The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

Journey back to the land of Skyrim

About 2 months ago I published a piece about my 7 favorite games, and Skyrim holds a high position on that list. So now Bethesda has given me Skyrim on my PlayStation 4 with upgraded visuals, textures, volumetric lighting, and the exact same trophy list? It's like a portal has been opened and I've been sent back to November 11th, 2011 and I am having an absolute blast with it. Not to mention that mods are now available on consoles! The character models are still unattractive and quite muddy, but the wide open environments that breathe life into Skyrim combined with the new lighting make for a nostalgic experience even if there is no "new" content other than the original DLC packs.

I never wrote a review on Skyrim when it came out in 2011, because CDRGames didn't start until spring of 2013. Because Skyrim has been out for five years, this review is going to be more of a short retrospective love letter and critique with my commentary on how the Special Edition enhances the original. I am also not going to assign this a score out of ten like I would do for a normal review. If you want to know my opinion, I encourage you to read what I have written here.

When Skyrim: Special Edition first booted up, what struck me the most were the outdoor environments. Thanks to the new lightning, textures, and God Rays(no idea why they are called that) the plains, mountains, and forests of Skyrim look fantastic. And let's face it, Skyrim was never a crowning technical achievement. Bethesda Game Studios have struggled the past few years when it comes to cutting edge technology. Everything they release is outdated graphically within a year. And honestly, a facelift is exactly what Skyrim needed to draw me back in. I love this game and it has a place on my fav 7 Favorite Games list that I wrote about last time, but this summer when I popped Skyrim into my PS3(which still has major performance issues that were never fixed, I played it on Xbox originally) it looked terrible. The game just hasn't aged well. All this to say, thank you Bethesda for making this game looks ten times better than it did originally.

Riften as the sun is setting

 While outdoor environments and lighting certainly look better, unfortunately character models did not seem to get the same treatment. Many of the faces you meet in Skyrim are still quite muddy looking and really lacking that attention to detail that I found nice in Fallout 4.

Skyrim is all about open world exploration and questing, and while I still think many of Skyrim's big quests pale in comparison to Oblivion's, the open world has always been my favorite part. There is a lot of diversity in Skyrim's environments even though it is a harsh northern country in Tamriel. Skyrim offers massive mountains to climb, low plains and valleys to run across, wooded forests to scour, and deep dark dungeons to delve. I love wandering through the northern areas of Skyrim's map where the snow is falling heavily and the aurora shines across the night sky with the moon beaming down on my character. This is something that Skyrim excels at, immersion. With a phenomenal soundtrack scored by Jeremy Soule the world draws you in and demands to be explored. It wants you to uncover its secrets. The main questline is not very interesting to me, but I always complete it, its the faction quests that get to have all the fun. Will you join the Thieves Guild? Hone your skills as a mage at the College of Winterhold? Or take a trip down the path of shadow and become an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood? Do it all! There are no limitations here. The Dark Brotherhood questline is great and full of twists and turns, but the Thieves Guild is by far my favorite faction questline in Skyrim. The writers did a really awesome job of working in the Daedric lore of Tamriel into the Thieves Guild quests which made them extremely fun and engaging by the end.

At the time of writing this, I have 39 hours on my play clock. There are many more quests to complete and I haven't even finished the main story yet. Skyrim is one of those games where you sit down to play at noon, and then you look up and realize its 7pm and time has just slipped by. To me, it is an incredible feeling when a game can achieve that power. That means it is doing something right. And Skyrim: Special Edition has met my expectations of what I wanted out of this remaster. If you have never played it before then please go pick it up and start playing, you really owe it to yourself to experience one of the best Western RPGs to date. If you have journeyed through Skyrim before, I encourage you to pick it up again and remember how beautiful it is. This is a wonderful game, and that is simply my opinion, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.

My poor attempt to recreate Geralt of Rivia

Dragonslaying! Typical Monday

Ignore the trophy pop. Look at my Glass Swords!

#7FavGames

A few weeks ago there was a trending hashtag on twitter that had people tweeting #7FavGames and then(obviously) a list of their 7 favorite games. As a lover of video games and the industry I found it incredibly fun to read what other people were putting on their list. So I decided to write up my own right here on CDRGames. Disclaimer: These are in no particular order. These are not what I deem to be the 7 "best" games, rather just my favorites!

