Benie's Games Blog

To say I’ve been paying attention to the E3 streams, would be a lie. Still trying to avoid hype. However, Playstation wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to miss any of their announcements (by spamming my Subscriptions feed with several videos to watch). So I decided to see them, and there’s a few games coming to the PS4 possibly sometime this year, with one being a port.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus

The first game, I just watched the video of the devs explaining the game. Though I’m also quite confused… hell, I’ve been confused ever since ‘The Old Blood’ was released of where in the fuck is the timeline to this game. Turns out there was another game I’ve never even heard of, that came out before The Old Blood. Yet how does ‘The New Order’ fit into this?
It’s like the sequel of the sequel.. of the prequel. I dunno, except they claim this game is going to be a sequel of The New Order… how in the FUCK?!

Ok, I’ve finally been able to play all the way and completed that game, and the ending pretty much said “this is where the series ends” to me.. at least like this. And yet, Nazi Germany is still in control of the world. Who’s the main bad guy, if the events of The New Order’s completion are going to happen here? I guess it would be answered in due time.

Anyway, BJ’s face looks…strange in this trailer. Is he, younger? The skin just looks, off to me. Like this isn’t the same BJ Blaskowich we came to love. Mmm. Maybe it’s just me.

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Moving on, my jaw dropped of the next game (and I bet Dan is nearly pissing himself over this news).. of ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ is coming to the PS4 (as a Remastered version)! HYPE TRAIN! TOOT TOOT!!
Holy heck, would I tell them to shut up and take my money if they get this port right (a stable 60FPS with HD graphics)! Though if it wasn’t for Dan playing this game, I doubt I would know anything about it as I do now. And wow does the trailer look like it should be part of an art museum.
The colossai look good as ever, and I just can’t wait until this thing is released. I just pray the gameplay stays the same, with realistic grip mechanics and stuff.

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I also heard Horizon: New Dawn is getting a Single Player DLC sometime in 2018. Still waiting for Gamefly to send me a copy. Might have to do what I did to get a working copy of The Last Guardian, and remove all games except that to force them to send me that game.

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And so, there you go. E3 2017 is still in high swing, so who knows what else could come.

Right, so this is the part where I say I’ve beat the game and give you guys my final thoughts. Now I was going to be sarcastic and said “the game was great all around!” (and then say the truth immediately after).
Being spoiler-free as possible, the game has been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster for me. After one part of the story arc, I started to wonder if this was worth fighting for. And then I was reminded of the outposts that were set up (because of my actions in the game). And this, is why I fight. That and the team I built up who’s ready for whatever adventures that I’m ready for.
As Joker said in Mass Effect 2: “We’re your team, Commander.” And that puts a small tear to my eye everytime I hear that.

The final boss ‘fight’ was more of a test of patience. It wasn’t Ryder VS overpowered final boss, but being able to shoot while running (and hearing the boss occasionally tell me that everything I love will burn.. yadda yadda yadda). And then the credits roll once the boss dies and the hero says his ‘final’ words. I expected a cutscene of Ryder thanking his team, then they get the itch to go back on the Tempest, fly off somewhere, and then the game would tell me that I’ve unlocked some new game mode for completing fully and stuff.
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However, that wasn’t the case. There was still a bit of gameplay left (not much, but it didn’t make me feel ’empty’ as I usually do after completing a game). It rewards you, in a way, for getting 100% viability on all worlds with outposts. You just have to collect it.
Honestly, I expected Viability to be like a Daily in WoW, and not rewarded for working on the main missions and major side missions (that really aren’t bad at all. Infact, most of them were interesting). Not even the ‘Task:’ missions were required to gain 100%. Gotta love optional missions (especially ones based around collection/destroy).

