Gaming Blogs – Page 10

Bloodborne – 50 Shades of Pain

You are going to die.

That is one of the more intimidating facts of life that most people know to be true but they simply don’t want to confront or think about.

I believe that is one reason Bloodborne (much like its predecessors Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1 & 2) is going to become notorious in the PS4 community rather quickly. The trailers make it look an awful lot like a clone/mash-up of characters from Resident Evil 4, Scythe-play from Dante’s Inferno and the apparently common setting of a steampunk dystopia like The Order 1886 and Dishonored. That is where you can leave the comparisons. This isn’t some sort of button mashing combo adventure game. This is a one battle at a time journey through hell on earth… and as soon as you start to get cocky about your fighting skills – this game will kick you in the ass and curb stomp you back to reality. Welcome to Bloodborne.

Bloodborne™_20150326124713 — Get Used to This Part of the Game.

You Aren’t Ready For A Boss Fight… Deal With It

Most games these days like to baby you along with waypoints and tips on just about everything. Basically making them interactive walkthrough’s rather than any sort of challenging experience. This is something I apparently got used to over the last couple generations of consoles. I had forgotten my roots… NES and Sega games that didn’t give a damn about telling me how to do most things ‘in game’. Bloodborne is much the same. Start by learning the mechanics and nuances of each weapon and item. There are already a few nice wiki guides out there for you to peruse as well.

When you start battling against the townsfolk in this game you will think that it is a waste of time and want to skip to bosses, etc. WRONG! You need to put yourself in the mindset of older RPGs and games that require you to level up. This means grinding out many battles against regular baddies and taking regular trips back to the Hunter’s Dream (basically your safe zone to repair weapons and buy some items – don’t buy blood vials or bullets though… you can get those easily in-game).

Just be patient with your character. Get to know every inch of the city and how every different foe attacks you. You won’t regret it and you will find the game to be a bit easier this way as well.

Bloodborne™_20150326123629 — Meet Lech, my resident badass. He came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And he is all out of bubblegum.

You Aren’t Worthy

Don’t get too upset with all the dying. You need to understand that it will happen – sometimes it will happen in insanely unfair ways. My biggest pet-peeve in this game is the weapon clipping through walls and barriers. You aren’t safe behind that pillar – I promise you! I have wanted to throw my controller through my TV so many times over my first few hours of gameplay. I even totally restarted a character just to have a frest start – and it helped. Although, I should have stayed with the Blunderbuss as my side-arm. The pistol is kind of lame in that regard… but it has its fair usage as well.

I thought this game was going to feel more like the button mashing Dante’s Inferno or God of War from the trailers and gameplay. What really got me was the story, setting and general artwork – I saw it and was obsessed with its dark beauty. This game is worth every penny of the $59.99.

Why?

Because it is challenging. It gives you a ridiculous amount of gameplay and adventuring to discover new things. Not to mention it isn’t some crappy annual release like Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield or whatever other garbage big companies try to force down our throats as ‘new’ ideas and ‘new’ games.

Go out and buy Bloodborne today. And while you are out… you might want to buy a new controller, a pack of xanax and some Red Bull. Because you will be full of wonderful gamer rage… and you will keep coming back for more.

Happy Hunting.

EDIT – Here is a helpful tip on how to defeat Father Gascoigne.
*Have oil urns and Molotov Cocktails ready

Most people will tell you to get the music box… Yes, that is a nice way to get him to hold his ears in pain and get you some free hits. However, if you want to dispatch this a-hole quickly you will want to use visceral counter-attacks (just as he readies to attack with axe swings have your lock on (Click R-Stick to get the lock on light while looking at him) and shoot him during his wind up. THEN… run up in front of him and press and hold R1. This will shove your weapon through him and cause MAJOR damage.

Once he transforms you will want to douse him with an oil urn and quickly throw a molotov cocktail on him. This will take him down to low health. You can either try another visceral attack or two or the oil urn/molotov combo.

WTF Is Gamergate? And Why You Should Care.

Having a difficult time understanding the ‘Gamergate’ situation? So was I.