Dark Souls

I would be a fool if I didn't put Dark Souls on this list, so why not start with what is arguably the most difficult and punishing video game experience I've ever had. I first picked it up back in the fall of 2012 after hearing about how brutal it was. From the tutorial level I immediately realized that maybe I was in over my head. After dying multiple times to the first boss I finally made it to Firelink Shrine, and from there I was completely and utterly lost. I stopped playing, and it wasn't until a year and a half later that I picked it up again and gave it another shot. And that was one of the best decisions I've made when it comes to games. The world of Lordran fascinated me. The enemies, NPCs, and bosses blew me away. And I died, a lot. And it was worth it every time. Dark Souls is hard, there's no doubt about that, but it is fair in how it beats you. Almost every death is your own fault. And through that Dark Souls actually taught me a valuable life lesson: No matter how many times you fall(or in this case get knocked off a ledge by an arrow from a Silver Knight) you just have to get back up, learn from the mistakes you've made, and kick whatever it is that's stopping you in the teeth. My favorite memory from Dark Souls was spring break junior year of high school when my best friend Cole and I stayed up till 6:30am fighting our way through Anor Londo and the Depths. Crushing Ornstein and Smough is something I'll never forget.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 

The Witcher 3 was easily one of my most anticipated games of 2015. The things CDProjektRed were promising about this expansive open world didn't really seem to be realistic at the time. But the Polish studio knocked it out of the park on this one. Although I didn't write a review for Witcher 3 I would give it a 10/10. In fact it is hard to put into words just how much I love this game. The world is real and immersive, the characters are fleshed out, side quests have emotional impact, and the main narrative throughout the game kept me on the hook for all 120 hours of my first play through. I love Geralt, and his quest to find Ciri brought me so many emotional highs and lows. The first Act can be a bit slow, but once you finish Act 2 the story doesn't pull any punches and it is a fantastic ride. The gameplay loop of finding new gear and upgrading Geralt is simple and fun. The gameplay is surprisingly deep if you choose to play it that way or it can be a simple hack-n-slash when it comes to combat. The two expansion pack DLCs, Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine are phenomenal in their own right. I love this game. I love everything from the story, gameplay, characters, quests, right down to the incredible soundtrack. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the new standard when it comes to Western RPGs. 

Halo 2

Many of the games on this list are on here because of pure sentimental value, that is why I consider them my favorites. Halo 2 is no exception to that. I spent countless hours playing the campaign over and over again on co-op with my friend Reese. Those are memories that I am going to cherish forever. Halo 2 is held in high regard by the industry for the advancements it made in online multiplayer. Yet I never played Halo 2 online. I played the campaign and I played local multiplayer. And it is still in my top favorites. The story was epic and even though many say it has a bad ending because of a cliffhanger, I found that moment extremely epic in my 9 year old mind. When Chief says, "Sir, finishing this fight" and the game ends I can still picture myself in awe. For me, Halo 2 was the ultimate couch co-op experience, something that the industry seems to be shying away from these days. Halo 3 might be a better game with a more cohesive story and epic conclusion, but Halo 2 reigns King to me. 

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is the best of the trilogy. Third-person action-adventure SPACE OPERA. Shepard is brought back to life by a pro-human organization, and must build a team to go on a suicide mission. That suicide mission is the looming threat of the whole game. Odds are your team won't survive. Lucky for me, every team member made it out alive on my play through. I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. I played through them summer going into my junior year and spent about 30 hours on each game. That 90 hour experience is easily one of my favorite gaming experiences ever and with Mass Effect 2 being the best one it obviously deserves a place on this list. The characters Shepard brings together each have their own fleshed out stories and backgrounds, the music is epic and reminiscent of the 80s, and the third-person shooting and combat is fine in its own right. I freaking love this game. The scale of the story and being able to import each game into the next one is awesome so that this is YOUR unique story with Commander Shepard. The Reapers are coming, and it is up to Shepard and your team to stop them. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

