News – Page 7 – NoobTubeTV

Metal Gear Solid 5 And The Nuclear Quest(ion)

After beating the known storylines in Metal Gear Solid 5 there are still so many small things to do and accomplish as far as side-ops and further development go. The biggest sticking point for many MGS players is the building/disarming of nuclear weapons in the FOB Resource section of their game.

I have yet to develop a nuke on my own to this point, but that didn’t keep me from reaching 150,000+ Heroism (unlocking the Hero Trophy and therefore making it possible to infiltrate other FOBs that already developed or stole a nuke for their own base). After breaking into the rival FOB last night and stealing their nuke while completing my infiltration I realized a couple things about my status when in possession of a nuke in MGS 5 – I am a huge target when I have a nuke. Now that this game has been out for nearly two months and gamers have been pouring over the details after completing the storyline there are really only two things left to accomplish.

Develop A Nuke/Disarm A Nuke
Develop the remaining items for Venom Snake (I refuse to call our character Big Boss) and the Buddys

This is where the entire basis of the FOB started to make me think that it really becomes meaningless after you have developed every item (including a nuke).

By the time most MGS gamers have earned enough heroism to break into an FOB and steal a nuke they won’t have any reason to break into a non-nuclear FOB. This means that having a nuke isn’t so much a deterrent as it is an invitation to have your FOB jacked with constantly (as long as you possess a nuke that is). The only reason I have been bothering to break into rival FOBs is to steal their minor metal and fuel resources… why? To develop a nuke, get the trophy and dismantle it.

Why dismantle it? Because if someone has played the game enough and is able to break into FOBs – your nuke is as good as gone and your resources have been wasted as a false deterrent. Also, there is no actual use for the nuke other than making it impossible for non-hero rated gamers to raid your FOB. Again, if you have all your weapons developed and have already developed/disarmed a nuke – who cares if someone breaks in and steals the resources you are basically done with?

It would be different if you could use your nuke against someone that has been trolling your FOB (I’m looking at you Crimson157). If we were able to unleash our nuke and totally destroy another user’s FOB this game would become total anarchy and probably lose even more gamers to the coming nuclear aftermath of Fallout 4.

So, to answer the nuclear question as far as MGS 5 goes – Develop and dismantle a nuke to get the trophy. Then focus on developing the rest of your FOB, weapons and such. After that, you can basically focus on trolling the CPU in single player and wasting more time with Metal Gear Online.

Speaking for myself – I plan on getting every trophy for this game and setting it aside for Fallout 4. It really is too bad that Kojima and Co. jacked with our minds and the end of a great franchise so much as to make it downright trivial to develop nukes.

Madden 16 – Settings and Sliders (CFM)

As promised, here are the official NoobTubeTV settings (version 1.0) and sliders for your CFM.

A few things before you dig into these. Yes, I have nerfed the CPU run blocking. This is because I have played against enough players like Jeremy Hill and such that simply run over every tackle attempt that I chose to even it up a bit. I am considering turning CPU Run Block up to 20 as I keep playing, but so far I have been having great games (especially in my second season).

Also, be sure to set the auto-subs before the season if you want to get the proper stats for starters and backups.

I set the quarter length to 12 minutes because 15 was giving me far too many plays and high scores. Setting it at 12 minutes is a great sim experience that will give you about 65 plays per game depending on how quickly you snap the ball, etc.

One final tip… When running the ball you should NEVER hit the sprint button until the play has developed and then speed burst through the hole.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask!

Settings

Instant Starter – ON

Salary Cap – ON

Skill Level – All Madden

Quarter Length – 12 Minutes

Accelerated Clock – On

Minimum Play Clock – 15 Seconds

Game Speed – Normal

Player Progression – Every 4 Weeks

Coach Firing – On

Gameplay Tuning – Yes

Injury – On

Pre-Existing Injury – OFF

Trade Deadline – On

Trade Type – Enable All

Relocation Settings – Off

League Type – All

Auto Strafe – Off

Heat Seeker – On

Ball Hawk – On

Camera – Standard

On-Field Visual – Off

Def. Tackle Indicator – Off

Kicking Arc – On

Passing Camera – On

CPU Settings (CFM)

All set to OFF besides Game Prep (Game Prep is a complete waste of time)