So…my final thoughts before I wrap this up and send it back to Gamefly. First off, I’m glad I was able to play this and just see if all of these game-breaking bugs people have been talking about, are true (instead of taking more drastic measures to acquire it). All and all, the story was pretty good (and it meshed in with Mass Effect 3 quite well). There were a few loopholes, such as how we went for “enemy that wants to kill us for no reason” to “They’re called ‘Kett'”. There are others, but I can’t reveal them without spoilers.
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There’s also a semi-hole, of some planets on the Heleus Cluster with the descriptions claiming “Milky Way scientists saw this planet”. Did they really have a telescope big enough to look inside of the galaxy? Also, it’s to be of note how every entry states “this planet was shown as beautiful before, but now it’s not”. Yet this isn’t surprising. Infact, it’s real world science of having a telescope that can peer into a galaxy. You’re looking back in time (before the Scourge). This is why it looks nice, yet it really isn’t.
This might also be the reason why Alec thought Habitat 7 was a golden world. He claimed they used “long range scanners”. Though, just how long range are we talking? If it’s the Milky Way, then it makes sense. But if it’s the empty space between the two galaxies, he should’ve known it wasn’t a golden world (because of the toxic atmosphere). The Scourge fucked with it (as it did with most golden worlds), which made it uninhabitable.
But really, I feel this whole thing was nothing but a cliche to get the player character to be the Pathfinder (and make it look like a tragic accident). That, or bad writing on Bioware’s part. But I guess it beats the “father struck by gunfire and makes kid their successor before dying” cliche.

Now for the smaller things. The credits alone, I think this is the first time in history that you can actually pause and/or fast-forward them. Gave me a bit of a chuckle.
Also, I wonder what happened to this claim that we can use points to help build the Nexus. Perhaps this got scrapped as it was too frustrating of a task?

As for bugs (which have been what’s made this game turn into a meme), I’ve only seen a few of the ones that have been shown on a video before (going through a door during a cutscene and stuff like that). Also, since visiting Kadara, I’ve been getting these strange, brief FPS drops. Happens during cutscenes, dialog, even normal play. And this has persisted since.
At least, all of the hilarious bone breaking head movements have been fixed. Though there was this one thing that I was talking to Addison through the Tempest’s VidCom, and she was looking off to the side while talking to me.
There was also this bug where after accessing the AVP thingy and collecting stuff (and then talking to someone), it gets stuck to the screen, requiring a reload of the save to fix.

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And so…there we go. I think this has been a very, very long time since I’ve done a “X completed, thoughts” blog post without having to hide spoilers. Though I feel it’s because, nothing felt really memorial enough to talk about. There’s no need to do any theorycrafting.
I just hope Bioware has learned from the feedback they got, and will apply it in any future DLC. I’d hate for this to die off like this; not from the way they ended it (as it literally screams “we got a DLC coming”). Plus, EA published this game. I think that’s positive proof we got an upcoming DLC to look forward to.
I hope it goes over of where the Kett came from, and maybe do battle against the high-ranking ones. This to me, still has a plot hole. We still don’t know where the Kett Homeworld is (or even if they have one).

I’m nearly done with the main story arc (literally about to do the final mission), and Patch 1.08 has been released. The main addition to this short list, is the player not only has a ‘few’ more customization options, but they can re-customize their Ryder in the Tempest’s Med Bay.
However, I have to criticize here. Now this hasn’t really hit me until now, but all of this time, there’s never been any customization. This is making our Ryder look like a generic NPC. Even before this patch, this has happened.
Want proof? Look at hairstyle #21. Tell me this doesn’t look EXACTLY like Addison’s hair.
This is very upsetting. We give them a chance(well at least I did), and they still let us down. Sure some of you are blaming SJWs over this. Re-using old hairstyles =/= customization. I want to see them MAKE new hairstyles (and eye type), not recycle what they already have. This is NOT an MMO, damnit (though in irony, I can make my character look more like me in an MMO than I can in this game)!!
Hell, even some MMOs have more customization options than this game!

Alright, what’s left in this li– what the fuck. Now the male Ryder has a romance option with Jaal. Wow. Instead of doing something useful like being able to skip lengthy cutscenes, they do this. I guess it’s proven that ‘sex sells’. Taking what people liked out of the ME series and making it a main feature.

