The Necessity of Replacing Micro-transactions with Achievements

Remember back in the day when you would unlock new content in a video game, by only playing the game itself? I know, revolutionary concept. Well, the game developers of today have replaced this system with the "Fuck you give us money" micro transaction system. Now we have to pay money for new armor, pay money for new weapons, pay money for new maps, new content, everything we once only paid a $50 or $60 fee to unlock simply through skill, dedication, and perseverance, gone in an instant.

The hardcore gamer is getting ignored in favor of casuals, and the middle of working class players are getting duped and conned out of hard earned money. Not every player can afford season passes Microsoft and Activision! Then there is the pay to win scenarios, in which only by paying an individual fee can you get the necessary weapons to win, a la Call of Duty. Then in the case of the Battlefield series, you're paying out of pocket for post release patches to fix a broken game at launch. Does that seem right to you? Hell no it doesn't!!! But as long as these gaming studios pocket their precious money, they will not change a formula that works. We must all vote with our wallets, and stop supporting greedy corporate practices that charge the video game player at every opportunity and diminish content further and further through each release!

Gamers want to unlock content through playing the actual video game. The occasional DLC package is fine, as long as the content is meaningful to the player game devs! We want to explore new maps and unlock new content, but we remain sick and tired of shelling out fees for cosmetic upgrades, and waiting for post patches to fix broken video games at release! We want to unlock new characters and modes, but not through micro transactions which unfairly penalize working-class people over wealthier players. The entire micro transaction system has been a disastrous event for hardcore gamers while netting a big win for corporate consumerism and greed. It used to be about the gameplay and replayability, now it's about cashing in and cutting out, and it needs to change forever!

Undertale: The Upcoming Cult Gamer Classic

Despite being a 2D sprite based RPG, Undertale's excellent writing and gameplay assists in making this game the underdog surprise grand slam of the year!The adventure begins with dumb puzzles and satirical puns, but the ending is touching and moving, both in storytelling and RPG contexts.That’s kind of Undertale’s niche playing with our expectations of what an RPG should be, subverting them, and using them to drive a story unique to what games can do. It's sharp and crisp writing, integration of gameplay with storytelling, and a judicious comprehension of its core gaming audience all build to something that surprises at every turn!

This game takes cues from the Mass Effect trilogy in that actions have consequences. You obliterate a monster, even accidentally, the characters will harangue you about it in the subsequent playthrough.Undertale refuses to cut corners, and will not let the player perform actions unnoticed, everything you do matters. Undertale succeeds in this execution entirely, making Mass Effect look behind in comparison, given the garbage ending to Mass Effect 3, when we learned player choice didn't matter for jack shit, just pick the color of explosion you want to watch before buying DLC for slideshows of the ending.

What makes Undertale a masterpiece is how effective the writing and player choice ties into the gameplay. Every action has a reaction, and no stone is left unturned, crafting endless gameplay variety and challenge. This is one sleeper title that no RPG fan can afford to remotely miss. Buy Undertale now!

Story 10/10

Graphics 9/10

Gameplay 10/10

Replayability 11/10

Final Score 10/10 (Perfection!)

SONY UNVEILS NEW, CHEAPER PSVR BUNDLE WITH PLAYSTATION CAMERA

Sony is releasing a lowered price version of their Virtual Worlds technology!This bundle will successfully replace the existing $400.00 PlayStation VR package and will become available September 1st of this year. Sony has also cut the price of the PlayStation VR Worlds bundle, which offers the headset, camera, a copy of PlayStation VR Worlds, and two PlayStation Move controllers, by $50. It now costs $450 in the US and $580 in Canada. That bundle will also be available for online and retail store purchases beginning additionally on September 1.

The unit sold more than one million shelf units this June, with over 5 million PlayStation VR enabled titles selling alongside Sony's hardware. Virtual Reality has come a long way from the dark ages of Nintendo's hideous Virtual Boy. Sony and Microsoft are now in direct competition, between the Oculus Rift and Sony's VR Worlds technological package. Dedicated video gamers would remain wise to sample titles from both platforms before investing their hard earned money into a single VR platform. 