SLIDERS HUM/CPU

QBA 55/40

Pass Block 50/50

WRC – 50/41

RBK – 53/15

FUM – 45/35

PDR – 75/55

INT – 50/40

PCV – 70/53

TAK – 60/45

Special Teams

FGP – 50

FGA – 50 (If you set this below 50 you will get the terrible accuracy glitch that basically makes your kick arc go crazy)

PPW – 50

PAC – 100 (CPU punters are terrible, EA needs to fix this legacy issue)

KOP – 50

Game Options

Injuries – 55

Fatigue – 60

Min Speed Thresh – 40

Penalties

Offside – 55

False Start – 50

Holding – 40

Def. Hold – 50

Face Mask – 50

Def PI – 50

Off PI – On

Kick Catch – On

Illegal Block – 50

Intentional Ground – On (Doesn’t work either way)

Rough Pass – 50

Rough Kick – On

Running Into – On

Auto-Subs

QB – 50/40

HB – 85/70

WR – 85/70

TE/FB – 80/65

OL – 12/10

DT – 80/65

DE – 80/65

LB – 80/65

CB – 80/70

S – 80/70

Madden 16 – The Scouting Guide For Your CFM

I thought about which part of Madden 16 I would feature first this year and I believe that the biggest improvement to Franchise Mode this year is in the scouting process. They are really trying their best to make you focus on the scheme of your coach and the play-style of each player on your team. While this might still be somewhat wishful thinking in terms of making the game a more ‘true to life experience’ it certainly makes it a bit more challenging and enjoyable to scout players for the upcoming draft.

The one part of scouting and the draft that seems to have been hidden away for some reason is the weekly news keeping you up to date on all the latest college prospect happenings throughout the season. They are still in the game, but they are nowhere near the main page you look at each week. You have to go all the way to the far right tab and look up the league news, etc. It is terribly clunky and I can’t believe they haven’t designed the interface to be a bit more organized. Why there isn’t a page totally dedicated to the upcoming draft with mock drafts and news on draft picks is beyond me. So, with that said – here is a quick guide for scouting.

It’s All About Scheme

If you want to draft players that will come into your team with the highest overall rating possible you need to focus on scouting and drafting according to your coaching schemes and player preferences. You can find all this information under the ‘Coach Section’ in CFM (the same area you find auto-subs, etc.). Take some time before you start your season and certainly before you start scouting (Which begins in Week 3 each regular season). If you are running a 3-4 defense chances are good that you won’t want to draft a 4-3 DE to play DE for your team at the same position (now, if you want to move him to OLB after the draft… well, we will talk about that later.

Invest Heavily in Middle and Late Rounders

Yes, your first round pick is crucial and you need to get it right. However, this is typically one player at a position you know for a fact you want to fill. In this case you know what you are looking for and shouldn’t have to spend your points on first round prospects as your options will hopefully be limited. If there isn’t a can’t-miss prospect for your team in the first round of the draft I would highly suggest shopping your pick during the draft (or even near the trade deadline if your team is looking like a playoff team (no sense in keeping a late 1st round pick when you can trade it for a future 1st and a current 2nd or 3rd Rd. pick for this coming draft.

Use your points to find players at positions you are weak in the middle rounds. There are often some high 70s and low 80s players that fall into the 4th and 5th rounds – you need to uncover their draft stock and be sure to ‘Watch’ them with the Triangle or ‘Y’ button as you scout.

Watching Players (Your Draft Board)

Sure, you still can’t put players into a draftable order for your team, but the new function of ‘Watch’ is a great way to organize the players you uncover as potential goldmines in the draft. This will also be helpful for you as you get past the 2nd Round and see who is falling or who might get snagged by the CPU. Keep in mind!!! The CPU becomes a trade nazi during the draft. You might want to move up a few picks to get a guy you have a feeling might go before you get a chance. The CPU will not take a trade that might happen in the regular season – so don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on one of those players you are watching maybe a round earlier than it suggests (if you think he merits the risk).

Check The News Wire

During the season and just after the Super Bowl it is crucial for you to see which players are featured on the news feed as they are often going to be ‘storyline’ players as well as decent picks to take when you get the chance. There are some other players that will be tremendous busts as well – don’t fall into that trap.

Keep checking back for more tips and suggestions for your Madden 16 CFM. The NoobTubeTV Sliders and Setting will also be uploaded to PS4 servers and shared here shortly!

