DisHonored; Post-op

I went ahead and started up Dishonored. Let me preface this post with an explanation. I do not enjoy stealth games. I do not enjoy stealth mechanics. I do not like waiting for guards to look the other way, and I don't like camera issues in these games most of all. That being said, I really enjoyed this title. Dishonored is not a stealth game. I said it. And I will stick to it. However, people who enjoy stealth games will like this game regardless. This game is an action adventure game. Stealth is an option for you to progress the story, but there are as many ways to play as there are ideas that you have about how to play. The abilities you receive and the weapons you get make this game so versatile in play-style that I can honestly recommend this game to anyone willing to try it. Granted, the story is a little off-kilter [Whales get a lot of focus] but most of your actions have a satisfying consequence. You really do have two different skill trees though. There are the abilities that benefit wanton killing and violent justice, and the abilities that do not directly benefit you because you are ending lives. They are all balanced fairly well [considering the time investment needed to get these abilities to high levels] for the level designs, and the game itself rewards improvised thinking and creative play. Without spoiling too much, this game is a Steam-Punk-Whaling-Skyrim with subplots about loss and redemption that only fuel the off-kilter plot and interesting gameplay. It was a fun ride, and I recommend it. P.S. Don't play your first walk through with a guide. Just play the game naturally the first time, and try out anything you want to. This is the game Skyrim wanted to be, folks.

Minecraft as a social program

Minecraft causes the same stratification that society does. on any given server, at any time, players will have roles which they excel at. Whether it is fighting enemies, mining, building, or farming, all players have some measure or degree of specialization. This is only relevant because you will have players who are more or less influential because of it.
and we still have idiots. people who break everything and then break it worse. neighbors who leave all your doors open. vandals whom lure creepers into sensitive areas. add in the all-around jerks, and you have yourself a menagerie of reasons never to play the game online. However, one of the nice things about playing online is that you can usually have fun by playing in the first place. The idiocy of your neighbors is offset by the fun you can have building with someone else. It's quite fun going creeper hunting with many friends and loads of arrows.
also, this. This is the sort of thing you can build with help. So, don't give up! Just because the game is too reminiscent of real life.

more Minecraft

More Minecraft! With my Ps3 down for the count, in steps a fun and accessible PC game. I found an online server to play on, and I'm having a great time. My efforts in the game have consisted of making a "skybridge" a railroad in the clouds. The initial line I built stretches from the spawn point to the forest I call home. We've since expanded the line and it now reaches 80% of the resident's homes. Each tower that gains access as it's own personality as well. From my 1900's inspired train station to the Stone and mortar tower in Jotenheim (our little snow area), the Skybridge is shaping up nicely. I've built a terraced farm, with abundant sugar cane and wheat growing right on the cliff by my house.
The real winner today is cactus. A plant that causes damage to the enemies that spawn every night. I built myself a cactus fence to keep enemies out, and also kill them for the rare drops. My complex is now self-sufficient; All I really lack are farm animals, so I still have to roam the wilds to find my sheep, cows, and chickens. It feels good, though, to come home to some delicious cake.
Minecraft is a game that will teach you to be grateful for your own work; it is difficult to keep it together when every night...could be your last

Minecraft

As a result of Minecraft being more entertaining than it should be, I think I'll write about it a bit.
Minecraft is a survival Horror game. Don't let anyone fool you. Here's the premise as I understand it. You wake up in the middle of nowhere with no memory of who you are or explanation for why you're here. Night's coming, and monsters will spawn and murder you if you can't find shelter. oh, did we mention that you only have 5-10 minutes to find shelter before the mob comes to kill you?
And yet this is incredibly fun. just...Surviving.. it's fun. despite the fact that you're desperately fighting for it. The innocent pig's that you'll kill to eat. (feel guilty? They don't even run away!)The forest's you'll need to cut down. play the game for a while and look over your land. You'll see the natural beauty of the land destroyed by your attempts to terraform it into something that helps you more. It makes you think about some of our global issues without you noticing it. I spent two days redirecting water so that it was out of my way, and made a natural cavern look like...a factory.
That being said, the creation in this game is worth all the above. You are given two things when you begin the game. Your fists, and your imagination. when you literally pull the ore from the earth to build your gold tower, you'll feel like you've really earned it. When you see somebodies epic rail system, you'll understand the blood, sweat, and tears that went into it. Minecraft isn't really a box of Legos. It's...more like a simulation. a simulation of settling land. If you ever wondered what it was like to settle wilderness, you may learn more than you're ready for by playing minecraft. Just don't play it at night. with the lights off, and the sound high. because you'll jump when you hear that creeper comin to blow you up.(And you'll be waiting to hear it again. and when you least expect it, HISSS!!! BOOM!

Summer Summer Summer

What should I play this summer? I have Uncharted 2, Pokemon Black, LittleBigPlanet 2, and many other games I could be playing. Here's the rub though: I will be playing Rock Band 3. This game has still managed to keep my interest through years of play and I will not quit now.
Thousands of songs are available for Rock Band. I have just a scant eight hundred. Harmonix is a company that has successfully delivered to me exactly what I wanted of them post-release, and I will not take that for granted. They've given me Holy Wars..., they've given me Holy Diver. The best part is, they continue to give me this stream of content I am willing to fork over cash for. With more content and playmodes rolling out over time, my summer will be one filled with this game above all; To be quite honest, I'm not gonna regret it!

Black Ops.

Let me tell you something about Call of Duty: Black Ops.
you need to evaluate something before you approach this game. Here is a list of questions you might find yourself asking while playing, and if you don't like the sound of them, you need to give up on this game now.
#1 Did I just die for no reason whatsoever?
#2 Did he just kill me 3 seconds before I saw him on my screen when I started shooting him?
#3 did my sniper rifle miss that chest shot when I actually pointed right at it?
#4 I just got knifed by someone I knifed in the back, didn't I?
#5.....This gun has recoil. It didn't when he used it to kill me though. What the hell?
#6 did he really just...teleport? oh, he knifed me in the face, past this iron wall I was behind. I see now.
#7 Am I just 4 seconds behind everyone?
#8 Am I bad at this game?
#9 Is this game arbitrarily deciding who lives and dies?
#10 Why does everyone use the same 5 guns?

The answer is that you should approach this game with caution. I can't recommend it to you. but! it does have a state of the art online multiplayer facade. I haven't played a game with a more robust lobby and party system. I just wanted to warn you that this game will be frustrating if you're not ready for it's flaws. So, go ahead, and play Black Ops. but don't say that nobody tried to warn you.

Resistance 3

Resistance 1 and 2 were vastly different games from each other. In fact almost every aspect of game-play was very different. I've seen some previews of Resistance 3, and I'm happy to report that most of what I personally liked about the first game returns. Specifically the weapon wheel has returned and I believe they ditched the faux Call of Duty controls and style from the second game. If they have indeed managed to balance the good aspects of both games we may have a truly AAA title coming out next fall. This is just me chiming in that I will keep investigating the value of this title.