However, Microsoft has had more time to perfect its VR hardware, and now the Oculus Rift remains complimented by the Oculus Touch, giving Microsoft's platform a slight competitive advantage. Only time will tell which of these VR platforms will dominate and control the marketplace. One crucial element remains sure, Virtual Reality is here to stay, and it is no longer a throwaway accessory to the experience, but a legit gaming mainstay.

Lone Echo, An Innovative FPS Experience!

Once in a while, an FPS game is released that challenges and innovates the gaming industry, moving new gameplay concepts forward and demonstrating the infinite potential of video games to expand beyond movies in how we experience entertainment. Lone Echo is just such an experience, as one of the most innovative titles released in 2017!

Lone Echo makes full use of the Oculus Rift and the Oculus Touch, to craft the silkiest and smoothest Virtual Reality experience you will play this year! In the single-player campaign, there’s a fundamentally strong sense of companionship between your robot character, Jack, and his human partner Liv. 

The story's decent, with two or three bends that significantly change the sort of science fiction diversion I was anticipating that Lone Echo should be, however where it winds up isn't precisely as awe-inspiring as it arises to need to be. Be that as it may, it's a compelling scenery, because the way you move in zero-G utilizing your arms to push and draw yourself off of articles in the earth, with a little assistance from planes on your wrists and back, is the star of Lone Echo. The environment fully interacts with the player, and gamers can destruct, and create new tools to solve environmentally and combat puzzles at will. 

It's a shockingly smooth and natural approach to get around, and from every angle, it's shockingly simple on VR-delicate stomachs regardless of giving you the full opportunity of development.Lone Echo looks excellent, with detailed textures, animations, and effects. There are even subtle things like corrosion on Jack’s hands after exposure to radiation, which is a great touch. You will need a high-end graphics card to run this game, with at least a GTX 1080.

Echo Arena is the free multiplayer segment of Lone Echo – in that you don't have to purchase the single-player amusement to play it – and it's an incredibly physical VR wear where you truly put the zero-G mobility you've honed to great utilize. Like 3v3 b-ball, hockey, soccer, or Rocket League, the question is to move a ball (or a circle, for this situation) to the objective on the opposite side of the court. However doing it without gravity is an utterly extraordinary ordeal where you must know about adversaries coming at you from above and beneath. The truly fascinating test is that you need to figure out how to comprehend force: pursuing the circle around the court is all wrong. You need to seek where it will be, or somebody who predicts it's skipping way off of the many skimming snags better will outsmart you and fling it over the court to a partner before you can contact them and punch them in the face to incidentally incapacitate them. 

There is a considerable measure of more unpretentious traps to learn also: in particular, propelling off of another player who is as of now moving duplicates your speed, and that turns into the reason for the methodology of the start of each round as the two groups are launch into the field. You can clutch a partner who is clutching the sling and after that dispatch yourself off of him to get a lift, and another colleague can grip you and send again to get extreme speed. Nonetheless, on the off chance that you miss your rapid get and the other group gets hold of the plate, 66% of your group is on the furthest side of the court and has no expectation of getting back before the other team takes a practically free shot at your objective. 

Like any focused diversion, Echo Arena is brimming with this sort of hazardous decision, and pulling it off is an exciting showcase of aptitude. Reverberate Arena's greatest shortcoming is that there are just a single mode and just a single guide. That is much the same as certifiable games. In truth, however, administer and delineate on a primary game – even short ones like a minor departure from Horse – could do wonders for keeping things intriguing for those of us who don't have what it brings to contend with the as of now incredibly great players and groups out there. Gamers should hopefully trust it sees an online fix down the line as more post-released patches settle into Echo One post launch. Echo One needs better team balancing, in order to ensure quality multiplayer matches in which matches are balanced, therefore maximizing enjoyment for the player.

