Flashback Friday: Paying RE2PECT to the Captain

Derek Jeter played his final game in The Bronx last night as a member of the New York Yankees. The face of the franchise for the past 20 years is calling it a career and went out in the most memorable way possible, with a walk-off single to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

 To be clear, I am a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and couldn't care less about the Yankees. This isn't about the Bronx Bombers though, this is about one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and someone who we will mention when we tell our kids about how the game of baseball should be played. When I was a kid, that guy was Ryne Sandberg, for the next generation, it's Derek Jeter.

So what does Derek Jeter have to do with video games? Well, it's Flashback Friday, so let's look back to when he first joined "The Show" and first put on the Yankee pinstripes in his rookie year of 1995, and the world of video games (yes, he was actually drafted in 1992 but he first suited up in the majors in 1995, that's what I am going off of).

20 years is a long time to keep an extraordinary career going in anything, let alone the 162-games-a-year marathon that is a Major League Baseball season, it also was a long time ago in the world of video games. Think back, in 1995 I was 10 years old and still in grade school, VHS was the way you bought your movies, concepts like High Definition, 3-D, DVD, smart phones, hashtags, all were still years away (a world without "hashtags", it was a beautiful time), and the Batman movie we all were looking forward to was Batman Forever (which I still say was an OK movie, Batman & Robin however....ugh....).

So back when Jeter first took his position at shortstop inside the old Yankee Stadium, here is some of what we were treated to in the video game industry:

- Star Wars: Dark Forces (MS-DOS, remember that?)

Star Wars crossed with Doom? Yes please! One of my favorite Star Wars games and a game I have no problem going back to. The game was also released on the original Playstation in 1996. I mean, playing with lightsabers and flying a TIE Fighter blowing up ships is fun and all, but there is something very satisfying about shooting a Stormtrooper in the goddamn face.

- Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Oh Chrono Trigger, one of the best games ever made and one of the hardest games to find (at least until the DS and mobile versions came out). Some of the best music in gaming and a compelling story, coupled with a unique combat system made for an absolute masterpiece.

- Mortal Kombat 3/ Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade, remember those?)

By now I am sure you are aware of how much I love the Mortal Kombat series, and UMK3 stood as my favorite in the series (up until the most recent Mortal Kombat, and probably will be topped by Mortal Kombat X, due out next year, cause holy shit it looks amazing). Fast action, badass fatalities, new characters, it was all a bloody good time.

- EarthBound  (SNES)

Nintendo had a great year, huh? One of the most beloved games on the SNES (along with Chrono Trigger) and, again, one of the hardest to find, until the gift of Virtual Console. If you have a Wii U and haven't experienced this amazing RPG yet, DO IT!

- Comix Zone (Genesis)

A game I gravitated to due to my love of all things comic book related. It was a very stylized, simple, if a little clunky, beat-em-up that I did enjoy playing.

- Twisted Metal (Playstation)

The beginning of a new franchise for Sony and the beginning of the "Car-Combat Craze". I spent A LOT of time with the original game and hold this franchise very near and dear.

Other releases from 1995:

- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
- The original Worms (PC, Amiga, Game Boy, Playstation)
- Tekken 2 (Arcade, Playstation)....2!!! Look at how many Tekken games are out now!
- The original Command & Conquer (MS-DOS)
- Bungie put out a game in 1995, it was Marathon 2: Durandal. I wonder if it had Easter Eggs about Halo. Seems like something they would do.
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (PC, Mac). Yeah, there was Warcraft before World of Warcraft. Weird, I know.

Also in 1995:

- The original NES was discontinued. (The SNES is one of the best consoles ever, so this is fine, it's a business after all).
- Nintendo released the Virtual Boy. (Ouch).
- Sega released the Sega Saturn (Little less ouch, little more meh).
- The first E3 is held.
- Internet forum trolls rejoiced as GameFAQs was unleashed upon the world.
- Sony released the Playstation. As in the first Playstation.

