division have been complaining about feedback since I started using them, and if the volume knob on the headphones isn’t up all the way sound comes out from the left side only, which leads me to think they’re rubbish, so since I’ve upgraded my controller I thought I’d upgrade my headset too, this time I went for a brand I know!

I’m still playing The Division (“zengarage” on Uplay), and I’m still using an Xbox controller on PC (even though I’m a die hard keyboard and mouse guy). The Xbox controller I had been using was on it’s way out (my player was stuck moving forward which made aiming hard and going through menus annoying too). I’ve stuck with the same, but upgraded to the Special Edition Lunar White Wireless Xbox One Controller. It looks nice, but more importantly it feels amazing! That tiny bit of texture on the back of the controller makes a world of difference.