Overall, Echo One gets a 9/10 for me, its got solid ideas similar to Half Life 2, along with innovative concepts through environmental interaction. Until Half-Life 3 ever exists, this may be the best release for fans of Portal and Half-Life to experience innovation again in the FPS genre!

Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Replayability: 9/10
Overall: 9/10 (Great!)

Give Lone Echo a purchase if you own an Oculus Rift. You owe it to yourself to justify your hardware purchase!

Starcraft Returns! Remastered in 4K High Definition!!!

Fear, not Starcraft fans! Blizzard Entertainment has recreated the original Starcraft experience, now in 4K HD Resolution! This feature means the game can now run above 1080p; it looks generous, Brood War campaign missions come standard, along with dedicated server connectivity to Blizzard's gaming network, including social connectivity and post-release updates! Gamers can now use the cloud to save their campaign progress, create their custom maps reminiscent of Halo's Forge mode, along with brand new support for eight languages.

Veterans of the series will feel right at home, while new gamers will slide right into the addictive real-time strategy hallmarks that Blizzard Entertainment is known for and excels in! Zooming in - which is now a function you can execute in the game! You can count the individual spines on a hydralisk’s head with ease. Modifications to the how the terrain becomes rendered in 4K resolution breathes a depth and sense of place to old nostalgic Starcraft maps. And with Dynamic Lighting turned on, the glow effect on an archon’s attacks casts light on nearby units. Matchmaking is silky smooth, running faster and more consistently than the original Starcraft! Visible ELO numbers increase or decrease after each subsequent victory. The game still has some minor flaws, such as a tedious unit pathfinding experience, primarily utilizing large combat units. Also, you need to scroll through separate menu's to see mission objectives while playing the campaign. 

However, this does not in any way diminish the incredible remake Blizzard has created, and for fans of the original Starcraft series, this game is a mandatory purchase. Same addictive gameplay, with a 4K Resolution polish with brand new features added in-game engine make it a retro, modernized classic release! Buy now!!!

The necessity of a strong Halo 6 Campagin

Halo 5, let's face it was a mixed bag. The multiplayer was satisfying and addictive, and Halo 6 would do wisely to enhance the improved combat formula, with equal AA distribution, no load outs, strong hit scan weapons, Firefight, Warzone, and Custom Games Browsing as standard Halo 6 features both for the Xbox One X, and Windows 10 DirectX 12 series enabled gaming PC's. and solid dedicated server gameplay, both at 30 FPS and 60 FPS. However, the lack of split-screen in Halo 5, and Halo 5's atrocious campaign were a massive failure by 343i. Not to mention the annoying REQ system in Halo 5 Guardians which devolved an otherwise amazing multiplayer experience into Pay-to-Win randomized scenarios that need to become abolished in Halo 6.

The fact that Master Chief was only playable for three missions out of the entire game was doomed to failure from the start. Gamers want to play as Master Chief, not Locke the whole match, who ever thought of 343i making the focus less on Blue Team needs to get fired. Innovation is perfect for any series, but don't fix what isn't broken. Master Chief's story arc in Halo 4 with Cortana's rampancy was utterly emotionally captivating, and Chief should have been developed as a character having to adjust without Cortana. But no, instead Cortana is evil now, and the plot is fucking retarded as a result. Having Chief alone could have been an insane plot twist that made the game enjoyable, instead, it's cliche as cliche can get, the surprise twist that isn't a surprise twist at all. We want real character development in Halo 6, with Master Chief becoming a more human character, more relatable, something less mechanical. The story needs to evolve for players to increase their dwindling investment in the campaign field.