November 11th, 2011. 11/11/11. That date is forever burned in my memory as the day Skyrim was going to be released. Bethesda never let you forget it either. Skyrim was the next follow up in the Elder Scrolls series following TES IV: Oblivion, my favorite game of all time. Needless to say I couldn't wait to play Skyrim. I poured over every screenshot, every trailer, and every word of the long preview GameInformer wrote in the weeks leading up to Skyrim's release. I have never in my life been more hyped for a game. And Skyrim did not disappoint me. I will never forget that day. My mom picked me up from school early with the game sitting in the front seat of the car and I was so happy and it was so cool of her to do that for me. We went straight home and I popped that bad boy into my Xbox 360 and time just melted away. I played it for 12 hours straight. In total I've put over 400 hours into Skyrim. I loved every second of it. The main story and side quests might not have been as great as its predecessor but it was still amazing. With two great DLC expansions the good times just kept on coming. One of my favorite moments in gaming is in the Dawnguard DLC when you reach the Forgotten Vale. Don't want to spoil anything so I'll just leave at that. If you haven't played Skyrim, reevaluate your life. 

The Last of Us

Honestly I don't even really know what I can say about The Last of Us. It's the best game of the PS3/360 generation? Obviously. This game is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Joel and Ellie's story of journeying across a wrecked post-apocalyptic United States is heart wrenching and harrowing, terrifying and beautiful at the same time. I honestly can't even put into words how amazing this game is. Just play it and experience it for yourself if you haven't. 

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Talk about a game that has sentimental value written all over it. Oblivion is my favorite game of all time. It was my first real Western Role-Playing Game. In the summer of 2008 I borrowed it from my next door neighbor Tyler, and quite honestly it changed my life. I believe this is when I realized how much I love video games. Oblivion captivated me. There was a giant open world where I could do anything and be anyone. After the tutorial section I went to the Imperial City and got started in the Arena. It was a quick way to earn gold, until I realized I could just break into stores and homes and rob people blind and sell my stolen items to a fence from the Thieves Guild. The game obviously has it's graphical limitations. And by today's standards it may not look great, but I will always cherish and love this game. My favorite gaming memory is when my brother and I started playing Oblivion at 3:00 in the afternoon, and we played straight till 6:00 in the morning. It was so fun. And that was a special moment for me because it was me doing something I love with someone I love. I told that story at my brother's wedding. Keller knows how much that meant to me. He and I haven't had a moment playing a game like that since. Oblivion earns its place on this list for bringing me some of the best memories I have. 

Batman: The Telltale Series Episode 1 Review

Realm of Shadows

Telltale is known for bringing beloved franchises to life through deep story and point and click adventure style gameplay. So when they debuted a teaser trailer for their new Batman series at the Video Game Awards last November I was all in. Look, if you know anything about me then you will know that Batman is my favorite fictional character in the entire world. So take this review with a grain of salt if you need to. The "too long, didn't read" version of this review: the first episode is awesome and sets up a wonderful story full of politics, corruption, and the dynamic between both Batman, Bruce Wayne, his allies, and his enemies. I'll try to stay away from spoilers!

Telltale's games are all about the choices you make and how those choices will impact the overall direction of the story. The most interesting aspect to Telltale's Batman is that you spend as much time in the Batsuit at night as you do playing Bruce Wayne during the day. And the consequences of your actions as Batman have an affect on how the city views you and how Bruce must deal with the fallout. Brutally interrogate a mercenary by breaking his arm? Lt. Jim Gordon will not appreciate that and will choose to look poorly on Batman's actions. This game truly feels like role-playing as Batman. Will you be the Caped Crusader who inspires hope in the people of Gotham? Or will you play as The Dark Knight who instills fear in Gotham's underworld criminals? The dialogue options you choose, and the actions you take will reflect how everyone else views Batman/Bruce Wayne. Overall it is an extremely neat approach to playing a complex and layered character such as Batman. 