The other features are pretty small, apart from a few changes with vendors selling augments. And of course, there’s a much longer list for Multiplayer than Single Player.
I’m trying to give this game a chance, but it’s refusing to allow it. Bet the ending is going to suck, and the boss is going to be like a piece of paper falling over. Though I will admit, I’ve had a few tough battles (even on the easiest difficulty). Yet most of them aren’t even related to bosses (just enemies able to get through my shields pretty quickly).

Been getting several requests of trying to get what I’ve been thinking of this game so far, and if they should buy it. Personally, my review should be enough for the second thing (with all of those dislikes).
I will say this..it just doesn’t really have the ‘charm’ as the Mass Effect series. I miss Garrus being a badass. I miss the stalemate Vrex and Shepard conversations (including the awkward “I should go”(best way to bail out of a conversation)).
One main thing, is there feels like a severe lack in explorable planets. So far, not one is explorable outside the main storyline (though I feel the reason is the outposts).
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Speaking of the outposts..Geesus H. Christ does the game bug the fuck out of me for choosing the ‘wrong option’ on Eos, when I chose the outpost to be Military instead of Scientific. I assumed “OK, so the ‘Kett’ are a problem. I should choose a Military-style outpost to scare the Kett away and show we’re not going to be pushed around. The next one will be Scientific to balance it out.” But noooooo… the one on Eos sets the theme for all outposts..and that’s just stupid. Why can’t you have a Military outpost on one planet, and a Scientific one on the other? Even the Mass Effect series gets it right here. Plus they NEVER said this would affect all future outposts!
This is just sad. Also, I bet I’ll be attacked even if I chose the Science outpost instead, possibly something among the lines of “why didn’t you go Military? Your people won’t have protection against the Kett.” But that’s life. You can’t win them all.
Honestly, I don’t even think it matters. The missions probably change, as long with the opinions.. but not once have I really done a “raid a Kett camp mission”. Well, besides the one that was snooping over the outpost (though I wonder if I’ll get the same mission with a Scientific outpost). Only a second playthrough could answer that question.

So, the Tempest (the ship the player is given after the Epilogue). The ship looks pretty nice (inside and out), and I like how it can land on a planet (unlike the Normandy which has to stay in orbit). The inside looks smaller than the outside (especially the Bridge and Pathfinders Quarters both ending at the same length of the ship). With the length of its mid section to the front, I just don’t see how it feels so short.
There’s also the matter of two other things. First one is the Salarian pilot named Kallo, who said in the 2nd main mission “I’ll stay aboard my ship”. Now I’ve known Bioware for being a blunder in their writing department, but I’ve never seen this being said in any video. It’s obvious he meant to say “I’ll stay aboard the ship.”
Now for the second thing, and wow… why are my crew (plus pilot/navigator/engineer) the only ones on the ship? The Normandy (both old and new) felt more alive. The Nexus must be really hurting, giving me a skeleton crew.
I dunno. I just expected more people walking around. Most of the time it feels dead except for the occasional idle chats the crew do (but it only lasts for 10 seconds and then everyone shuts up for the rest of the trip).

Now we look at missions. There’s four I dislike a lot;
1. Ones that tell you to go back to a planet you’ve already been to, to turn in a quest on the planet they told you to go. This is the 29th century.. can’t I just call the quest giver via a secure channel on the Tempest to turn in the mission(and save me a trip and the unskippable cutscenes of landing and taking off)?
2. Most of the ‘Task:’ missions (collect/destroy X). This is RNG Hell, as they appear in random locations (and don’t show up on the map). Some of these missions, there’s no reliable guides on the net (the ones that do only show them for what they saw instead of a 50/50 chance of being there).
3. “I need more scans to investigate further”-SAM (aka breadcrumb missions). They really push the new scanning mechanic on the player(even though it’s the main way to gain research points on making weapons and armor).
4. Ones that go ‘ON HOLD’ until the story arc is moved forward to an unspecified point.
And…that explains it in a nutshell.