METROID: SAMUS RETURNS

The original Metroid co-creator, Yoshio Sakamoto has expressed his desire to create more 2D Metroid titles for Nintendo's consoles and handhelds. Through developing the DS title, Sakamoto has revealed that he had forgotten how satisfying a 2D title could become to create and hopes to branch out to new demographics. In Sakamoto's own verbiage: 

"Through the development of Metroid: SamusReturns," Sakamoto explains, "I was able to really grasp the possibility and fun of a 2D Metroid. Like when I finished the first game, if there is another opportunity to make another Metroid, that is something I would love to do. Of course, that really depends on how much people really want to buy a 2D Metroid". 

This is great news for fans of the classic Metroid entries by Nintendo! We just have to hope as gamers that Sakamoto doesn't forget the success of the 3D titles as well. Metroid Prime, developed by Retro Studios is one of the greatest modern FPS's ever made, with amazing graphics, a phenomenal soundtrack, lifelike enemies, and engaging, addictive game mechanics that suck the player in for hours. Its sequels, while not as revolutionary as the first Metroid Prime, were still excellent in their own right. Metroid if primed on Nintendo Switch, has the potential to compete with the Halo series directly, should Nintendo ease online restrictions and allow real 16 player or more online combatants to face off in dedicated servers!

GAMESCOM 2017: AGE OF EMPIRES IV ANNOUNCED

A brand new Age of Empires was announced at GAMESCOM 2017! Relic Entertainment is developing the title, the same studio behind the Company of Heroes Warhammer 40,000 games. This release will also include a remastering of the original Age of Empires with 4k support, gameplay upgrades and a fully modernized soundtrack, with built-in online peer to peer support!

I have been a huge fanboy of the Age of Empires series. So hearing about a remastered HD version is a definite treat, and a must pick up for any RTS enthusiast. 

Top 5 Video-Game Companies That Have Become Evil

1) Bungie/Activision: As far as I'm concerned, Bungie is now a single unified company with Activation's corporate subsidies. Because the old Bungie, the creators of the absolutely legendary Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3; would never stoop to the ugly, abhorrent levels they did for the Destiny franchise. Terrible requisition systems. Overreliance on horde modes and gratuitous fetch quests designed to infuriate the player. Cardboard cutout characters with less personality than cardboard! Destiny has it all! Destiny 2 remains unimpressive for me, it just looks like more of the same crap from the first game with a slightly shinier coat of paint. No sale. Want to bet there will be paid DLC? Microtransactions? You bet your ass. The old Bungie released DLC that was worth a shit, that you cared about shelling out hard earned money to get. The new Bungie just visualizes mountains of Activision's cash filling up their coffers with gold and a trail of broken promises.

2) Bioware/EA:

EA is not included on this list, because as far as I'm concerned EA has been pure evil right from the start, so they don't count. Instead, the dubious honor goes to Bioware. Once a legendary triple AAA studio who developed classic title after classic title, now a shell of its former self. Andromeda is a pile of dogshit, and unworthy of the Mass Effect name. The graphics are ugly, the characters bland and forgettable, the menu systems inoperable without teeth shattering frustration, glitches everywhere, and a dull plot. The writing is childish nonsense, with cringe-level 9000 dialogue strewn about like a rancid cancerous tumor. This game isn't even worth pirating, it insults the hackers legacy, that's how rotten a turd Mass Effect Andromeda truly is. If Bioware is stupid enough to make a sequel to this abomination and doesn't bring back the original Commander Shepard crew, I have no use for them, outside of another Dragon Age sequel. But since Bioware is now Electronic Arts little bitch, they would fuck that up too. Also to add icing to the shit cake, the lead developer is a hate-filled, vile, POS racist who doesn't realize hate speech against white people is just as offensive as hate speech towards black people or any other race. Racism is racism, you cannot have your cake and eat it too in this regard!

3) Konami: 

They actually fired Hideo Kojima. And the award for the most retarded move by a gaming studio goes too...Konami!