Picture that last part. Derek Jeter has been playing baseball long enough to see every current Sony Playstation generation. That is incredible to me.
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The New York Yankees have had some of the best players to ever play the game wearing their uniform: DiMaggio, Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle, Jackson, Rivera, and you can add Jeter to that list. He is a surefire first ballot hall-of-fame player who took the biggest city in America and its favorite team (sorry Mets) on his back and led them to amazing things, whether it was the best of times (several World Series wins) or the worst of times (9/11).

This list is just what happened in video games in year 1 of his reign. Times have changed, people have changed, trends have changed, the game of baseball has changed. One thing stayed constant though: whenever you looked at the Yankee shortstop wearing #2 on his back, you knew he was going to give it his all for the team and the city he loved with all his heart.

Thank you, Derek Jeter, for working hard, playing hard, and inspiring so many younger ballplayers. While I may not like the Yankees, I have nothing but respect for Derek Jeter.

Some Games That SHOULD Get Redone...Part 1

With the release of the new, updated Gauntlet, and the fact that a LOT of games/movies nowadays are do-overs of old games/movies, how bout I spitball a couple of ideas for games/franchises that should get the new-age treatment and be made relevant again.

Final Fight

There is no doubt that a beat-em-up game can work nowadays. It will also help that Final Fight still carries recognition with it, thanks to Capcom including the 3 main characters (Guy, Cody, Haggar) in other games, most notably the Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom series. Some sort of HD version, or even a re-imagining, can absolutely work, as it worked for Double Dragon Neon. Plus, Capcom has to do something with Cody as a character rather than just have him rot in a jail cell, breaking out only to fight Ryu and Ken. As a side note, yes I am aware of a game called Final Fight: Streetwise which came out in 2006...I am just choosing to not talk about it because yuck!

If not Final Fight, how about...

Streets of Rage

Sure, it was part of the wave of Final Fight knockoffs, but Streets of Rage's gameplay, story, and kick ass soundtrack helped it stand out. The last game in the series was Streets of Rage 3 in 1994 for the Genesis. It is long overdue that this series see the HD light.

Road Rash

I feel like I'm preaching to the choir with this, but this needs to happen. There were 6 games in the series run, from 1991 to 1999. This was a series I always found myself looking for on my SEGA Channel. I, unfortunately, played a fair amount of Road Rash 3D on the original Playstation, which is even more reason why a new, HD version needs to happen. EA owns the rights, EA owns Criterion games (the Burnout guys and the team that made the super awesome Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and most recent Most Wanted games) and that is the team that HAS TO make this dream a reality. Gamers have been clamoring for this for years now and if Twisted Metal can get a redo, Road Rash can definitely work. The problem could be, after so long, will just ANY Road Rash game suffice or would it suffer the same fate as Duke Nukem Forever and end up where the extreme hype dashes all hopes of a good game.

Army Men

This is a weird series and maybe I'm in the minority for a new HD imagining of Army Men. This series goes all over the place, but the early RTS games and the early shooters, I found to be at least enjoyable. Games were made for this series as late as 2010 with Army Men: Mobile Ops for mobile devices, but ideally I would love to see a StarCraft level RTS style, an Advance Wars type strategy game, or a Battlefield type shooter with the Greens vs the Tans. I think this concept can still work if done properly.

Fire Pro Wrestling

Fire Pro Wrestling has been a long running Japanese wrestling game, with few releases hitting the states, a couple on Game Boy Advance and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for PS2 (pictured). This series is incredible. The 2D artwork is eye-catching, and the gameplay reminds me of the old arcade wrestling games. They also had Japanese rules in play, like having the ring explode in a deathmatch. The creation tools made it real easy to make lookalikes of your favorite real wrestlers, or create logos and rings. When there was talk of a new Fire Pro game for Xbox 360, I was legitimately excited. Then I played it, and was totally bummed out. All the creation tools were nonexistent and I had to wrestle Xbox avatars. COME ON! I want a new, HD Fire Pro game where I can create hundreds of wrestlers and powerbomb them onto florescent light-tubes and land mines.

