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 Everything they release is outdated graphically within a year.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

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition Review

What if Superman became a dictator? That is the driving idea behind Injustice: Gods Among Us. Now most people know that this game came out in 2013 and the PS4 and Xbox One editions came out later. Well I just now picked it up this past weekend for fun and started playing. In about three hours I was already 64% through the Single-Player portion and was having a blast with it. I'm not that into fighting games but if you combine Mortal Kombat style gameplay and my favorite superheroes with an actually interesting storyline then I am much more inclined to play.

The storyline is that the Joker drugged Superman and made him kill his wife Lois and their unborn child, while simultaneously setting off a nuclear bomb destroying Metropolis. Overcome with grief, Superman kills the Joker and becomes the "High Councilor" of Earth creating the new One Earth Government. Many of the DC heroes choose to join Superman's new regime, and those who go against him are killed. Batman is the one hero leading the Insurgency against Superman. It's a really cool and fairly well written story and it inspired me to read the prequel comic that came out alongside the game.

The graphics are the least standout piece of the game. The cutscenes are cool and everything but they look a little muddled and are hardly an update from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. The in-game fighting graphics actually make the game look better in my opinion. The environments are well produced and diverse enough that nothing ever really feels the same. Interactive environmental objects really spice up the gameplay and make things more interesting.

The controls are easy to use in the beginning but take a long time to master. Trying to learn every character's Special Moves can take a long time and mostly it just comes down to button-mashing. Don't get me wrong, the game is still a ton of fun. This game really is fairly self-explanatory so this doesn't need to be a long review, but the besides the Story mode there are different challenge games to play and practice arenas and online modes.

The Ultimate Edition comes with all of the DLC including new missions, character skins, and six new playable characters. Injustice is a really fun game perfect for casual gamers. The story is interesting, the gameplay is really fun, but the graphics could be better.

Be sure to check out my new YouTube channel here!

Here is some gameplay:

8.5

+Gameplay

+Story mode

-Graphics

My Most Anticipated Games of 2015

1. Batman: Arkham Knight
There are plenty of reasons for why this is my most anticipated game of 2015. Arkham Knight was supposed to come out on October 14th, 2014. Then it got pushed and was rumored to release in February 2015 alongside The Witcher 3. And after that it was confirmed for June 2nd, 2015. There is lots of anticipation building up to this release. When Arkham Asylum released back in 2009 the reviews were incredible. Someone actually made a good Batman video game! And not just good, it was amazing. Arkham City expanded on Asylum with a new story, open world locale, and more of the fantastic combat. I don't really consider Arkham Origins as part of the Arkham storyline since it wasn't developed by Rocksteady(and it wasn't that good, aside from Troy Baker's Joker.) And now we come to Arkham Knight. This is the finale of the Batman Arkham trilogy and it's more expansive than ever. The entirety of Gotham City is open to you, the rogues gallery is waging war on Batman, you get to drive and utilize the Batmobile, and then there is the mysterious Arkham Knight villain. Rocksteady is staying fairly tight-lipped concerning the story, I think all we know is the general theme of all out war against Batman. If Rocksteady only wrote a new story with the exact same combat and gameplay mechanics as Arkham City then I would be perfectly happy playing that game. With that said, I can't wait to play Arkham Knight.