Kept You Waiting, Huh? – Metal Gear Solid 5 (MGSV) And What Could Have Been

It has been awhile since NoobTubeTV has given the world a piece of its somewhat unique views in the gaming world. I know you have missed my sardonic presence – and I have missed your views and comments.

The newest and (final?) iteration of the Metal Gear universe has been out for nearly a month and it has proven to be everything I had hoped for from the gameplay perspective shown in the MGS5 Prequel Ground Zeroes. We will start with the positives and the gaming gods know there are tons of them. This game handles as well as any third-person title I have ever played and the presentation that comes with it somehow makes it feel like I am taking an active role in a movie throughout.

Here's to you Solid Snake. The real protagonist of Metal Gear. — Here’s to you Solid Snake. The real protagonist of Metal Gear.

There are a few instances when you might get frustrated with the handling – climbing over seemingly non-existent rocks/hills/rises around the open worlds of Afghanistan and Africa. It makes you roll your eyes when Snake/Boss/You/Whoever can’t run over and through a small area but can climb cracks in walls with the ease of Spiderman. Similarly, you might encounter a few times where aiming your weapons at a target doesn’t account for some sort of rigid tent pole or the like (again, an eye roll… nothing to break a controller over).

While playing through the first twenty missions or so I started to find myself hoping to meet all sorts of characters as the story unfolded. Some of the characters and reveals you come across are enough to make you use your inner-Keanu Reeves and say ‘Whoa’. Then you keep playing through the game and it is like you are experiencing the first part of Kojima’s master symphony. Then just as the crescendo begins to build in volume and you start marking this game down mentally as the greatest gaming story/epic of our time – it starts to fade from a master symphony and into Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up.

We have been Rick Rolled in the worst of ways by a gaming master director and his estranged publisher (Konami).

I felt like Dr. Grant and the Jurassic Park crew when they go on their sitting tour of the laboratories and they resort to breaking the bar over the seats and going to the lab anyway. I felt like that… except the bar was not going to move and Kojima and Co. were riding away in a black SUV and counting my money.

I am trying my best not to spoil anything for you if you haven’t played the game all the way through (whatever that means…).

Okay. I won’t spoil any plot points for you, but you should know that this game is built in such a way from a story perspective that you will pick and choose missions as you go through and there will be cassettes unlocked as you beat each mission, etc. These aren’t some sort of optional cassettes though. For those of you that complained about the MGS4 pointless video sequences – this is how Kojima tried to make you happy… and I hate you for it.

I put far more time into MGS5 than I probably should have over the last month or so and I must say I wish I had about half of it back. When I play a game that starts with Chapter 1 I don’t expect Chapter 2 to be the last chapter of the game. Yes, I am serious – Chapter 2… is the final chapter of this game. Even Shakespeare and basically every other play/movie has three acts. Not only does this game leave a sour taste in my mouth, it locks me in a room with a lackluster online multiplayer and no toothbrush.

The end of this game is such that you will be left disappointed and pissed off like Mass Effect 3 left many die hard fans. Unless you are a Kojima apologist (like the Mass Effect groupies) that think everything about this is perfect and is a fine way to end a great story.

The only problem with the apologist point of view is that you have effectively done nothing meaningful to the story of Metal Gear by the time you have finished the main ~~farce~~ story. I wanted this game to keep on being what it seemed like it would be as I saw a couple key characters in much younger forms. It was almost like playing through a prequel of the Harry Potter stories as Lord Voldemort and just as you are getting your army of deatheaters together and prepping to Avada Kedavra everyone – the story is scrapped and the credits run.

At least I can still finish The Witcher 3 and look forward to Fallout 4. Metal Gear Solid 5 went from being the best game ever to being maybe a Top 5 game of 2015.

If you are a die hard Metal Gear fan like my brother and I you should still buy this game and play it. Otherwise, just stick to playing MGS4 over and over again on your PS3 and enjoy what should have been the final chapter of MGS.

Kojima-san, I would have rather kept on waiting.

The Witcher 3 – Making You Wish You’d Played 1 & 2

I remember when Newegg was handing out copies of The Witcher with GPUs back in 2007-2008 as a way of trying to convince you to go through with the sale. Many gamers that tried to adopt The Witcher were often left annoyed with glitches and uneven gameplay as it seemed to be a game with potential – but only just. Others just let this game fall by the wayside because it was a PC title relegated to the loud minority of hipster PC gamers that most others try to avoid (Hey, PC gamers! Elitism doesn’t help your cause!).

