text: 2012 in gaming, has it really been good?November 30, 2012 by Janeo992012 has seen the release of some very anticipated games and some great new IPs. At the start of 2012 everyone talked about how it would be the best year for gaming ever but I wanna know what people believe now here at the end. Personally I think 2011 was far better because of the amount of amazing that came out that year, some great games have come out this year but it just doesn't feel better then last year or the years before. Some of this years most anticipated releases have disappointed me. Mass effect 3 really disappointed me, not just because of the ending but the game as a whole it just felt that it wasn't a traditional Mass Effect game. I have attempted to get into the Mass Effect series but I have never really been able to, I enjoy playing the games but I never find myself loving it specially with Mass Effect 3. Assassins Creed 3 is another game that disappointed it is just so overhyped by everyone, I'm not saying it is a bad game by any stretch but it just wasn't as good as people believed it would be, which seems to be a usual occurrence with AC games. I have heard a lot of talk about people wanting Journey to get game of the year now I enjoyed this game but I really don't think it deserves game of the year and I hope it doesn't get it. Not because it is bad because it isn't, just because it is a very small game it goes for around 4 hours. Their is nothing wrong with a game like Journey being that long but if it wins game of the year developers may start making smaller games because they will start to believe it is all about quality instead of quantity. Of course quality is very important more so than quantity but when we pay $60 for a game often more here in Australia we deserve a good number of hours out of it. I would say Halo disappointed me as well but I was never that much of a fan and I really don't think it will get game of the year anyway. My favourite games of this year may suprise many, my pick for game of the year right now would have to be Sleeping Dogs. I got this about a week ago and have enjoyed it more then any game this year. I will write a blog about this later buy I really think more people should play this game I believe it is better then GTA. I still haven't gotten the chance to play two of my most anticipated games this year though Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3 so I will keep you posted on my game of the year. I think 2013 will be amazing though look at all the great relaeses early on Metal Gear Rising, The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto 5 eventhough I think Sleeping Dogs will still be better then GTA. Not many games have been announced toward the end of the year but rumors indicate that Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes could be released around November of next year, if so it will truly be my best year for gaming, yes I am a huge Metal Gear fan. The only disappointment for me is no talk of a new Uncharted sure The Last of Us is coming and Naughty Dog are probably waiting for next generation systems to relaese Uncharted 4 but it is my second favourite franchise ever and I will be disappointed to not see it next year. We will still have Metal Gear though so that makes up for it. So they are my disappoints my enjoyments of 2012 and my hopes for 2013. What do you think of this year and do you think next year will be better for gaming? 0 Comments
  Are games getting better or worse, or are they just staying the same.November 28, 2012 by Janeo99I have heard a lot of talk about this over the past few weeks. I have seen forums about it over the Internet and even had someone say it is not like games are ever going evolve past where they are now. I believe games are always evolving and they always will be. I don't know why people think developers just like play it safe with games and go for something that is fun but not new. In many cases developers do like to play it safe and do a sequel very similar to the last game. For example Assassins Creed, AC1 came out then a few years later AC2 came but it was improved so much from the first and it was a joy to play, but after that AC Brotherhood came and was still a very fun game but just felt like a huge piece of dlc. When Revelations came around I didn't bother to buy it because from what I had seen it looked like the same game besides the ridiculous hook blade thing, I just borrowed the game from a friend and it was pretty short for an AC game to. AC 3 is the best game in the series and it was very enjoyable but I'm not sure if I will be racing to get the next installment next year. Games stay the same more then they actually devolve though, it is very difficult to devolve except in Dragon Age 2 which wasnt as good as the first. I still really enjoyed the game. If they had put more effort into it and made every environment different then the last it would have been great. I'm also not a fan of the dialogue wheel, I like it better when when you have a number of choices you pick from one I don't care if the character doesn't talk it just makes the character feel more like you. For me it just ruins the experience with the dialogue wheel, first of all there isn't much dialogue options especially in Mass Effect 3. Second of all the dialogue choices you have don't even come out the way you wanted them to. I am happy for Mass Effect to keep the text wheel I am not a huge fan of the series anyway, but I think Dragon Age should go back to traditional dialogue options while they still can. That is one of the ways that I think games have devolved but I'm sure everyone else likes the text wheel though but that is my opinion. Mostly games evolve though, for example Uncharted. Not everyone would agree but the Uncharted games get better with every installment, Drakes Fortune was an amazing game but Among Theives was just so much better. When it came to Uncharted 3 I have to admit I didn't think it could get much better then 2 but I was wrong the improved so much and that was so hard to do because Among Theives was such an amazing game. Uncharted 3 had evolved in so many ways and it was just a better game. Don't even get me started about the Metal Gear series I want to keep this under 1000 words but I will just say this look up Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes and tell me that series hasn't evolved. So sometimes games get better sometimes they stay the same and sometimes they even get worse. Games will always be evolving though sure we might have some games that refuse to try something else and just play it safe and we have other games that try to change so much they get it wrong. Games will always be getting better though even if the next consoles don't come for another 2 years. I'm happy to keep this generation for much longer if games are going to be like Ground Zeroes. 0 Comments