2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted 4 is slated to release in 2015(most likely in the fall), but if Naughty Dog were to delay it to 2016 in order to iron out some issues I'm totally fine with that because I want this game to be as polished and clean as possible. The title itself almost implies that this is the finale for Nathan Drake. And that makes me quite sad, because Drake is one of the most interesting and fantastic protagonists in the gaming world. Naughty Dog is the greatest developer in the industry right now(argue with me on that I dare you) and Uncharted 4 has easily been one of the most anticipated games ever since Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was released. The graphics are ramped up to get the full potential out of the PS4, and Naughty Dog was being incredibly smart and sneaky by developing The Last of Us Remastered in order to learn the technology of the PS4 and figure out how to best utilize the hardware in creating Uncharted 4. I'm fully on board with Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann heading up this project. Some people were worried that after TLOU, Uncharted 4 would be extremely dark and not the light-hearted adventure we've been familiar with in the first three games. But both Straley and Druckmann have assured us that Uncharted 4 will stay true to the themes that this franchise has built and established. The environments are supposed to be more sandbox like, still linear, but with a greater sense of exploration, similar to what was in The Last of Us. The story sounds great: Drake has been happily out of the treasure hunting business for the last three years living with his wife Elena. Drake's brother shows up out of nowhere and enlists his help to find a long lost pirate treasure, and once again Nathan Drake goes once more into the fray. I'm excited because up until now we didn't know much about Drake's past, and I think this story will shed some light on our protagonist who does have a bit of a mysterious past. Mysterious only because we just don't know much about it. Needless to say, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, will no doubt be one of the best games of 2015, and maybe Game of the Year.

3. Halo 5: Guardians

For now Halo 5 doesn't have a confirmed release date but it's supposed to come out in 2015. Not much is known about the storyline for Halo 5. Halo 4 left us in a strange place. Master Chief feels alienated in the society. He lost Cortana, and now he is alone. From the brief teaser we caught at E3 2013, we saw Chief walking through a desert and then what we can assume was a giant Promethean rise up out of the sand and fly away. Exactly a year later we got another short trailer at E3 2014: The trailer showed the scene from Halo 2 when Master Chief blows up the Covenant ship in the beginning of the game by riding the bomb through space. The voice of the Arbiter was narrating the trailer. He was talking to Agent Locke who has been revealed as a Spartan hunting down Master Chief throughout Halo 5. We can assume that John-117 has probably gone rogue, but knowing Master Chief, I'm sure he has his reasons. We learned that Locke is in fact a playable character and you can learn more about him by watching the Halo: Nightfall miniseries that was packaged with the Halo: MCC and is also available on the Halo Channel on Xbox One. But rest assured, because Master Chief is definitely the main protagonist. After playing through all four Halo games back to back over the holidays after I got an Xbox One, my faith in Halo is restored, and I can't wait to see where the Chief is going next. 

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

RPGs are my favorite genre of video games. I love fantasy stories. The Witcher games are some of the most expansive RPGs ever made. The lore is rich and filled with so much amazing history and I just adore this universe. The gameplay in The Witcher 2 is beautifully executed. The story is intriguing and full of political strife. The Witcher 3 is taking all of that and expanding upon it. If you've watched any gameplay of The Witcher 3 then you know how polished the combat looks, how amazingly detailed and gorgeous the visuals are, and the massive environments that are in store for this game. I think I read somewhere that this installment is actually three times bigger than Witcher 2, which is astounding to say the least. When this game got pushed from February to May I was a little upset. But then I realized that I want CD Projekt RED to release the best possible and clean version of this game as they can. Developments like this need lots of time and care in order for them to come off as a success, and I think Witcher 3 is going to be hands down one of my favorite RPGs ever. It should come as no surprise that I've had this game pre-ordered for the last year and a half. Enough said. 

5. Bloodborne

Bloodborne looks legit. I love Dark Souls and Dark Souls II. They are easily the most challenging yet rewarding games I've ever played and many other gamers can attest to that. Bloodborne, also developed by From Software, is taking that familiar Souls gameplay and spicing it up by making it more action oriented and fast-paced. The setting instantly looks like something you could see in a Souls game. Except this is a sort of Victorian England kind of vibe. I honestly don't know much about this game in terms of story. I'm not sure if anyone does. If you've played the Souls games then you know that the storyline for those is mostly played out by discovering environments and talking to NPCs. Maybe Bloodborne will have more of that thing going on. Keep in mind this is a PS4 exclusive so if you're itching to get your hands on it, then you better have a PS4. I think this is going to be a wonderful game and I look forward to playing it on March 24th, 2015. 