Telltale's combat mechanics have never been something to praise; however, the opening combat scene felt much tighter and more fluid than the ones they had in their Game of Thrones series. The comic book style cinematic art presented throughout the whole game actually lends itself really well to these moments. I can almost picture them lifting these scenes straight off the pages of a Batman comic. They are full of your typical Telltale quick time events, and you better be fast on the buttons because I noticed there wasn't much room for making mistakes here. There are a couple of other action scenes throughout the rest of the two hour episode and the final one had me planning Batman's tactics for each thug he was about to take out, and then playing through the combat with the choices I made for taking them down. This was the most true to form Batman moment for me in the entire episode. Systematically bringing down each mobster one by one was a thrill that culminated with a final fight between Batman and the big bad guy at the end of the scene. All in all, I think Telltale has made strong improvements to the way they approach combat in these games. The only downside was I could still feel the occasional frame rate drop during these high intensity moments and that can be the difference between dodging a punch and landing one of your own. 

The voice acting cast for Batman: The Telltale series is phenomenal. Troy Baker takes the cowl as Batman and Bruce, Travis Willingham plays Harvey Dent, Laura Bailey picks up the role of Catwoman, and "El Goddamn Dorado" himself Richard McGonagle is mobster Carmine Falcone. Each actor brings something different to the table and makes the role their own. Baker does a wonderful job transitioning between aloof playboy Bruce Wayne, and the tortured Batman we all love. 

My take:

I really do not want to say much more about this first episode. I encourage you to pick it up and play it for yourself. I really loved it. It's a new and different way to play a Batman game, and Telltale traditionally has wonderful stories and I can tell this is no exception to that. Be the Batman that you want to be. The game is out today, August 2nd, so go buy it and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Batman: The Telltale Series Episode 1 "Realm of Shadows"
8.0

+Role-playing Batman

+Stellar voice cast

+Comic book style art

-Frame rate dips can be jarring

Halo 5: Guardians Review

Halo 5: Guardians, the second main title in the Halo saga by 343 Industries, brings with it fresh gameplay mechanics, a new 15 mission campaign, and the biggest multiplayer since Halo 2. As a long time Halo fanboy, I couldn't wait for Halo 5. For the first time in a Halo game I truly felt like an augmented super soldier. The new gameplay mechanics like the Smart Link, thrusters, new and varied weapons and revamped classics are all welcome additions to the Halo formula. And while the multiplayer is absolutely rewarding, the campaign suffers from a lack of character development, an undeniable reliance on Halo's Expanded Universe, and the most uninspired story in the Halo saga to date.

All of the ad campaigns for Halo 5 were extremely intriguing and I wanted to know exactly what happened to the Master Chief and why he's gone rogue. Unfortunately those ads felt very misleading after I finished the story. Without any spoilers, the storyline of Halo 5 was simply not what I expected and felt very underdeveloped. With two teams of Spartans to control over the 15 mission campaign, Locke's Fireteam Osiris and Chief's Blue Team, 2/3 of those missions are from the perspective of Spartan Jameson Locke. Locke suffers from a lack of motivation outside of a "complete the mission" mentality. Halo 5 needed to be a Master Chief story and it simply wasn't. Perhaps I'm simply nostalgic for Halo 1-3. Halo 5's story has a very hard time standing on its own outside of Halo's Expanded Universe. As someone who has never read any Halo books, I felt lost at times because I think major plot points were lost on me. When it comes to characters, Chief's Blue Team is never really developed in the game. What is his relationship to these other three Spartans? For those of you that have read Halo: Fall of Reach then you already know Blue Team and the characters, but once again, this needs to be able to stand on its own outside those books. On the other hand, Fireteam Osiris has slightly more development and it makes playing as Locke more enjoyable because of the rapport between them. Overall, I only wish Halo 5 had focused more on making this story stand on its own; however, gameplay is a different beast...

Halo 5 has the best gameplay and gun mechanics of any Halo before it, and it may be the best first person shooter on the market right now. As I said earlier, this is the first Halo game where I truly felt like a Spartan super soldier. Chief and Locke both move with a surprising new speed that still manages to maintain that classic Halo feel. New mechanics are introduced like the ground pound and dodge thrusters, as well as a clamber ability, making it easier to reach high areas. This is especially important because this is the most wide open and vertical Halo ever made. The environments are huge and the battle arenas have multiple diverging paths allowing you to flank your enemies to get that extra edge in battle. The shooting mechanics are extremely tight, fluid, and responsive, allowing you to make quick work of your enemies. New guns are introduced as well as the favorite classics like the Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, and DMR. They have all been given a facelift as well as new sound effects. My favorite has to be the BR. It has just never sounded so awesome! There are a couple new Covenant weapons and Promethean weapons that have been upgraded or given new abilities. Each time you enter a new arena there always seems to be a plethora of weapons for you to choose from. It's sad that the player is only allowed two weapons for their loadout, because there were multiple times where I really wanted to carry way more. 