4) Rareware

Of all the studios to place on this list, putting Rareware on this list breaks my heart the most! Rare was once Nintendo's ace in the hole, revitalizing Donkey Kong, bringing about amazing games such as Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and Conker's Bad Fur Day. But when Microsoft bought out Rareware, the talented developers at Rareware jumped ship right away! No surprises. Now, all we have is a shitty Conker hologram game for the Oculus Rift, crappy sports titles, a terrible Perfect Dark sequel, a shitty Banjo Kazooie game with no platforming at all, and a black aura forever surrounding this once legendary gaming studio.

5) Microsoft

Microsoft thinks with time, we will forget the pure evil online only shenanigans that they were planning for Xbox One, no backward compatibility, and having to pay to borrow our friend's games. But no Microsoft, we as hardcore gamers will never forget your money grubbing bullshit! We will not forget how you attempted to legitimate a video game console with no focus on games until it was too late. We will not forget how you rushed Halo 5, a game with incredible potential out the door, causing 343 to make several serious blunders that ruin the otherwise best multiplayer experience in Halo seen for years. We will not forget, and if you do not change, we will not forgive! 

Assassin's Creed Origin

Assasin's Creed has been having a rough go, as well as Ubisoft. Assasin's Creed Unity was a bug-riddled disaster, with tons of annoying DLC packages, and post release patches that still didn't fix all of the bugs and glitches! For Assasin's Creed Origin, Ubisoft is going back to the drawing board to create the most open world Assasin's Creed yet! According to IGN, the quest system is no longer fixed, you do not have to get stuck in a mission you hate and become forced to complete that task, whether you like the mission or not. Instead, the missions are quest based, and these quests can get started or stopped at any time. 

So you can finish a quest in the middle, pursue a new adventure, then pick up where you left off! Ubisoft will even allow players to combine missions. For example, let's say that you’re on a quest to kill a warlord, while you’ve been given another quest to tame a crocodile and kill an enemy with it. Unleashing your pet crocodile on your target ruler actually, kills two birds with one stone! Or two quests with one very fat crocodile, in this particular case. The graphics are the best the series has ever experienced on next-generation personal computers and consoles, replicating Ancient Egypt with near photo realistic sand dunes and pyramids!

I imagine that Egypt will play a grand backdrop to the typical Prince of Persia style platforming that Assasin's Creed built its foundation upon. Here's hoping that this game gives the series the fresh reboot it deserves, without all the bugs and glitches that made Assasin's Creed Unity a disaster!

Kickstarter, Twitch & Youtube as Content Mills

The modern video game developer needs to understand the absolute value of social media platforms for multimedia, such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitch, and Kickstarter to name a few. When Triple AAA or indie developers take the time to let gamers advertise their content on Twitch or Youtube, they receive greater advertising benefits and revenue as a result.

The company Dynamic Pixels took this approach with Hello Neighbor, which had only managed to raise $13,000 of its $100,000 financial goals. So the company decided to advertise their product on Youtube and Twitch streaming, giving out a free playable demo version to several thousand content creators on Youtube and Twitch, inviting them to advertise the game for them. In only a single month, Hello Neighbor met its finanncial goals through pre-ordering and has since tripled this number!

This is a clear sign that game companies need to use social media and networking platforms to their full advantage. More people than ever, particularly millennial are using social media daily, and this platform offers game developers a unique opportunity to capitalize on a fast emerging market trend.

Sonic Mania: A Return To Form For The Blue Blur

If there is one element about the Sonic The Hedgehog series that cannot become understated or overstated for that matter, it is that Sonic The Hedgehog and 3D do not mix well, in fact, its like releasing a school of freshwater fish into the dead sea. So when SEGA announced Sonic Mania, a 2D platforming release for Sonic released on Nintendo Switch, for once I became excited. Excitement tempered with the knowledge of countless failed Sonic titles and hoping...just hoping that this release will constitute a return to form.