Honorable Mention

Dying Light - January 27

Evolve - February 10

The Order: 1886 - February 20

Dark Souls: II Scholar of the First Sin Edition - April 7
The Division - TBA
Star Wars: Battlefront - TBA
Elder Scrolls Online (PS4, Xbox One) - TBA
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - TBA
No Man's Sky - TBA

Why We Need To Stop Pre-Ordering Games

No, GameStop, we would not like to pre-order. And here's why: until gamers stop pre-ordering, developers will continue to release unfinished games. 2014 was supposed to be a fantastic year with TONS of massive blockbuster video games. The year was going to be filled with games such as Assassin's Creed Unity, that were supposed to be amazing and new and revolutionary(see what I did there?). But instead, ACU was broken from the start. Horribly broken. Maybe you're wondering, "Hey Connor, why didn't you write a review on Unity?." Well, reader, I didn't waste my time writing a review on it because it was so glitchy, fragmented, and just plain broken that I didn't even finish it! Same thing happened with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. I didn't get Halo at launch because I didn't own an Xbox One until Christmas, but I read all about how the multiplayer didn't work for days!

Developers are now working under the assumption that because so many consumers have pre-ordered a copy of whatever game they are developing, they can release it when they want to, then upload day one patches to fix the bugs and continue to release patches until the game is rightfully "finished." There used to be a time where you would go out and buy a new game on day 1 of release, pop it in the console of your choice, and play it with minimal bugs. Retail companies like GameStop are partnering with the developers to give special "pre-order exclusives" to entice gamers to reserve a copy in advance of the release. A couple years ago, pre-ordering a game made plenty of sense because if you didn't, then there was a chance you may not get a copy on day 1. Now, distributors make sure that retail companies have plenty of copies for day 1 of release. Who cares if you get that bonus weapons pack or not by pre-ordering? Chances are the developer will release that weapons pack in DLC a few months later, or those items are already available later in the game.

Look at those next-gen graphics!

Game developers can make educated guesses on how many copies they will sell because they can tell how many people have reserved that game. And hey, I'm guilty of this too. I pre-ordered 14 games last year. And almost every single one had a day one patch because the developer didn't finish the game before releasing it to the public. We need to unite together to stop pre-ordering games and gradually, gaming companies will realize that they have to finish their games before releasing them. There were a lot of games that were supposed to come out either holiday season 2014, or early 2015, and they have been delayed. But guess what? I'd rather wait to play a game that the developer has taken their time making and perfecting then play something that comes out 6 months before it should be released. Take The Last of Us for instance: Naught Dog set a release date for it. And when it came down to crunch time they delayed it because it just wasn't where it needed to be yet. And you can ask anyone in the gaming journalism community and they will probably tell you that those last couple of months of development time meant the difference between TLOU being a great game, and a near perfect game. So please, I'm begging you, don't pre-order any games this year. Wait a day or two to see if that game is broken or not. Read the reviews, listen to the critics, then decide if that $60 is worth it. Let's reverse the tide.

Thoughts on the Xbox One

For Christmas this year I asked my parents for an Xbox One. Considering I already owned an Xbox 360, a PS3, and a PS4 I thought they wouldn't get it for me. But alas they did! I got it set up on Christmas morning and thats exactly when the problems started... Granted I know that Xbox Live and PSN were both down because of the hacks. So I couldn't set up the Xbox for awhile since it could not connect to Xbox Live. However once I did get it all set up I immediately started playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection, I'll write the review on that later, for now I just want to talk about the Xbox itself. Please note this isn't a review of the console, I just want to talk a little bit about it.

I like it. I love it. And I apologize for this in advance but it is hard for me to not continuously compare the console to my Playstation 4. The Xbox One really is great. Not being able to immediately start playing it was a major drawback for me though. The console required an update from Xbox Live right out of the box, but Live was down. Eventually it worked out and I downloaded the update and it brought me to the home screen. Personally, I'm not a fan of the Xbox's User Interface. I think it's a little confusing to navigate and it took me a few minutes just to find the Settings app. I'm getting used to it, but I've still had a few issues. The controller is awesome. It's very similar to the Xbox 360 controller, but a little bit bigger and the triggers feel better. The games I've played are Halo: MCC, Shadow of Mordor, and Forza Horizon 2. All of them have functioned well. I had played Mordor on my PS4 and I can't really tell a difference between the two consoles. I love Forza Horizon 2, I think it's a great game and I'll definitely be writing the review on that later, I just got it Saturday the 10th. But yeah overall I'm really loving the Xbox.