Apparently, I have been living under a rock (mostly being outside/not on the internet) – for which I will not apologize.

Now – ON! TO GAMERGATE!

From what I have gathered, it all started when a female indie game developer and her boyfriend split up. He then decided to write a blog that supposedly named names of the men she cheated on him with. These supposed trysts included game reviewers and perhaps even her boss. This was meant to point fingers at the fact that she (allegedly) did this in order to gain better reviews for her text-based (emo) game, Depression Quest (no, I’m not kidding). Sorry, but any game that ends with a link to the Suicide Prevention Hotline is a strange emo version of entertainment and begs for attention at best. Sadly, depression and suicide are quite common in a world so jacked up as this one (see above/below).

Ok. At this point I can understand the supposed conflict of interests. A person is using sexual advances in order to… advance. Well, so does porn and we all know the internet was made for that (see joke here). What is the real issue? It is the fact that this apparent spark has ignited a powder keg of misogynistic outrage that is overflowing around the internet.

What started as some blip on the indie-game radar (that many of us never would have known about otherwise) has now started to increase into some sort of blob of misplaced chauvinistic rage. These apparent ‘men/little boys’ have now resorted to threatening numerous women that are speaking out about the issues of women in gaming. It has gotten rather ugly with threats and harassment following many of them – including Felicia Day. Again, I must live under a rock (that doesn’t include watching TV more than 7 hours a week (Sunday football)… I had no idea who Felicia Day was until I saw a story about her getting harassed by internet scumbags. She is on a show called Supernatural (of which I have heard of thanks to Netflix.)

This isn’t some issue that is going to go away at this point – nor should it. It is supposedly about the ‘ethics’ of gaming journalism which in and of itself is hilarious (consider your current position on the internet, reading my views – it is all biased and willing to sell out in most cases). In case you haven’t noticed, we are now living in a society that demands the TMZ ‘style’ of breaking news that we hope will pique our interest until the next Gangnam Style video surfaces. (Oh, humanity… we’re screwed).

This is showing the ugly face of misogynistic gamers and game developers out there. I will admit that when I was 13 I certainly tried to find a code for Tomb Raider… don’t play coy – you know what ‘code’ I’m talking about – and if you are 27-35 you probably did too! The gaming industry has been dominated for decades by men and typically when those men decide to plaster hugely busty (and always almost naked) women into their games as selling points it isn’t hard to see the issue.

They are digital pimps and their artistic creations are their digital prostitutes. This isn’t something new to the world of entertainment. Whether it is movies or music it is always about selling sex for the most part. It just so happens that right now in a multi-billion dollar industry they are selling it in droves. It would be one thing if scantly clad characters (not just women) were included for obvious ‘situational’ reasons. However, the fact that women are being portrayed nearly naked or with severely exaggerated features in situations that really don’t demand that is a bit insulting to females and gamers as a whole. One example is a screenshot from the new Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (which I am admittedly excited for – because of the story, not the example below).

phantompainss — This doesn’t really speak to ‘battlefield’ functionality very much.

I think this speaks volumes about what feminists everywhere are trying to say. Keep in mind that being a feminist doesn’t mean feminazi-women – it refers to men and women that want to see the world view of women shift from where it has been. Women are active and valuable members of society and we should all do our part to make sure that we are the voices of reason in the midst of a vocal minority that is screaming out of fear of having their digital cleavage taken away.

What is the best part about Gamergate? The fact that these noisy little hate-mongering misogynistic pukes are showing how small they really are.

What is the best thing to do in this situation? Educate yourself, voice your views of reason to developers (believe it or not they do listen) and let the cry-babies cry themselves to sleep… in their basement, streaming internet porn – alone.

Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Vs. Battlefield Hardline – Is The Battle Over Before It Begins?

Over the past couple years I have been eager to buy-in when it came to Battlefield over Call of Duty.

That has changed.

Say what you want about hating Call of Duty, but this rendering of Kevin Spacey alone made me want to buy the game months ago.