For once in years of truly atrocious Sonic The Hedgehog titles, there may become reason for celebration! Sonic Mania is a brand NEW 2D Sonic game, with both remastered and fresh zones reminiscent of classic Sonic titles. The music is strict 90's retro with the same sprite animations loved in the Genesis version, updated for the modern era of gaming. The platforming is in the vein of classic Genesis, with a difficulty curve suitable for all players of any age. This game is definitive proof that Sonic works his magic as a video game character better in two dimensions than in three dimensions. For classic fans of the series, this game does away with stupid subplots and boring characters, bringing back the classic Sonic gameplay that made the blue blue popular in the first place. However SEGA, it will take far more than Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces to save this battered franchise. Don't expect consumers to keep shelling out our hearts and our wallets to get trust betrayed again.

Final Score: 9/10

Give Sonic Mania a spin, this game is a fantastic return to the roots of the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise and well worth every penny of investment for die-hard Sonic fans!

GAMESCOM reveals Space Battles as included feature in Star Wars Battlefront sequel

The release of Star Wars Battlefront was met with a mixture of excitement and reticence from fans. Players enjoyed the updated combat and strong campaign, but the multiplayer was plagued by bugs, poor level design, repetitive gameplay and worst of all, constant micro transactions and DLC. Star Wars Battlefront 2 looks to rectify this situation with a greater emphasis on multiplayer, large scale combat. Gamers will become treated to new maps, new modes, and stronger combatants. 

Space Battles are another huge feature, with EA promising combined characters from Star Wars prequels and sequels to make an appearance! You saddle up with Inferno Squad, soldiers for the Imperial Empire, taking on the role of villain and fighting to save the Emperor's kingdom from certain destruction. This Star Wars game shakes up the formula, by making the Resistance the enemy, and Darth Vader your superior in command! Multiplayer will enable gamers to command 4 distinct classes, with big team battles featuring as many as 40 players at once! Darth Maul will also make a playable appearance in this title, along with all your favorite Star Wars characters. Now, all we need is a game mode that allows you to decapitate Jar Jar Banks in numerous fashions and we will have a solid title.

Capcom's Underwhelming Performance

Capcom appears to be making it a divine company mission to fuck up and underperform in every release imaginable in 2016 and 2017 even more so. Capcom was once the company that defined a generation of fighting game and platforming adventure fans with the legendary, once untouchable franchises of Megaman and Street Fighter. How far the mighty have fallen indeed! Capcom's latest Megaman release is nothing more than a lackluster re-release of Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8, Mega Man 9, and Mega Man 10. How about a new Megaman game Capcom, something fresh and innovative? Oh, my mistake. This philosophy is Capcom's marketing strategy, a company that has no problems reusing old elements until the paint begins to rot, and has no issues screwing every one of their loyal fan bases to the breaking point. They rest alongside Konami, SEGA, Rareware, and EA as examples of fallen giants of the video game industry, where profits and quantity have replaced consumer confidence and quality game releases. Nowhere is this disgraceful attitude more present than in Capcom's biggest failure in over a decade, that being Street Fighter V. Where to even begin with this awful game?    

How about this! This "game" is an atrocity to the legendary name of Street Fighter. No Arcade mode, no online working mode, only 16 playable characters and you just know, they will sell you the rest of the game through DLC parasite packs to slowly drain a fool of their money in small increments. A full middle finger to the entire fighting game community and the worst Street Fighter release imaginable. Honestly, Street Fighter IV is one of my favorite games, HOW DID CAPCOM ROYALLY SCREW UP THIS BADLY?!?!?The gameplay is still in the vein of classic Street Fighter, but Capcom's unrepentant consumer greed and shameless DLC plugging ruin any potential this game could have had. All the characters should have been unlocked from the start because the online mode is such a laggy bore fest, you won't even give a fuck about playing it. Also, arcade mode is a shameful disgrace; it's so short and pointless you will want to throw your controller against the wall within an hour. Useless cutscenes and no challenge anywhere? An idle and dysfunctional online mode? Nearly no new content, and overpriced DLC for what remains included post-release? Fuck this game!!!