The main reason I wanted an Xbox One was for Halo. Halo is the definitive Xbox game, no question. Xbox One sales soared during the month of November when the Halo: MCC was released. Xbox also had to lower it's price temporarily to $349, presumably to compete with the PS4 which had been outselling the Xbox for the last year. Call me a hypocrite but yes I got one. I enjoy having both consoles and I've turned my PS4 on only twice since I got the Xbox. Now I can expand my blog reviews to include Xbox exclusive games which is really exciting for me as the writer and hopefully you as the reader.

2015 is shaping up to be a great year for gaming. There are lots of games coming out this year and I'm hoping for many more announcements to be made(Fallout 4, anyone?). I'll try to be better about writing more, but with school and theatre commitments sometimes its hard(along with all the time I spend gaming). Anyways, it's going to be a great year. Stay tuned to CDRGames!

-Connor

Dragon Age: Inquisition Review

*Reviewed for the PS4

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the most expansive RPG I've played in years and it's become my personal favorite out of the trilogy. BioWare has outdone themselves in filling Thedas with things to do. I clocked in 14 hours in the first two days that I owned the game and if it weren't for school I would've kept going. Inquisition takes things from both Origins and Dragon Age II and perfects them in terms of gameplay, graphics, storyline, quests, and expansiveness. All the Dragon Age lore is here, but the nice thing is that Inquisition does a good job of filling you in on what you missed if you didn't play the first two games or have very limited knowledge of the world. It's a fantastic RPG, so lets break it down.

The storyline is simple, kinda. There's been a Breach from the Fade in Ferelden and your character is tasked with forming the Inquisition, gaining support, and closing the Breach. In the beginning you are left with a mark on your left hand from the Breach capable of closing rifts throughout the world. The Breach is unleashing demonic forces from the Fade all over the country and the Templars blame the Mages and the Mages blame the Templars. It's weird, it sounds confusing but once you start playing it's rather simple. Dragon Age is ripe with political strife in it's stories and the choices you make/the people you support impact the outcome. As per each Dragon Age came you have to travel about the country gaining support for your team, in this case the Inquisition, and collecting followers. It's an interesting story with a scary antagonist, classic fantasy elements are in play but they all work together. It's a good story, not altogether amazing, but good. Ancient enemy intent on world domination, sound familiar?

The war table

Dragon Age's character creation is very in depth. There are four races: Human, Elf, Qunari, and Dwarf. You get to pick from three classes: Warrior, Mage and Rogue. After picking one of each, the game gives you a small background story based on your choices and then lets you start modeling your character's face and voice. Literally anything you can think of that you might want to edit or create for your character is here in the customization. It's the most in depth character creation screen I have ever encountered. Each class has four different trees to choose abilities from. I picked a Warrior on this first playthrough. The abilities allow you customize how they perform in combat like what special moves they have or if you're a mage what spells you can cast. At around level 10 in the story you get to undertake a quest to choose a specialization. Warrior's can choose from Templar, Champion, or Reaver. What class specialization you pick determines how you perform in combat. Templar boots the entire party defense/damage. Champion boosts your own defense essentially making you a full tank, and Reaver allows you to do massive amounts of damage as your health decreases. I love the customization of this game. No complaints here.