Now I wanna talk about the Nomad. First off, why is there no cutscene of it being launched out of the ship upon landing? Is the unskippable landing cutscene too much for you, Bioware?
And why can’t you use it to board the Tempest(by driving it up the ramp)?
But here’s the good things about it (despite it not being able to defend itself with any sort of weapon). You can upgrade it, and you can also have it scale nearly vertical walls with its 6W-Drive mode(which can be toggled at anytime).
It’s also pretty fast, reaching speeds of 129KM/H (when on the vanilla boost speed and flat terrain).
The addition of mining for minerals (while on the planet surface) is.. well, let’s say I wish SAM had an off button. Everytime I activate the scanner and I’m in a mineral area; “Pathfinder, this area can be mined for resources”. Totally didn’t know this of the past 500 times you told me this, SAM!! As for searching for minerals, have fun driving around trying to find when you get a spike in resources(while also avoiding obstacles in the way).

The memory trigger system, is actually quite cool. If Ryder collects enough of them, they can go back to the Nexus and Ark Hyperion, then to SAM Node to visibly watch a memory of the father’s past. One that really interested me was when he mentioned “they’re working on a new Mako that can be launched from a ship”.
These photographic memories are clearly before the events of ME1, mentioning the relay orbiting around Pluto, and the First Contact War (with Alec Ryder actually being a part of this war). The lore in this game is really amazing.
But could Alec Ryder..possibly be linked to Shepard? The reason I say this, is while I was customizing my Ryder, there was an option to choose who Shepard was. I won’t really know until maybe near the end of the game.

The actual combat, I feel I have yet to master all the various abilities and buttons (especially when I feel I’m halfway through the game). I have ‘sort of’ mastered the JumpJet (mainly using it as a Blink ability to get around faster).
Weapons and Armor, I just now started to get a feel for the Research & Development mechanic of crafting them (using research and materials I find in the world). Trying to equip a good build that suits me, has been very hard. Not only do I got to compare two weapons (or armor), but I got to make sure its bonuses are better than what I got. And not all weapons are solid upgrades. This almost feels like a Single Player MMO. Don’t really like it. A bit too much complexity for my simple mind to process.
Now I’ve been mainly focusing on Milky Way tech, but since it’s quite scarce to find research for it in Andromeda, I had to move on to Kett tech (nothing like putting a bit of irony in a firefight) as it’s more plentiful than Remanent tech.
Speaking of Remanent tech (from what I read), it seems the most interesting (yet also the most expensive) to get into (like a sniper rifle that fires a beam until it overheats). Yet it also warns these weapons are reverse-engineered, and should be considered experimental (aka, not our fault if it burns a hole through the planet).
I still haven’t seen a weapon that would be “fuck I can’t aim right on a controller”-proof. Nothing like trying to aim at an enemy that’s moving towards cover, and missing every fucking shot to the point I have to reload!

Moving on to the Profiles, I have yet to find one that suits my needs. I don’t really bother with Biotics and Tech… I just like shooting people from a distance. Started off as Soldier (which is the default profile until more are unlocked through XP), went Vanguard (as I could see enemies behind cover), then went to Explorer. Yet I still feel none of these are really what I’m aiming for.
I think I might just go back to Vanguard, but I also kind of like the Explorer’s JumpJet ability (being able to move through solid objects).

Finally I’ll cover choices and consequences. Unlike the series, knowing if you’re doing the right thing isn’t as black & white(as there’s no visible Karma system). With this, you really got to trust your gut that you’re saying the right thing. Though, there’s an ‘anti-fuck up’ approach of just loading a previous save before the encounter and trying the other option. Several times, I have to just that (though there have been a few instances where I feel the ‘bad’ response is more true to how I feel at a certain time).
This game can get pretty draining (emotion-wise).

And..that’s about all I can think of (for now). Do watch this post as I might add more.

I hear you guys, over here sending me emails of the games blog. Even with the issues I’m having with my computer, I will still be playing PS4 games (and the reviews will restart). Yesterday, I re-added all the games in my Gamefly queue (using the pics I took before I reinstalled Windows the first time).