Superman

At this point, I just want a good Superman game period. To his credit, Justice League Heroes was not a terrible game and Injustice: Gods Among Us is kick ass, but Supes himself has never had a good game. Superman Returns was a really bad game, the original Superman for Atari was crap, and Superman 64 should take up the landfill that E.T The Extra-Terrestrial was dug out of. Superman needs the Arkham treatment more than any other superhero right now. You should feel like a badass when you have every super power, you are SUPERMAN! Why is this so hard to make fun?

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This is just part 1 of this series, stay tuned for future installments as many games deserve to get a fresh coat of HD paint, and whatever I can do to bring these series back, I will gladly do.

What I Think Of... Gauntlet (2014)

At what point does "Arcade Game Reboot/Re-Imagining" get its own genre? We have seen new versions of games like Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Warlords, Galaga, the list could go on, with varying levels of success. Hell, the original Playstation had a myriad of arcade redo's, remember that version of Pong?....yeah.

So it was no surprise to learn that a redone version of the original dungeon-crawler, Gauntlet, was in the works. The original Gauntlet set the bar for the genre, and without it, we would not have games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Diablo, and the many other clones. Sure, there have been other games in the Gauntlet series between the original 1985 (there's that year again) classic, and the one that came out yesterday, but this is the one, simply titled Gauntlet, that really goes for that "old-school feel with new car smell" thing.

So, how does this one fare? Is this the hack-n-slash game we have all come to know and love, or is this a hack-n-miss? Here is what I think after a few hours with the new Gauntlet on Steam.

When you first boot up the game, you get a little tutorial on how each character plays, which, you would imagine, as being "light attack, heavy attack, special attack", well, you are right for half the characters. The Warrior and the Valkyrie play that way and it's easy to pick them up and start wailing on things. (Worth noting: I was using a 360 controller while playing this, which I find much easier than the keyboard/mouse combo). The Elf plays more like a dual-joystick shooter, with the right stick as the primary arrow-shooting attack. The Wizard will be familiar to anyone who played the criminally underrated game Magicka. You choose 2 elements by hitting the various face button combinations, and push the right stick in the direction you wish the spell to go. Some spells are attack spells, some are defense spells, it all depends on what elements you use and in what order. This difference in characters is a great way to have players try out all the classes and have unique experiences, perhaps becoming a jack of all trades and splitting time between all of them.

I've spent most of my time with Thor the Warrior, just so I can get a basic feel of the game. I know, however, that I will be messing with the other classes the more I play the game.

Before setting off on your journey, you can go to the shop and purchase relics and loot to help you along the way, using the gold you collect on your various playthroughs, effectively making this a "Rouguelike" or "Roguelite" due to some aspects being persistent between runs.

Your first time through the game, you have no gold, no relics. It's just you and your weapon against a horde of enemies. The first part of the dungeon is the same each time, with the enemies spawning in the same places and the keys and food in the same places. The 2nd part is procedurally generated, a la Diablo, while the Grim Reaper chases you, bringing instant death if you get too close. If this sounds tense and chaotic, that's because it is and it really gets your heart going. Then it's on to an arena style ending with you against a few last waves of enemies.

You can use the gold you collect to buy loot and relics when you return to the shop. As far as I can tell, the loot is purely cosmetic with no real stat bonuses. The relics are quite handy though. For instance, I have one relic that (at level 1) greatly increases my run/attack speed, and one that places a crystal down that attracts enemies and explodes when destroyed. You can have 2 relics equipped and these can be upgraded by spending that hard-fought gold.

While on the dungeon run, your actions also count towards passive abilities. For instance, if you eat so many units of food, you earn a passive ability for that character that grants you so much healing over time after you eat the food. Some abilities allow for a greater chance to find gold in the pots around the dungeon, and other various perks. These are persistent and each character has a few unique perks to unlock, all of which can be attained from normal play.

You can tackle the dungeons alone, but this game (much like the arcade game it's based on) is best enjoyed with others. There is 4-player local or online co-op, and is the ideal way to play the game. When you are on your own, you get swarmed easily and it's just a matter of time before you end up dead. While the hordes of enemies may be easier with multiple players, you may end up still dying a lot due to the competitive nature of the game. Everyone is trying for the high score and may pull the ultimate dick-move and destroy the food before you get to it. It's real easy to get into a game or to invite your Steam friends.