Halo 5 is the first game in the saga to throw out split-screen co-op in favor of 60 frames per second and online 4-player cooperative play. While split-screen is a very significant loss, 4-player co-op is a blast. I soloed the campaign on Heroic difficulty in about 6 hours and I guarantee a team of 4 friends could finish the game on Legendary in 5 hours. 343i has added a difficulty scaling for however many players are in one campaign session so that should keep things interesting although I haven't tested it extensively for sure. While the loss of split-screen cooperative play is significant, 4-player co-op is still a good time. 

Graphically the game is absolutely gorgeous with stunning visuals and scale. The motion capture for the different faces is remarkable. Nathan Fillion's character Buck is especially recognizable. The open environments have a wonderful attention to detail and the scale of different areas and enemy types is really really cool. Remember the Scarab from Halo 2? Just wait till you see another massive weapon like that. Because of the lack of split-screen co-op, the game consistently runs at 60 frames per second, though not always at 1080p. I never noticed any terrible or glaring framerate drops but I've read reports that others have. 

And last but certainly not least let's talk about Halo 5: Guardians' amazing multiplayer. 343 Industries has brought us the best Halo multiplayer experience since Halo 2. There are two distinct sections: Arena and Warzone. Arena has all your classic modes like Slayer and the headshot-only favorite SWAT. Warzone is the new game mode, and let me say it is the best thing that ever happened to Halo's multiplayer. Warzone functions a lot like a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena(MOBA), with not only online opponents but also AI combatants that you kill to earn points, and three bases to capture and hold. The goal is whichever team of 12 gets to 1000 points first, or holds all three bases and destroys the enemy's Core. At first it can feel overwhelming but after two matches I was hooked. Each match lasts roughly 20-25 minutes and they are exhilarating. Covenant and Promethean Legendary Bosses will spawn throughout the match awarding 150 points to whoever manages to kill it, as well as smaller tier bosses awarding 50 points. The game is exciting, fun, and fast-paced. Throughout the match you will earn REQ levels allowing you to purchase different weapons, vehicles, and power ups that you've unlocked through REQ packs. REQ packs are purchased through REQ points earned throughout matches. The system works well and is somewhat addicting. There are 3 tiers: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The packs contain weapons and permanent unlocks like Armor, Stances, Assassinations, and Helmets. For more on REQ packs watch this video here. Overall, Multiplayer is extremely satisfying, more entertaining than I found the campaign to be. 

Halo 5: Guardians is a true testament to the power of the Xbox One. The first person shooter gameplay of Halo 5 is the best on the market right now and the multiplayer experience hasn't been this good since Halo 2 in 2004. The graphics and open environments are beautiful and jaw-dropping. And while the campaign is clearly just set up for Halo 6, that is no excuse for a very short campaign with no clear direction. I certainly hope that they remedy this for the next game in the Halo saga, but until then I'll just be waiting for a remaster of Halo: Reach. 

Halo 5: Guardians

8.5

+Graphics and visuals

+Arena and Warzone

+FPS Gameplay is the best in the series

-Campaign was lacking

-No character development

-No split-screen co-op

Destiny: The Taken King Review

Eyes Up, Guardians.

Destiny: The Taken King fixes almost everything that was bad about Destiny when it first released a year ago. When Destiny first hit store shelves and digital outlets around the world, I succumbed to the hype. I played hours upon hours for three weeks straight until I hit Light Level 28 and stopped because I was just plain bored with it. It was the same grind over and over. Since then, I have gone through a love/hate relationship with Bungie's galactic space adventure game. The Dark Below expansion felt half baked, and it wasn't until House of Wolves, the 2nd expansion, that I really started to come back and start grinding out more hours trying to get that 34 Light Level cap. Eventually I did and the game became super fun. Loot rewards still weren't rewarding me for the time I was putting in, some weapons were overpowered thus leaving others excluded from Raids because they didn't have those exotic weapons, etc. But The Taken King has fixed all of that and more. 