And holy hell, guys..do I have a treat for all of you when the next game gets to me. Have fun trying to figure out said game, as I won’t be releasing the IP’s name ’till the review comes in!
Actually, I guess I’ll reveal one (pretty obvious) hint… “my face is tired”. And from what I’ve gone through this week, I really need something to laugh my head off at.

See you next week! Hopefully the Blu-Ray disc will work this time!

*sigh* So..it’s over. ….Or is it? Apparently, I got an ‘alternate ending’. Aka, I think the game broke (possibly at the best time). Instead of experiencing the true ending, no additional cutscene happened and now we’re up here with..nothing going on, just walking on this huge platform.
Can I call this a completion? In my opinion, yes!

This is truly the best way to end this game. Time to send it back to Gamefly.
Now, do I feel like it’s worth your time? Hmm. Yes, and No. The sudden FPS drops into the teens, does kill the immersion. And the story is given to you as you play the game (which some reviewers wouldn’t like, as they rather play the first 20 or so minutes to learn everything they can about a game).
But as I said, over and over, the bond between this once deadly beast and an unnamed boy, is super powerful. Trico looks extremely believable, and something you just wanna hug.
Erm..sorry. But that’s how I feel about him. The fact he howls when the boy runs away from him (and he can’t get to him), is just so..adorable. He really loves the boy, and doesn’t want to see him get hurt (like a true guardian).

Anyway, now I can go over the theories I have about the game. These are my own theories, by the way.

And that’s all I can say. It’s a good game, but it could had been optimized more. But…..mmm, I can’t help shake this feeling that I ‘fucked up’, and should had experienced the real ending. But from what I remember… it’s just too painful to do so.
I feel I should had restarted to make sure the ending happened, yet another side of me feels “it’s OK. This new “unfinished” ending is much better! Maybe this is what the devs wanted to happen!”
Wow. This game. It truly is an emotional rollercoaster, even when I put the controller down. I’m hoping that by playing another game (like playing Minecraft again) will get me over this strange feeling.

See how I have to wait ’till I can play Minecraft again without my CPU not having enough power (or whatever the F is going on with it), I decided to go back to my PS4 to play a game I haven’t touched for two weeks.
The reason being, is I accidentally spoiled myself the ending of this game, a few years ago. To not reveal potential spoilers, I will keep this a secret from you guys. But let’s say, it’s kept me from wanting to play it.
The game is already a rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes you see what would be certain death for the boy, yet somehow either Trico saves him at the last second, or he wakes up (and the same goes for Trico). The bond between the boy and the beast is, extremely powerful (and I absolutely love how the game shows it everytime there’s an action scene).
Just like having a dog or a cat show its affection for taking care of it, Trico does the same thing. And you just don’t want that bond to ever end. If I could reach through my monitor and hug that beast, I would.

Now, what I can say without revealing spoilers, is clearly there are forces at work, trying to control these beasts. They set up these strange hexagonal multicolored glass shapes (with the shape of an eye in the middle). Whenever Trico sees one, he gets scared of it. The glass eye has to be destroyed in some form for him to clear his mind and continue.
So whoever’s here, knows what these beasts are and knows how to bend their will..almost like mind control. I mean, really.. this isn’t a spoiler as it’s seen 1/4 in the game.

I’ve also seen the backstory (in the 3/4 part of the game). It explains where the boy came from(shows his village), how the boy and the beast first met, and why/how the boy has the strange markings. And, it’s nothing like I originally thought.
Lastly, I feel there’s something that wants to break the bond of the two..through any means. As to why, I still don’t know yet (but I’m starting to get some theories).
I don’t wanna say anymore as it’ll be obvious spoilers.

So, yeah. Just wanted to share my thoughts with this game(so far). Realize this is the internet, and not everyone would agree with me on this post. But I can safely say that I really do like this game (even with its sudden FPS drops during some action scenes), and somewhat frustrating controls (like completely missing something to grab onto and plummeting to my death). Oh yeah, there’s also the bad camera angles at times.