The game runs smoothly and I have noticed zero hitches in my time with it. It also looks great. The lighting helps add to the eerie tone and feel of the dungeons. The sound design is also impressive. The sound of your weapon making contact is satisfying, the crackling sound of Death hot on your heels, the spike traps echoing off the walls, it's all really good stuff. The game also loves to stick in a little humor now and then with the voice acting and it works well, never being too over the top. One thing I will say, there is a "classic mode" as a graphics option, don't use it. All that does is blur the screen, ended up giving me a headache.

Some reboots/re-imaginings try to throw a lot at you, while that may work for a game like Pac-Mac Championship Edition DX+ (sooooo many ghosts), Gauntlet gives fans of the game what they want; no flashing lights, no dubstep music, no fluff, it's a real straightforward hack-n-slash title worthy of the name Gauntlet. For $20, it is money well spent, even more so if you have friends who will also get this. Just keep an eye on your food.

What I'm excited about/worried about....Super Smash Bros for 3DS

I love the Super Smash Bros series. Period. The original on N64 was a "game of choice" for my friends and I in middle school, as we would go to each others' houses and end our night playing a 99 Stock match (we didn't sleep much thanks to the Mountain Dew and giant Pixy Sticks coursing through our systems).

Melee and Brawl upped the ante even more, and even though I wasn't in middle school with my friends anymore, I found a great time beating up Nintendo (and 3rd party) mascots. Nothing brought me more joy than connecting with the "Falcon Punch" and watching my enemy explode.

With the hype building around this new Smash Bros I figured I would talk about some things that I am really looking forward to, and things that leave me wondering.

+ It's coming out soon and I can take it on the go

I'm a pretty impatient person, so believe me, I am getting more than a little antsy to get my hands on this, especially since the game is already out in Japan. The demo (due out this friday for the general public) will certainly help, but needless to say, I am ready for the real deal. Also a big bonus that I can take this with me, so when I take the occasional road trip, if I'm just waiting in line for a midnight release, or I'm just lounging on the couch and tired of looking at a TV or computer screen all day, it's awful convenient to pull out my 3DS XL and fight.

- Does the small screen end up hurting the game?

With so much action going on at any given moment, will I be able to follow it all and know what's happening, or will I end up just mashing buttons and hope things work out my way? Having a 3DS XL should certainly help this issue, but we will see. Also, I can tell you after an extended Mario Kart 7 session, my hands start to cramp a bit, will this be the case with Smash? Something to think about.

+ Even with all the action, it still (reportedly) runs at 60 frames per second

I say it time and time again, 60 frames per second is a big deal. This is a game that NEEDS 60 for sure. This is a game about fast, chaotic action, and 60 frames gives that feel.

- Will the absence of a 2nd analog stick hinder the controls?

This may be a really nit-picky type worry, but I know this applies to me. I have played a LOT of Melee and I am currently revisiting a lot of Brawl in preparation for the new one. I played Melee with the Wavebird controller with the C-Stick and am playing Brawl with the Classic Controller Pro which has 2 analog sticks. A flick of the stick in any direction performs a quick charge attack which used at the right time can K.O. an opponent. I use that probably way more than I should but I like having that quick attack. The 3DS doesn't have that right stick (at least not until the "new" one comes out), so how much will that bother me? Will it mess up my timing? Again, might not be a HUGE worry, but one that I think about.

+ The Roster is incredible

The series has always been great at fan service and this is no different here. The highlights:

Mega Man (Finally!)
Little Mac (Will be my main, I can feel)
Pac-Man (WHAT? AWESOME!)
Wii Fit Trainer (absolutely)
Duck Hunt Dog (Does he have a name? Who cares? THE FREAKING DOG!!!)