When The Witcher 2 came out I took some notice as I actually had a PC that could play the title without worrying much about performance issues. Then again, they were also trying to get whoever they could to play the game before the juggernaut that was (and remains) Skyrim came out 6-months later in 2011.

Now that we are finally entering into the first real batch of next-gen titles and there is no Skyrim, Fallout or anything else to worry about – The Witcher 3 might be in a position to convert many of us to share our playtime with whichever title Bethesda releases next. Here is my initial reaction to the game after about 2 hours of gameplay on the hardest difficulty (Death March).

It is a combination of many games –

Dragon Age in terms of third person control schemes (which could use a bit of refining in certain aspects).

Skyrim/GTA5/Red Dead Redemption in terms of sheer immensity and scale. The mini-map reminds me more of a GTA feel than anything (maybe Watch Dogs). The size of the world is similar to both titles as it essentially wants to swallow your soul and make you a part of the Witcher universe. Couple that with a trusty horse named ‘Roach’ and similar controls to Red Dead and you have a fair comparison.

Bloodborne… Oh, we meet again. Well, kind of anyway. I lost my first battle against a group of ghouls over 15 times before learning the mechanics a bit more each time around. If you give yourself the proper time to actually learn the controls (which become close to intuitive – minus the ironically clunky ‘quick selection’ menu (L1 on PS4) you will find that this game is as challenging as Bloodborne, but it is quite a bit more enjoyable for those of us that actually like to feel like we are playing through a story instead of jumping into some sort of world without stories or meaning.

This game has a lot of potential from the get-go simply because there is a story to be had. There is no multiplayer functionality and that is a good thing. In my experience as a casual gamer that actually has a full time job and other priorities in life (you know, family, exercise and living in-general) this game feels like it could last for at least 90-100 hours of gameplay without me even thinking I am bored with it. There is too much to see, do and discover in this game for me to give it a true ‘here is everything review’. I can say that selling Bloodborne and playing this is a breath of fresh air that makes me want to learn the lore of The Witcher in order to follow some unknown storylines. Oh… and by the way – you don’t have to feel like you are missing out on the storyline of past games as they fill you in and even include a compendium in the initial games to bring you up to speed.

Did I forget to mention they include a full map of the world, a soundtrack and even an all-too-classy ‘Thank You’ note to we the gamers with the announcement that they will release free DLC throughout the life of the game. This doesn’t mean that larger expansions are free, but for them to acknowledge any of this is above and beyond what other companies do. So, props to CDProjektRed – good on you.

In short and to answer your questions about this game here are a few responses.

Is it buggy? – Well, yes. There are some issues with glitchy video sequencing and some clunky controls on occasion, but those are all fixable in early patches and don’t hinder the game experience.

Is The Witcher 3 hard? – Oy! Well, I would have screamed ‘yes’ during my first hour or so of getting my ass kicked by ghouls. But then something started to click and it suddenly made sense in the same way that Bloodborne and Assassin’s Creed made sense as far as dodging and countering and trying to actually be tactical in your fighting. Stay disciplined and you will love this game. Get sloppy and it will punish you.

Should I get this game? – If you are looking for an open-world title and you aren’t obsessed with GTA, Bloodborne or Dragon Age… ABSOLUTELY! This isn’t going to cure you from a Skyrim addiction so much… and that is okay! I am still playing the hell out of Skyrim and plan on it until the next Elder Scrolls game comes out. The Witcher is the first game (in my opinion) that is friendly to open world fantasy realm people on next-gen consoles. I have never felt that way about Dragon Age… it was always too waypoint oriented in my mind and if I am in an open world – I want to explore. That is The Witcher 3 and that is why you should buy this game.

Tapping Out – My Month With Bloodborne

In case you didn’t catch my recent post about the wondrous world of Yarnham and Bloodborne here it is (50 Shades of Pain).

This is Bloodborne's message to gamers like me. — This is Bloodborne’s message to gamers like me.