Now that Call of Duty has started to go in a direction that looks closer to Halo multiplayer gameplay than ever I have to give credit where credit is due. They are at least going in a slightly different direction. They have continued to tweak the perk system and showcase the same solid gameplay – albeit arcade(ish). Is there bullet-drop? No. Then again, there aren’t many maps in the history of Call of Duty that would really need to account for that type of simulation. Then again, you should know that going into the annual release of this title.

If you consider the fact that Call of Duty has been able to consistently deliver a blockbuster movie quality story mode since the release of COD4 in 2007 – there aren’t many shooter games that compare. Advanced Warfare looks like it will continue this amazing success with the inclusion of Kevin Spacey as the primary antagonist. As much as I wanted to hate on this game after the disappointment that was Ghosts, I have to admit – Advanced Warfare has made me a believer.

On the other hand, Battlefield Hardline has lost me. I have been a huge fan of Battlefield since Bad Company 2 (especially the Vietnam Map Pack). Battlefield 3 and 4 had me rather addicted to solid relative simulation gameplay (it really isn’t much different from Call of Duty if you are honest with yourself). The problem with Battlefield is that it has become progressively worse in terms of single player campaign and server issues (especially at release).

What are the issues with Hardline?

First – they are trying to make this game feel like Rainbow 6 or Counterstrike. The problem with that is that it is a game called BATTLEFIELD… not Battlezone or Battlebuilding.

Second – The idea that plastering the monicker of ‘Battlefield’ onto this game in order sell units is insulting – albeit, probably true.

Be honest – if this were called Medal of Honor – Hardline would you (or anyone else) buy it? Hell no.

EA has pushed the Battlefield series to become more and more focused on online multiplayer rather than single player and that is fine and good. However, we are now going into our third iteration of a Battlefield title that doesn’t pick up on the intriguing story of the guys in Bad Company. You have to start wondering if Hardline is going to be another throw-away title like Medal of Honor – Advanced Warfighter.

The problem with that is they are now connecting the ‘Battlefield’ name with presumed failure – and that could spell the end for whatever they gained from a terrible year for Call of Duty with Ghosts in 2013/14.

I have bought in when it comes to Call of Duty Advanced Warfare. So much so that I traded in Destiny towards the pre-order (that is a different discussion altogether). Mark my words – Call of Duty Advanced Warfare is going to dominate FPS sales this fall and you are getting ready to see the fall of Battlefield as a respectable series. I don’t wish COD to fall on it’s face, but I do wish Battlefield would actually return to the Bad Company storyline rather than another half-assed Medal of Honor game masquerading as a Battlefield title.

Madden 15 All Pro Sliders 2.0 (For CFM Trophies)

Updated After The October 7 Patch

Difficulty – ALL PRO
Quarters – 7 Mins
Acc Clock – OFF
Game Speed – Normal
Playcall Style – Quick
Ball Hawk – ON
Heatseeker – ON

Player –

QBA – 47
PBK – 48
WRC – 46
RBK – 45
FUM – 48
DPR – 50
INT – 40
PCV – 60
TAK – 50

CPU –

QBA – 46
PBK – 70
WRC – 45
RBK – 48
FUM – 49
DPR – 55
INT – 50
PCV – 55
TAK – 53

Special Teams –

FGP – 48
FGA – 45
PPW – 53
PA – 80
KOP – 53

Game Options –
INJ – 56
FAT – 73
SPD – 45

Penalties –
Offside – 95
False Start – 68
Hold – 51
Face Mask – 51
DPI – 100
OPI – 100
PCI – 50
Clip – 51
INTG – 100
RPAS – 52
RK – 50

AUTO SUBS (IN/OUT)
QB – 95/30
HB – 98/85
WR – 85/60
FB/TE – 90/60
OL – 85/40

DT – 90/75
DE – 90/60
LB – 90/70
CB – 90/60
S – 90/60

Earning and Spending XP In Madden 15

Just like any other sort of currency, you need to save, invest and spend your XP properly if you want your players to develop into juggernauts. In some ways you may also want to spend XP differently on players you know you won’t keep or can’t keep.