- The Roster is incredible...ish

Ok, so with almost 50 characters in the game, there are bound to be ones that players won't like. Though my problem is this: the roster is becoming more and more about games like Pokèmon and Fire Emblem. While those are good franchises and deserve to have SOME representation, I feel it's starting to get out of hand. Also, why is Shulk in this game? You probably just thought "Who?" and that's the reason for my initial question. (He's from Xenoblade Chronicles by the way). I guess I would have liked to have seen more representation from the Donkey Kong series, maybe some obscure Mario characters, hell, what about the Excitebike racer? How about some other fighters from Punch-Out? I know you need to have the "new age Nintendo" with the "old age Nintendo" and maybe it's just me being 29, but I would have liked to have seen a little more old school.

+ The level choices are awesome AND have an "Omega" version

The choices for the levels such as the Mega Man themed level, the Spirit Tracks level, the Tomodachi Life level, the Nintendogs level, these are all awesome choices. What's even better is the inclusion of the "Omega Versions" of each level, which relegate the selected level into one flat playing field. Lending itself towards the competitive scene, but also taking away gimmicks that have prevented players like me from liking certain levels. For example: I hate scrolling levels, whether it's the Mushroom Kingdom scrolling to the right, or the Donkey Kong waterfall scrolling up, I hate fighting the level while I'm fighting the other characters, so taking all that away as an option is a great choice, leaving us to (at least partially) experience all the levels. Also, there are 3DS and Wii U specific levels so I know not to expect a few of these levels when the console version hits.

- The reported online lag

From all the reports early on, it sounds like online play can be a drag due to extensive lag. I suppose this can be just because it's still a fresh release and Nintendo still hasn't fully figured out how online works, but I can't help but be a little worried since the online play is going to be a MAIN mode people play. Here's hoping Nintendo figures it out before we in the States get our copies.

- The names

"For 3DS" and "For Wii U" are terrible names for your game. C'mon

+ To reiterate, it's almost out

As in 2 weeks from Friday. I'm excited and worried, but mostly excited.

What I Think Of... NHL 15 (Xbox One)

Let me be quite frank: I LOVE HOCKEY! Everything about it. My family is a bunch of hockey fanatics and we have Iowa Wild season tickets (yeah, be jealous), I am an NHL Gamecenter subscriber and have been for years, I am a die-hard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, I own a hockey glove beer holder (again, be jealous), my first mascot job was with the then Iowa Stars way back in 2005, and I own enough hockey jerseys to perhaps field my own team (with my 2 favorites being my 1991 Mario Lemieux Penguins jersey and my Mighty Ducks movie Charlie Conway jersey).

Side Note: you should check out my favorite hockey blog at downgoesbrown.com.

If you are like me and happen to like Canada's favorite sport and be a gamer, then you have been looking forward to EA's annual franchise and its debut on these new consoles. So let's drop the puck and see what I think of NHL 15 for the Xbox One.

It is worth noting that the versions for the last-gen consoles is quite different from the newer versions, so I am focusing on the new ones because (A) that's the one I bought, and (B) that's the one people are most interested in.

From all the screenshots of the game, we were led to believe this would be a great looking hockey game, and it delivers mightily. From the players to the presentation, this is an absolute gem. I'll set it up:

Let's say we have a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, choose the jerseys (I am partial to the old 1991 Black and Yellow), and see a video flyby of Pittsburgh with the NBC Sports theme and overlay, already I am excited for hockey, it's like I am watching it on TV. Cut to the crowd inside Consol Energy center losing their minds cause it's A GREAT DAY FOR HOCKEY! Then we see actual video of our commentators Mike "Doc" Emrick (who shares the same birth DAY as me) and former Penguin Ed Olczyk. I gotta stop here. This is AWESOME, and something Madden needs to look at implementing for next year as opposed to the animatronic nightmare of digital Phil Simms and Jim Nantz. Also, Doc and Ed actually have interesting things to say...mind-blowing! Then to the ice to look at a few star players including this guy named Sidney F'n Crosby who looks JUST LIKE his actual counterpart.

What I am saying is that this game is real pretty and the presentation is the best in a sports game. EA even took the facial animation technology from EA UFC, which was one of that game's biggest highlights.