Now that you know that I quickly fell in love with Bloodborne and all that the wonderful world had to offer in the ways of a beautiful game and challenging experience. And now, about a month after falling for it – the relationship has ended like a high school romance. I’m not bitter about the game, or even the initial purchase price (as I am currently looking at getting around $35-45 for it on eBay – the auction ends tomorrow). I just realized that I couldn’t bring myself to care about the character in a story that doesn’t really exist in a game that punishes me to the point even Christian Grey is saying ‘That’s effed up.’. In the end, much like high school romances – I knew I was getting sick of this game and didn’t want to pour time into a game that wouldn’t give me as joy as I wanted out of something that I do to enjoy downtime and escape the stress of life. I am looking forward to playing some new games in the meantime and truly can’t wait until Metal Gear Solid 5 – The Phantom Pain is released in September.

I would say I am sad about the fact that I never beat the game if I didn’t know that it basically ends abruptly and throws you back into the fray in ‘New Game Plus’. Basically, you are simply being given another chance to go through the world, get brutalized again and deal with all the same anger issues this game brings – as well as the joy in defeating the tremendous bosses. That is all well and good and I commend those of you that worship this game as a demigod in the current lackluster lineup that is quality PS4 titles.

That said – knowing that the game doesn’t really feel like a rewarding experience when you finish it and you simply repeat it all over again reminds me quite a bit of Super Mario Brothers on NES. When you defeated King Koopa on world 8-4 and thought you beat the game and celebrated the victory – you then get thrown into a ‘New Game Plus’. This new game had black beetles instead of the brown mushroom guys and was more difficult in some ways. I’m sure those of you that love Bloodborne probably played through Mario’s ‘New Game Plus’ as well.

For those of you that think I am backtracking on my love of the game or that I said it belongs in your library… I’m not. It is more about me not being ready to put myself through the ringer to deal with it right now – especially when I can get $45 for it on eBay. In the future, ask yourself a question when you sell or trade your games. Did you get your money out of them? Meaning, I payed $65 for Bloodborne and will get $45 once I sell it. Did I get my $20 of enjoyment? Did I learn a lesson from this high school romance in gaming and the strange girl that my friends were warning me about? Yes… and I have no regrets.

I will say this as a final warning and analogy about Bloodborne.

It is what I imagine it would be like to date a high maintenance model/person (yes, I think there is a difference between the two). He/She/It might be beautiful and amazing to ‘play with’. You might even get addicted to ‘playing’ with them – for awhile. Then their true nature and everything else starts to wear you down. You realize they want you to only play with them and not hang out with other friends like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Injustice, Metal Gear, etc.

Then, you finally work up the nerve to hang out with your other friends and realize that you are being mentally abused by this ‘Medusa Siren’ of gaming in an ocean full of great and fun activites with too many friends to name. Bloodborne is the brat of a super model that some gamers will put up with – I’m not and never will be that gamer.

Madden 16 – Info Release Coming In May

Starting on May 8 – it will be time for Madden news.

Some of it has already started as EA Announced the August 25th release date.

For many sports fans it is either the first month of baseball or playoff season for basketball and hockey.

For the rest of us it will always be football season. This might be why as soon as the Super Bowl is over people are already in full ‘NFL Draft Mode’. For people like myself (Browns fans) we are already prepping for the next draft before this draft is even over. It seems that Madden is following the guidelines of those kinds of teams when it comes to improving the game. Sure, they might have a decent season that surprises us (Madden 10 and Madden 25), but largely they are expected to finish with a losing record (Madden 06-09 and 11-13).

Madden seems to to take one step forward and two steps back annually. While they implemented much needed changes to Connected Franchise Mode last year, it was still sorely lacking once you got into the guts of the mode. Many of the contract negotiations were too easy and some of the retirements and signings were just flat out strange.

My biggest pet peeve as a staunch CFM player was the player progression. By the time you get to your 5th or 6th season you will have on average 4-5 players on every team rated 90+ OVR. It is frustrating for me to so easily build the Browns into a contender and 4-time Super Bowl winners by the 2019 season.

Second biggest pet peeve…? Easy – The in-game NFL Draft. It seems that every year that goes by they throw little changes into this and it is still disappointing. The presentation is lacking as Schefter seems to say the same stuff about players every 2-3 seasons. Then there are the teams that take a QB after already having two that are 80+ on the roster. The list goes on and on, but what makes it hilarious at this moment is the fact that EA released their own Mock Draft (which doesn’t even exist on any Madden game). There seemed to be logic in some of those picks – of course they took Crab Legs Winston #1 Overall. He sounds like a generated rookie from Madden after all.

Stay tuned for the Madden 16 info as it is released!

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.