Earning XP – You will want to look at each player’s development trait in the ‘Progress Player’ screen before spending lots of points on them. This will largely determine whether or not they will earn more points by performing extraordinarily. Also, there is the ‘Consistency’ rating – this is key in helping players progress if they don’t get a lot of playing time or targets in games. There is something you need to consider and determine on multiple levels before you spend your allotted hours on certain players – Do their expensive ratings warrant future investment?

If you are wanting to upgrade a WR, do you really want to spend XP on one that has 85 SPD? Will it be cost effective to spend money on increasing his SPD? Some may say that it is totally worth it – and that is fair and good. Go for it. However, if you really want to make the process easier you will want to check and upgrade their ‘Development and ‘Consistency’ ratings, respectively.

Upgrading development will increase the amount of XP a player earns for achieving goals in game – this includes obtaining awards, reaching milestones and other performance objectives. Development costs 15,000 XP for each rating (from Slow to Normal to Quick to Superstar) – so keep in mind that it might take a season or two to build your favorite player into a Quick or Superstar Development rating. However, once they are there – they will stay there and that is why it is worth upgrading quickly.

Upgrading consistency will increase the amount of XP your players will earn during weekly training in Game Prep.

Finally, earning XP is as simple (and difficult) as performing well in each game. Once you have the necessary prerequisites (Development and Consistency) upgraded to your liking you will notice far more XP for each player you upgrade.

(Note: I argue that the confidence rating doesn’t matter nearly as much as the actual long-term ratings of players. It could be because confidence simply needs tuned or patched to have a more dramatic effect – but with EA’s track record – I doubt it.)

Spending XP – This is one of the easier things to do once you follow the guide in earning XP. It is entirely dependent on the player’s position and what type of player they are. Here are the best ways to increase the OVR ratings or performance for each position (outside of ‘Consistency’).

(Note – I rarely/never increase player SPD or ACC ratings. They are often too expensive to consider upgrading – and it helps with what little can remain simulation about picking ratings to increase for players in Madden.)

QB – Awareness, Short, Medium and Deep Accuracy, Play Action, Injury and Toughness.

HB – Awareness, Truck, Juke, Stiff Arm, Elusive, Agility, Strength, Injury and Toughness.

FB – Awareness, Run Block, Pass Block, Strength, Injury and Toughness.

WR – Awareness, Catch, Catch In Traffic, Release, Agility, Spectacular Catch, Jump, Injury and Toughness.

TE – Awareness, Catch, Catch In Traffic, Run Block, Release, Spectacular Catch, Jump, Pass Block, Injury and Toughness.

OL – Awareness, Strength, Run Block, Pass Block, Impact Block, Injury and Toughness.

DL – Awareness, Tackle, Pursuit, Finesse and Power Moves, Agility, Injury and Toughness.

LB – Awareness, Tackle, Pursuit, Play Recognition, Finesse and Power Moves, Hit Power, Zone Coverage, Man Coverage, Agility, Injury and Toughness.

CB – Awareness, Man Coverage, Zone Coverage, Play Recognition, Tackle, Agility, Catch, Agility, Injury and Toughness.

S – Awareness, Zone Coverage, Man Coverage, Play Recognition, Tackle, Hit Power, Agility, Catch, Agility, Injury and Toughness.

K/P – Awareness, Kick Power, Kick Accuracy. (Note – Kickers and Punters can’t get injured in Madden… Because EA – well, you know.)

Madden 15 All-Pro Sliders 1.0

After far too many hours of playing Madden 25 and finding that you had to have quarters set to 7 minutes in order to get the proper leveling necessary to obtain the achievements/trophies for created characters in CFM I have created these settings as a base for future editing for the best experience in Madden 15.

Also – if you’d like to participate in the NoobTubeTV Online CFM be sure to hit me up on Twitter (@NoobTubeTV), Facebook, or comment on this post. This is the only location for these settings and they will be updated throughout the coming weeks and months.