Then the puck drops and it's game on! The action on the ice is just as smooth and fast-paced as ever. The A.I. has really stepped up its game this year and can be downright brutal, but there are sliders to adjust and help make it more of a fair challenge. It'll take you a bit to get used to the player's momentum and quickness but, once you do, you'll be flying around making plays in no time.

I deliberately used that picture because (A) The Winnipeg Jets jerseys are awesome, and (B) that fan sign. Fans in the stands will have signs with your players' names on it saying different things. It's the little touches like this that helps NHL 15 be the best sports game when it comes to in-game atmosphere.

Off the ice is a different story...

The current slew of game modes in NHL 15 pale in comparison to the previous games in the franchise. Here is a quick list of omissions:

- No EASHL mode
- No "sim to next shift" in Be A Pro
- No Coach Feedback in Be A Pro
- No Live The Life
- No Fantasy Draft
- No Winter Classic

I could go on, but you get the point. Yes, this is the first NHL game on the new consoles, so I knew things weren't going to be there. I also know there are post-launch patches that will add some of these features in, but the point is that these modes were in previous games and it kinda sucks having to wait (and end up playing NHL 14) just for modes and features that should already be here.

What IS in the game is fine. Hockey Ultimate Team returns, though I haven't found the "generate best lines" option, which means I get to go in and assign every player manually, which I suppose is fine, though it would be nice to have that auto-generate option to at least give me a foundation to build off of. 

There is Be a GM and Be a Pro mode, which boil down to a season mode and a "control a created player" mode respectively. There also is no "start in the CHL" option, so you can't come up from the juniors and get drafted based on performance, you can either choose the team you want to play for, or go into a completely random draft. One time I was drafted 15th by Detroit, the next I went 3rd to Edmonton, real random and real strange. Also, after I was drafted by Edmonton, I went straight to their 3rd line, whereas in previous games, you had to fight for your spot on the roster, or be sent to the AHL. Sure, it may just be that I was a good enough player to play on the Oilers' 3rd line since, well....it's the Oilers, but not even giving me the chance to fight for a roster spot makes it all feel bland and full of random chance.

It all comes down to this: when actually playing NHL 15, it's an awesome time. It looks fantastic, sounds great, the atmosphere is captured superbly. There is just an unfortunate lack of substance (which, sure, is getting added by patches, but it should already be there) that makes the whole experience feel empty. I look forward to the features being added, and even more so to what NHL 16 will end up being.

Go Iowa Wild! GO PENGUINS!

What I Think Of... Destiny

Well, here we go. One of the most anticipated games of the year is finally here. Bungie developed a new space epic to add to its legacy and try its turn in the RPG-Shooter genre.

Take a look back at my thoughts on the beta HERE so I don't have to repeat all the mechanics and make this post as long as a Destiny load time (ouch). I will be focusing on a few things here that I have experienced the retail version.

So, after 15 - 20 hours with the game (campaign, online, solo, with friends) here is what I think of Destiny.

My time with the beta was great and it got me excited to jump in and level up well past the cap of level 8, get sweet gear, and get into this new universe Bungie is creating.

I always want to start on the right foot so I want to highlight some of the positives:

- Destiny is gorgeous.

This should go without saying since everyone thought that when they first saw footage, but actually seeing that translate to my actual TV is an accomplishment for sure. I have experienced zero noticeable frame drops or stuttering on my PS4, even after spending so much time with it I was sure it would catch fire. The worlds look amazing, the lighting is second to none, and you'll find yourself stopping and staring at some of the vistas.

- The sound design is among the best in gaming history

Sure it looks great, but it also SOUNDS great. All the space sounds (your various WOOSHES and whatnot), the sound of your melee attack (probably the most satisfying thud in a video game), the sounds of the spaceships, the weapons, it's all fantastic. The music really stands out and goes along very well with the action. Some people have some issues with Peter Dinklage and, for the most part, I find him to be fine. He fits the tone of the game well and it gives me a chance to say "Get your Dink out" when I'm using Ghost to scan things (it's a win-win really).

- A lot of fun with friends.