  Merlin Cancelled, but what will the spin off be like?November 26, 2012 by Janeo99I heard the news a few hours ago and I'm still trying to get my head around it. Merlin has been cancelled, I have loved watching Merlin for years the show never disappoints and I am really suprised and disappointed its ending. I thought it would go on up to at least a season 8, but it is not like it is being cancelled because of ratings the show is ending because it is time for it. You always think you will be ready for your favourite shows to go when the time comes but I definently wasn't ready for this it just seems to early for it to end, but I know the creators know what they are doing. Now I know that season 5 hasn't started airing in America yet so I will not give away what has been happening but I will tell you the show has definently not changed. It still has its great humour, action, great storytelling, great performances and drama. Season 5 is looking at becoming the best season yet how many shows keep getting better each season not many, so maybe ending it now is the best thing to do so that we don't get a disappointing season. At least the show will end at a time where it is still as exciting as ever. I would always welcome more Merlin but I guess they didn't want it to overstay its welcome like How I Met Your Mother has. Merlin will finish out well though so I am happy about that, I just hope they can tie up every thing in the end. I don't know I just feel like they still have so much things to do and not enough time to do it. I do trust the writers though so I really think we will not be disappointed with how it ends. Now to the spin off series. I think this could really work if they do it right. The creators of Merlin won't be involved but the show will be in the same universe and involve characters from the oringinal series. Now spin offs don't always work like Criminal Minds suspect behaviour, but their have been some very successful spin offs in the past like Xena. I don't consider to be a better show then Hercules but many do. If this Merlin spin off is going to work it needs to focus on a character that we all like. My first choice would be Gwaine, wouldn't that be entertaining Gwaine on adventures saving villages. Although I'm not sure how it would work because he is a knight of Camelot now. It will be easier to speculate over this when the series is completed but tell me what you think the spin off could be about. 0 Comments
  Shadow of the Colossus Overrated November 24, 2012 by Janeo99I know this game is loved by many and I have never witnessed anyone say anything bad about it but honestly I didn't enjoy this game. I believe it to be very overrated I mean IGN had it like second in the 100 best games list. I'm not saying its bad just that it is not even close to being as good as people make it out to be. When I heard everyone talk about how great this game was how it was art I bought it and was looking forward to playing it. I admit when I saw the first colossus I was amazed and after beating the first one I had high hopes for this game. I enjoyed it until after I beat about 5 colossus, after this I believe the game just became a little repetitive and after beating a few more I just got bored of the game. Toward the end of the game it became a chore and I was relieved when it was over. People talk about how emotional the game is but the only emotion I was feeling is anger at how boring it got toward the end. The story is suppose to be amazing but it really wasn't that interesting for me. I don't know if I was in the wrong mindset for the game or what. Another game that got a lot of praise is ICO and I don't believe that is overrated, it is a great game and I believe it is far better then It's sequel/prequal. Shadow of Colossus received way more praise then ICO and I don't see why ICO was a far more enjoyable game. I really don't know why Shadow of Colossus is considered one of the greatest games ever, I would understand if it just had a fan base but I have never heard anyone say one bad thing about this game. I can see why some would consider it art I admit I was amazed a few times throughout the game when I saw some of the colossus you had to fight, but it just got boring about a quarter of the way through the game and towards the end I really didn't want to play it anymore. When I finished I was satisfied but not in the usual way, it was because I didn't have to play this game anymore. Before I played I kept hearing of the great bond you have with your horse I didn't feel that bond. Although I was kind of upset when the horse died but only because I love animals. Then it turned out the horse didn't die I don't know how it could survive a fall like that with only a sprained ankle. I bet a lot of you are thinking I'm just not into these kind of games that are considered art but I can really get into games like that. I really enjoyed ICO and even more I enjoyed Journey. Shadow of Colossus was a really boring journey for me in the end I was glad when it was finally over. Does anyone actually agree with me about this or do you think I was just in the wrong mindset when I was playing this game. I really tried to enjoy this game but I just couldn't in the end it felt like had just finished some really boring homework. Please tell me what you thought of this game. 0 Comments
  Halo OverratedNovember 22, 2012 by Janeo99I just know I am going to get a lot of hate for this but I just have to speak my mind. First of all I am a fan of the Halo series and I really have nothing against it but I just feel it is looked at like it is one of the best game franchises ever and I just don't agree with that. Halo 4 has just come out and it has gotten amazing reviews, it is a great game but I really don't think it deserves anything over an 8. It is a fun game but when it comes down to it, it is a first person shooter and something we have experienced many times before. The story of the Halo series has never really been strong and when ever I play Halo the story takes a back seat and I find myself not caring about it. Halo 4s story is a little more interesting and we get to understand the relationship between characters a little more but I really didn't find myself getting excited over what was going to happen. Throughout Halo 4 I had fun all of the time but I never got the feeling that I was really enjoying like I would MGS or Uncharted. The reason I feel Halo is really overrated is because the way people talk about Master Chief. For some reason people seem to love this character I don't see how. In my opinion he is a boring character, yes he is a badass but where is his personality. Yes Halo 4 let's us get to know him a little more but doesn't do anything to make him amazing. When I think of video game characters I think of my favourite of all time Solid Snake. I have actually had people tell me to my face that Master Chief is a better and more thought out character then Snake. That is what really made me think about this and I realized Master Chief is boring when it comes down to it. Ok this next thing I'm going to say is going to anger Halo fans even further but I enjoyed Black Ops 2 more then Halo 4. I'm talking campaign here Black Ops 2 changes things up quite a bit from the last COS game and Halo 4 I really felt like I was playing Reach sometimes. Honestly I never thought a COD game would be more enjoyable then Halo. Say what you want about COD but it has proved it has more to offer then just shooting up everything you see. I am not saying the Halo series is bad just that it could be a lot better. Please tell me what you think of the series in the comments and remember this is my opinion so please don't hate me completely. 0 Comments