NOOBTUBETV CFM SLIDERS

Difficulty – ALL PRO
Quarters – 7 Mins
Acc Clock – OFF
Game Speed – Normal
Playcall Style – Quick
Ball Hawk – ON
Heatseeker – ON

Player –

QBA – 40
PBK – 50
WRC – 43
RBK – 50
FUM – 47
DPR – 50
INT – 40
PCV – 60
TAK – 50

CPU –

QBA – 43
PBK – 100
WRC – 40
RBK – 55
FUM – 48
DPR – 60
INT – 40
PCV – 70
TAK – 50

Special Teams –

FGP – 47
FGA – 45
PPW – 51
PA – 75
KOP – 53

Game Options –
INJ – 57
FAT – 56
SPD – 50

Penalties –
Offside – 94
False Start – 87
Hold – 51
Face Mask – 51
DPI – 100
OPI – 100
PCI – 50
Clip – 50
INTG – 50
RPAS – 50
RK – 50

AUTO SUBS (IN/OUT)
QB – 95/30
HB – 98/85
WR – 85/60
FB/TE – 90/60
OL – 85/40

DT – 90/75
DE – 90/60
LB – 90/70
CB – 90/60
S – 90/60

A Bad Sign? Madden 15 Will Have No Demo.

If you consider how little Madden had grown as a game during the 360/PS3 generation it wouldn’t be too far to guess that it would be the same general game on PS4 and Xbox One. Usually we all get a taste of what Madden has to offer a couple of weeks prior to the retail release with a demo.

Not this year.

Madden 15 will not have a demo available for anyone. This isn’t something that bodes well for the game as the only justification given was that they wanted to put all of their effort into the actual game rather than a demo. It is rather disappointing from many aspects, but in the long run this will hurt Madden 15 more than help it.

PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Minus?

It has been a long while since NTTV has been updated in any way. So, with that and with the recent milestone of 200,000 views I am happy to be back and filled with excitement for what the next chapter will look like for NTTV. With that said, this first update is one of frustration and dare I say – hope – that something good will happen for PS4/PS+ owners.

As we get ready to enter the best part of the year in gaming (Fall/Autumn) there are a few things to look back on and applaud from the first 2/3 of the year. One of the big things that happened was the improvement of Battlefield 4’s servers and the quality releases of expansions/DLC. BF4 is starting to show far more staying power than Call of Duty these days, and that is a good thing.

However, there are some other aspects of 2014 that have been lacking up to this point. The biggest disappointment so far has been PlayStation Plus for PlayStation 4 owners. While the network is relatively what we expect it to be in terms of solid gaming and online connectivity. The aspect that they introduced a couple years ago of giving free games to PS+ subscribers made me step up to the plate with PS4 and become a subscriber as well. Although they have provided decent games to PS3 owners in the past, the same cannot be said for PS4 owners to this point. The free games with PS+ on PS4 have been rather insulting up to this point.

One of the most infuriating comparisons was in June when PS3 owners of the PS+ service) and got a chance to download NBA 2K14 and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time for ‘free’. These are major releases that at one point commanded a typical retail price point of $40-60. What did the PS4 owners get? Trine 2 and Shooter Ultimate.

Chances are good that you are asking the same question(s) I asked when I saw these as the games being offered.

“What in the holy hell is Trine 2? When was there ever a Trine ONE? Why are they offering a bunch of garbage indie titles on their new console and great games on their old console?”

Like Frozen – I tried to let it go. However, as a gamer and subscriber to the PS+ ‘service’ I simply can’t do that anymore. The biggest reason behind my spoiled brat ‘gimme gimme gimme’ attitude with free games being offered has come out at this point (because believe me – I know they don’t have to offer jack shiznit if they don’t want to) is because I am starting to think that I bought a luxury sports car with an 8-Track player and crank-down windows when it comes to the PS4/PS+ combination.

There has been little reason for me to have the PS+ service other than playing Battlefield 4 online. I also currently own Fifa 14, MLB 14: The Show and Killzone: Shadow Fall. Perhaps the biggest indicator that Sony has a problem is with their very own AAA titles like Killzone – which they release and then forget about. They should have offered it as a free game with PS+, but instead we are stuck with indie arcade titles like Fez and Stick It To the Man. Are you serious? This is almost so insulting it is funny. Except, I’m not laughing. I am quite pissed off to think that I spent money on a service that is giving me the equivalent of throw away SNES titles and acting like they are doing me a favor.