Sure, most games have that quality, but I joined up with some friends from Alaska, Ireland, and Sweden and we had a genuinely fun time going through the campaign, fighting through enemies, figuring out tactics, going on the "Strikes", getting new loot, and eventually getting destroyed from being underleveled at points. The game still can be fun playing solo, but the "fun factor" goes up immensely when others are involved.

- It IS fun to play

Probably the most vague sentence I have ever written, but it's true. The idea of roaming the planet, shooting enemies, finding new loot, completing side missions, completing bounties, leveling up, it's all fun, and I do genuinely enjoying actually playing the game...

...for the most part.

Not every game is perfect, so here are a few of my negative takeaways:

- The missions tend to be pretty repetitive.

Usually the mission structure is: go to marked area, deploy Ghost to scan an old computer, go to the next marked area, scan another thing and defend Ghost from enemies, and enemies will be populated on the way there. It just feels like there is a lot of scanning old computers and defending Ghost while he is scanning said computer. Also, you're travelling through the same locations on the planet, but instead of going down one hallway in the building, you may turn and go down the other one...to scan a computer.

- The load times

Once you get on a world, they are non-existent, which is pretty awesome, but if I want to go back to the main hub (The Tower) after a mission to cash something in, I start the process, go make myself a sandwich, and come back before I'm loaded in. While that's great for my eating habits (Turkey, cheese, mayo FTW), it's really a bummer that the loads are that long. I think the only reason they even have different ships that you can buy, is just so you have something to look at while the game loads.

- The level cap is 20 and Bungie says there is plenty of content after that.

I don't know about all that since I am working on my level 18 Titan, so we shall see how this pans out. I will say that it is pretty cool that you have to level up the subclasses individually, giving you a reason to switch and go back and build it up. However, with a game like World of Warcraft getting to level 100 (a little unfair comparison, I know, but just some reference) I can't help but feel a little let down by 20. Sure, with the right gear you can technically get to level 25 or so, or they could have just raised the leveling beyond 20. Maybe this will increase in future expansions. Plus, a big part of the fun is gaining XP and leveling up, so how can there be so much content AFTER you level up, seems contradictory but we shall see.

- Let's talk about the plot.

Seriously, because I have no idea what's happening. First I see Mars and the discovery of what I assume is The Traveler, which is this giant ball that sustains life and generally makes things awesome. Now The Darkness is closing in, which looks like a dark cloud ready to consume everything (basically how Galactus looked in the most recent Fantastic Four movie). The Traveler can now only sustain one city, since the Darkness has brought the Fallen onto Old Earth and I have to save the universe, I find this out from The Speaker who is the voice of the Traveler, but then I go to The Moon and fight The Hive because ....well I'm sure they are part of the Darkness, and then I have to save a sword from Princes, but no, now I go to Venus and fight The Vex which are death robots because....well they are there. Now I go to The Reef to meet the Awoken who are....

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

Honestly, I mean I was able to follow the plot of the Halo games but I have no clue here. The storytelling is less than ideal.

Plus, the game throws a lot at you up front and doesn't really cover it. What are Vanguard Points and why do I have 0 even though I have done several missions which supposedly gave me points. Why am I picking up crafting materials? I don't see a crafter.

Maybe there is a real "A HA" moment at the end that will tie all this together, but right now I am truly lost in all the wrong ways. There is content planned (supposedly) for the next 10 YEARS, and I hope I don't have to wait till 2024 to figure out the plot.

Let me wrap this up. Destiny is like a really great picture in a weird, relatively ugly frame (Like a picture of me with my hockey heroes Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby, but in a Philadelphia Flyers frame, no offense Flyers fans, just an example). There is genuine, awesome fun to be had here, but I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. We will see what the future holds over the "Decade of Destiny", but the moral of the story is this: Destiny is a good game, it's just not the killer app that we were led to believe at the moment.

What I Think Of... The Sims 4

I have recently been spending some long nights with a game I never thought I would do that with. I have never been a big Sims guy, I never played the first Sims, I may have an unopened copy of The Sims 2 lying around somewhere because I was going to "see what the hype was about" and then just didn't care enough, I played The Sims 3 for about an hour (and around 2 videos on YouTube's worth) and it just didn't grab me, which I attribute to my lack of knowledge and experience with the franchise previously.