My single biggest problem with Destiny when I reviewed it last year was the fact that there was no cohesive story. There was a universe that Bungie had built, with lore tied behind Grimoire Cards obtained by playing the game, but the Destiny vanilla campaign was extremely lackluster. The Taken King(referred to as TTK from here on out), brought back gorgeous cinematic cutscenes, wonderful written dialogue, and a self-contained story with a single villain, Oryx. The story is simple, Oryx, The Taken King, wants revenge because you and your fellow Guardians killed his son, Crota, in The Dark Below. The six hour campaign was entertaining, sometimes scary, and a ton of fun. The different characters in the Tower all have new written dialogue, making them feel way more important than they were in the vanilla campaign. Cayde-6, for instance, steals the show. Nathan Fillion does a brilliant job bringing this awesome character to life. Peter Dinklage has been replaced by Nolan North as Ghost, a welcome change considering the lackluster performance by Dinklage. RIP Dinklebot. Hello Nolanbot. I think Nolan does a great job with Ghost and makes the bond between your Guardian and your Ghost feel more important. 

The leveling system has been reworked to better benefit everyone. The level cap has been raised to 40 and you get there through experience, just by playing the game. A light level still remains, and now it's calculated by the average number of attack and defense on your weapons and armor. For example, LL 240 is the minimum recommended for the Daily Heroic Story mission and LL 290 is the recommended for the new raid, King's Fall. With the new loot system rewarding better drops more frequently, the climb to 290 is relatively easy by just playing the game and doing the new strikes, missions, and things you enjoy.

Oryx, the Taken King

There are more new weapons to acquire in TTK then there were in the original release of Destiny. These new Year 2 weapons had me dropping my trusty Fatebringer to pick up a random "Uncommon" Hand Cannon that had a better attack rating. Many legendaries and exotics were left behind in Year 1 but some have transferred over to TTK and Year 2 like Red Death, Hawkmoon, Hard Light, and others. I have yet to find a new Year 2 Exotic weapon but for now I'm using the Dead Orbit legendary Scout Rifle. I love all the new weapons and armor. They have also added Artifacts which can be obtained one you reach level 40. They contribute to your Light Level and carry different perks. Bungie has added quest tracking, for a more familiar RPG style of questing, more vault and bounty space, and loads more, not to mention a sword weapon that is used as a heavy. 

Bungie has also added a new playable location, Oryx's ship the Dreadnought. It's massive caverns and halls are filled with enemies and delicious secrets and rewards. With the Dreadnought comes two new strikes, one of them having an extremely intense and nerve-racking boss fight which I won't spoil. As well as a new public event arena called, Court of Oryx. Court of Oryx uses different tiers of runes that you present to statues which then summon enemies and bosses into the arena. Tier 1 is the easiest with Tier 3 arguably needing a Fireteam of 6 people but it is tons of fun. Heroic and Nightfall strikes have now been turned into playlists, with an added streak that allows you to earn higher rewards the more strikes you play without going to orbit. The new Taken enemies will sometimes appear in classic strikes from Year 1 changing things up a bit. Speaking of the Taken, they are the new enemy that consist of every other race from Destiny with added features. Taken Fallen Captains can blind you, Taken Vex Goblins can give other enemies invincible shields, Taken Knights can spew fire, and that's just to name a few. 

There are three new Subclasses for the Titan, Warlock, and Hunter. The Hunter Nightstalker can summon a bow and arrow from the void and use it to tether enemies allowing you and your friends to do more DPS. The Titan Sunbreaker can summon a flaming hammer and throw it into groups of enemies. And the Warlock Stormcaller can fly around shooting lightning out of their fingertips like a Sith Lord from Star Wars, pretty cool and useful for crowd control. They all come with different perks just like the original subclasses, and being a Hunter I am really enjoying the Nightstalker and I can't wait to try out the Sunbreaker on my Titan character. New trophies and achievements have been added for TTK and they are tied to finishing the main story and different side quests that open up after the initial campaign has concluded. The new Raid, King's Fall, has received massive amounts of praise for it's puzzles, intense and mechanical boss fights, and loot rewards. I myself will be trying it out later this week with my buddies and I can't wait! 