Gameplay and specifically combat is awesome. I will say that this style of RPG combat doesn't appeal to everyone. This is not a fighting game. This is not The Elder Scrolls. Dragon Age is more tactical. Dragon Age: Inquisition's combat is a mix between Origins and Dragon Age: II. It has the tactical auto-attack side of Origins mixed with the "button smashing" of Dragon Age: II. It's fast paced and fun. Using your party to combine devastating attacks between melee characters(warrior, rouge) and your mages is extremely rewarding. The game presents you with four difficulty levels at the start and playing on Normal presents a steady challenge throughout the entirety of the game. There are certain areas of the game that will be a higher level than you, requiring you to grind for a bit and then return. The difficulty can be changed at any time however. I find that the process of leveling up takes a bit longer than it should. Too much XP is required to get to the next level which frustrated me, but it makes it that much more rewarding when you do finally level up. One thing that is required for most story missions is Power. A resource you gain by completing side quests, managing the Inquisition war table, closing fade rifts, and other stuff. Certain missions require Power points of up to 20 whereas some only require 1. It's a unique system that relates everything you do back to the main questline.

I always felt like everything I did in the game held a purpose, nothing was meaningless. Even quests that seemed like a "fetch quest" or a kill order usually related to the main story somehow. The quests are rewarding and they lead you to new areas to explore like hidden ruins or temples. One of my favorite things is how Inquisition still calls back the things you did in the previous games. There are consistent references to the Hero of Ferelden and the Champion of Kirkwall. If you have an Origin account and have played the first two games you can upload that data so that the world starts out how you molded it in Dragon Age 1 and 2. A cool feature for avid players of the series, but it's not an issue if you don't have that. But I highly recommend reading up on Dragon Age lore and the events that happened in the first few games. IGN did a Dragon Age in 5 minutes video which you can see here.

The Loot system in this game works quite well along with crafting armor and weapons. To craft weapons and armor you have to find schematics throughout the world, usually found on dead enemies or loot chests. BioWare has really outdone themselves with things to do in this world they've been creating since Dragon Age Origins. I spent a good six hours exploring the first open sandbox that your character reaches. And unlike Origins or Dragon Age: II, these areas are massive. there isn't any main path you follow like in Fable or anything, it's more similar to Elder Scrolls where if you see a mountain in the distance, you can probably go climb that mountain. Animals are also running around everywhere and hunting has become an important part of the game, if you wish to modify or upgrade your weapons and armor with the leather that animal hides give you. There are so many side quests in each area that at times it can almost be overwhelming. When I started to feel that way I just abandoned all my quests and went exploring to see what I could find, usually I found more side quests. It's hard to pack in everything in one review. In the IGN review of Inquisition, author Vince Ingenito said, "Ninety hours. Thats how long it took me to roll the credits on Dragon Age: Inquisition." Ninety hours is an impressive feat. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for another RPG that I could play for that long.

This is an actual screenshot. You can go explore that...

As you can see above, Dragon Age: Inquisition is beautiful. On PS4 it runs at 1080p and 900p for Xbox One. Dragon Age is probably the prettiest on a high powered PC but I don't own one. Nevertheless, it's still gorgeous on consoles. The foliage is extremely detailed and the weather effects are incredibly realistic. My one complaint here would be the character faces during cutscenes. They are really solid but occasionally the animations just don't match up with the words coming out of their mouths. It's small but noticeable. The game has its share of bugs. Sometimes the sounds cuts out in the heat of battle and theres an occasional lag when lots of things are happening onscreen. A day one patch fixed some of this but every now and then you'll notice it. Did I mention the game has an amazing soundtrack? The music, composed by Trevor Morris, is incredible. It sets the mood and tone in every area that you're in and just works perfectly with the game. I'm listening to it right now as I'm writing this I mean it's brilliant.

All in all, Dragon Age: Inquisition is an incredible mark for fantasy RPGs. The story isn't terrible, the combat is fast and solid, the graphics and locations are sublimely beautiful, and theres an abundance of things to do in this game. Yes it has it's faults. It isn't perfect. Few games are. But I highly recommend you go pick this up for your PS4, Xbox One, or PC. You won't regret it. Just be prepared to lose the next 100 hours of your life because you will lose yourself in Dragon Age.

8.9

+Storyline is fair

+Tons of things to do

+Graphics are mind blowing

+Combat is a blast

-Occasional bugs and frame rate dips