Sony’s own original idea of offering free games to subscribers has been taken by Microsoft and no is clearly being used to destroy Sony’s ‘service’. It is as if Skynet has simply become Skynet Gold and it is laughing at the old version of a good idea that is clearly out of it’s realm.

Sony, you have a problem. It is about time you start re-evaluating your PlayStation Minus service because you are quickly turning into the laughing stock once again. As for your garbage ‘free’ games that you oh, so graciously present to me and my fellow idiot subscribers – I will download them and I might even play them for three to five minutes. However, I am only downloading them because they are there – not because I want them.

2K Football Announcement Coming? – The E3 Rumor Mill In Full Swing

Every year in late-May and early-June we start hearing buzz about new games that will be or might be unveiled at E3. (E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, CA annually.) It is much like the time leading up to the NFL Draft where there are so many rumors and baseless suggestions that you don’t know what to believe or who has the ‘inside track’.

This year there are a few titles that are supposedly being shown at E3 in hopes that they will capture the next-gen console audience’s hearts and minds. Some of these titles include Halo 5, Rockstar Games’ Agent and one game that a niche group of sports gamers have been longing for since 2008 – 2K Football.

Every year there is hope injected in the football gaming community that there will finally be some sort of football game released that isn’t made by EA Sports and that isn’t called ‘Madden’. There have been a few youtube videos with people saying that they have ‘a feeling’ that there will be a new 2K football title unveiled at E3 this year.

It is something that I almost always have high hopes for when it comes this close to football season. It seems that my hopes (and those of the sim football gaming community) are always dashed by the time E3 is over. Hopefully the rumor mill will prove to be correct this time around.

That said – there is no official news one way or the other about a 2K Football title as of yet. If there does happen to be an announcement, it will have to be a far deeper game than All Pro Football 2K8 was back in 2007. Keep your attention focused towards legitimate news and releases as we get closer to E3. The rumors will only get more ridiculous between now and then.

Madden 15 Finally Releases Typical Hype Reel

So, EA Tiburon has finally unleashed the marketing train that they hope will catch football gamers by storm. The best (and worst) part about these trailers is the graphical presentation. What makes it awesome is rather obvious… go ahead and get the “Ehr Mah Gehrdddd! He Looks Realzz!” out of your system. Yes, sure – the faces of players in sports games is cool. We always dreamed about it back when we were playing 8-bit Tecmo Bowl back in the day and now it is finally here… again. Perhaps someone should remind you about the Madden 06 trailer that was complete garbage and meant nothing at all from the graphical or gameplay aspects of the actual game..

Now, another thing to consider is that after you watch the cut-scenes that might seem cool the first four times you play Madden during a game – you will most likely start smashing the A/X button repeatedly to play the actual game and skip the repetitious cut-scenes with “Ehr Mah Gehrdddd! He Looks Realzz!” faces of players. Then, it is back to seeing the back of the offensive players’ helmets and the front of the defenders from about 60 ft away if you use the default camera angle. So, it begs the question… Why do we care about digitized faces with sweat, etc?

There are bigger things for EA to worry about and there are bigger things they need to do to convince people to buy their annual roster update. One of those things is to show the gamers that it is more than simply a roster update (if it is… it probably isn’t). Will we finally have morale in franchise mode? Will the challenge system be worth a damn? Will there maybe be some sort of injury system that makes sense? Dare I ask if they will put in realistic injuries for once? Maybe even *gasp* real-time injuries?

Coverage of Madden is about to start going off the deep end shortly and any/all of the new additions will already be in the process of being finalized. This means that any ‘new’ ideas we might have will have to wait for Madden 16 at the earliest. Outside of the couple hopes I listed above, I have to say that I have a slight hope for Madden 15 this year. While I have yet to decide on a next-gen console, I am hoping to find a reason to get one. Hopefully Madden 15 will actually prove my skeptical nature wrong this year.

But I doubt it.