Overall, Destiny: The Taken King is a huge improvement over the Destiny that was released last year. A better loot system, new weapons, a captivating new story campaign with great voice acting and dialogue, a villain with motivation, new Strikes, new Crucible maps, more vault space, simpler bounties, more weapons and armor, and tons of other things! The Taken King has been one of my favorite releases this year and looks totally different from what Destiny used to be. If you stopped playing Destiny after awhile last year, I don't blame you, but now do yourself a favor and download The Taken King. I promise, you won't regret it. 

9.5

+New Loot system

+King's Fall raid

+Story and dialogue

+New strikes

+Leveling system

Bloodborne Review

Hunt Your Nightmares

Bloodborne is a beautiful, twisted, addicting, and surprisingly scary game. The spiritual successor to Dark Souls and Demon's Souls, Bloodborne knows what it is even though the beginning is wildly different from the endgame. This game is dark, yet full of light; horrifying, but mesmerizing; punishing, yet rewarding. I found myself falling in love with the world around me as the game changed from a Victorian horror to a cosmic nightmare.

Bloodborne wears its influences on its sleeve. Developed by From Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio, Bloodborne is a PS4 Exclusive action role-playing game with similar elements to the Souls games. It's extremely challenging and in order to be successful one must be patient and take the time to learn the game's mechanics. It teaches you to play as you learn from your mistakes.

The opening cinematic sees your character receiving a "Blood Ministration" which leads you to the in depth character customization screen. Have some fun with this part if you want, or create a realistic looking person, your choice.

My personal favorite: The Joker. Credit to u/mynameisnotspecial on Reddit.

After that, theres another quick cutscene and then you are set loose in the city of Yharnam. As usual with the Souls games, nobody tells you what to do or where to go save for a few developer notes left on the ground telling you the basic controls and "Seek the Paleblood to transcend the hunt." Thats about all you get. Right off the bat this game is challenging. After receiving your first Trick Weapon and Firearm, you can begin to hunt down the different beasts and bosses. The combat in Bloodborne is much quicker than in Dark Souls so don't expect to stand behind your shield while blocking attacks. The game forces you to keep moving, dodging, parrying, rolling, whatever it takes to keep you from staying in one spot. I personally found this form of combat to be much more satisfying than Dark Souls.

The world of Bloodborne is dark, beautiful, and full of mystery. Every time I advanced through another boss and into a new territory, I was left in wonder at how unique the different areas are. There are city-like areas, intricate castles, and dark forests. Everything is seamlessly connected so that there are no load times between world unless you fast travel or die. And you will die a lot. Like the Souls games, Bloodborne is very difficult, but not impossible. Every enemy has their weakness. In the beginning, you just need to be prepared to die a lot. Eventually you will get better with practice. The major downside to Bloodborne at launch was the load times every time you died. They were improved in a patch so it's gotten better but sometimes they are still about thirty-seconds long, and when you're dying over and over, that might as well be an eternity.

I don't want to spoil or talk about any more story elements because like the previous games, the story is about discovering and interpreting it on your own. It's incredibly interesting though. I found it to be more intriguing than Dark Souls because there is less lore, but it's left wide open for you and other players to come up with your own theories.

PVP works the same in Bloodborne as it does in Dark Souls. Instead of special stones, you have bells that you can ring to summon other players into your world for Co-Op or to invade someone's world to steal their Blood Echoes. I used Co-Op multiple times in order to take down a boss that was giving me trouble and only had a couple connection issues. I never invaded someone's world but my world was invaded at least three times. When someone invades your world and kills you, you lose all your echoes and the person that killed you gains them. It's rather frustrating when this happens so be on the lookout.

The bosses in Bloodborne have a very deformed and gothic style to them. Some of them are wildly inspired by the horror of H.P. Lovecraft which, if you're a fan of his writing, is very very cool. I'm pretty sure I died at least once in every boss fight except for one. They all present different challenges and different fighting styles, so learn to adapt to each one.

I can't state enough how intriguing this world is to me. When the credits rolled on the ending I had logged forty-eight hours in the game and I immediately started New Game Plus to experience it all over again. It's brutally difficult but that shouldn't be a reason to hold back on this incredible game. Bloodborne is a beautiful, horrifying, mesmerizing, and addicting game full of mystery just waiting to be explored.

9.5 

+Visually gorgeous

+Intricate and quick combat

+Intriguing world

+Boss battles

-Load times between deaths

The Order: 1886 Review

The Order: 1886 is a game that has had so much hype surrounding it since the trailer debut at E3 2013. The Order marks developer Ready at Dawn's first Playstation 4 exclusive game. The Order: 1886 is a good game. Visually it's one of the best looking games I have ever seen. The way that it seamlessly blends gameplay and cutscenes is awesome. And sadly, The Order's greatest strengths are also it's weaknesses.

The Order takes place from mid October to the end of December during the year, 1886. It's an alternate history that allows the gamer to experience new technologies thanks to people like Nikola Tesla, who acts as the gadget person for the Order's members. Speaking of which, the Order is the current time period's incarnation of the Knights of the Round Table, started by King Arthur. Each Knight is granted near immortality thanks to the Blackwater, an almost sinister substance that heals wounds and prolongs life. You take on the role of Sir Galahad, an honorable Knight. The Order is seeking to quell a rebellion while also fighting their ancient enemy, the Lycans. That is the basis of the story without giving too much away. The storyline kept me interested with it's various twists and turns but lost me a little bit towards the end. It's only around 7 hours long, which for this game ends up being plenty. If it had been any more I would've wanted it to end already. Everything ends with an obvious sequel set up, which makes it rather disappointing. There is one really great twist that I won't spoil for you, and it definitely held my interest, but they didn't really explore it any further and that left me disappointed as well.

The Order: 1886 is essentially a template of a third-person shooter. If you've played Gears of War, Uncharted, or any third-person cover based shooter then The Order will be very familiar to you. It's not something I necessarily have a problem with, it's just nothing new, and there is nothing that makes it stand out from its predecessors in terms of the shooting mechanics. It runs smoothly, though. Almost everything about the gameplay feels good. It's smooth, it runs nicely, and there was only one time during Chapter 3 where I encountered a pretty bad glitch that had me running through walls and through the air, I just rebooted the game and didn't have a problem after that.

Wow.

When it comes to graphics and presentation, The Order: 1886 shines. The visuals are easily the most appealing aspect of this game and truly show off the power of the PS4. Multiple times during my journey I would just stop and admire my surroundings whether I was looking at a nice vista(shown above), or just examining a room. The character models are great looking right down to the cloth physics on their clothes and the wind running through their hair. Ready at Dawn has created an awesome atmosphere with this game. It really feels like you're in this version of London and it's totally believable. The cutscenes are beautiful, but they're just too long and too frequent. The Order has awful pacing issues. At times you are just walking down a street or through a building for ten minutes or so and then all of the sudden there's a giant firefight. It just doesn't make sense most of the time. The voice acting in the game is really great and the characters become very fleshed out over the course of your journey. In the beginning I thought Galahad was quite boring but I grew to like him and almost everyone else in the game.

Do you like quick time events? Because this game is full of them. Multiple times there was a cutscene going on and apparently I was supposed to interact with it. I would've preferred it if the cutscene had just played out instead of me moving my character or pressing triangle or something. Even the big boss battles with the Lycans are just a giant quick time event fight. It's rather disappointing.

Galahad and Isi.

The Order: 1886 is a good game, don't get me wrong. It is worth playing through, once, but after you've beaten it there is no replay value unless you are going back to get trophies which are easily attainable in a single playthrough. The graphics and visuals of this game are amazing. But that just isn't enough. Gameplay is worth something in this industry and the gameplay of The Order is simply too bland for my taste. The story is good, but ends in an awkward place. All in all this game is worth playing one time. And after that, there just isn't much need to return.

Here is some gameplay from my YouTube channel you can check out:

This is the bad glitch I mentioned from Chapter 3:

7

+Visually incredible

+Storyline isn't TOO bad

+Great cutscenes...

-...but they last too long

-Pacing issues

-Too many quick time events