So with The Sims 4 I told myself that "This is make or break. This is an important franchise in gaming and either I am going to get hooked into this one, or consider this franchise 'not for me' and accept it". I went in with an open mind as best as one could. I bought the "Origin Digital Deluxe" version, which gave me some new accessories to spruce up my house and Sim with. I had the day off of work so I could focus on this game, basically I gave myself the best chance to enjoy something that has eluded me since the original game was released in 2000.

Since the game was released on Tuesday, my Origin account says I have been playing The Sims 4 for about 16 hours now, so it appears I may be hooked, so allow me to talk about what it is about The Sims 4 that finally got me sold.

Again, just to be clear, here is my experience with The Sims franchise, so that you can take my impressions as you see fit:

The Sims - Never played
The Sims 2 - Never played
The Sims 3  - 1 hour as of this post but own (along with a few expansions)
The Sims 4 - 16 hours as of this post

The newest entry in the franchise serves as the best way for someone like me, who is a novice at the whole "life simulation" genre, to get in and understand the mechanics.

Also the biggest thing that I absolutely love is The Gallery. As long as you are online (which I have to imagine everyone is at this point, right?) you can pull down rooms, Sims, and complete houses from this online depository either made by Maxis themselves or by members of the community. I found it super easy to slap together a good looking Sim, and post it to my library. Right now if you were to look at my collection (Holmes_McFly if interested), you'll notice a few Sims named Matt Murdock, Steve Rogers, Frank Castle, Tony Stark, and Johnny Cage.

Plus the ability to take a full house and plop in on an empty lot and go is awful handy, especially with someone like me who sucks at that aspect. Hell, I just moved to a new house in real life and I'm in no hurry to become an interior decorator, it'll happen when it happens.

I have to mention that this game looks amazing. The cartoony style really stands out and the Sims themselves are so expressive that you can't help but zoom all the way in and just watch interactions play out. The two main areas of the game (the desert of Oasis Springs and the lush, suburban Willow Creek) are also a visual treat.

I did a little home remodeling once I got into the game. I started with a single Sim (Frank Castle in this case), gave him a premade 2 bedroom, 1 bath house, and started my new life. I extended a wall in the spare bedroom, sold the bed and end table that was in it, and turned it into an exercise room for Frank, compete with punching post and treadmill. I was also able to repaint the wall and install new flooring in that room with simple Shift+clicks. What I am getting at is that it was all super simple to do. The Build Mode is simple to pick up and easy to use. In no time, I was placing new light fixtures, finding new tables and chairs, rearranging furniture, tearing down walls, adding new flooring, even adding a nice deck, and actually enjoying it.

When I got back to Live Mode, I was ready to tackle the days ahead of me. I got my first job as a dishwasher, which I later quit due to weird hours and lack of money, even after getting a small promotion. I then took a job as an Amatuer Entertainer, eventually ranking up to C-List celebrity. Ranking up in jobs and completing events like dates earn you exclusive items you can place in your house. I was able to earn a sweet new stereo system, a "Walk of Fame" style rug, even a new set of kitchen counters.

Using your cell phone, you can quickly travel to different locations in either main game world. This does involve loading screens, as it is not the "open world" of The Sims 3. This does get you to where you want to go in an acceptable amount of time though. Granted, I have a pretty beefy PC so your experience may vary, but I had no problem with the load times. There are a few points of interest on either map, with parks, gyms, bars, museums and night clubs. Of course you can also just visit other Sim's houses or get straight up invited over.

Your cell phone becomes a big part of your day, just as it does in the real world. You can quit jobs, find new ones, text, chat, invite people over, play games, travel, and more from a simple pop-up menu.

Simplicity is the name of the game here. It's really easy for me to see how my Sim is feeling, the contextual interactions I have with that feeling, the state of my Sim (whether he is hungry or sleepy or needs to use the bathroom, etc.), and the proper ways to deal with situations.

Simplicity is also what is causing a lot of people to not like this game...

Many players are complaining about the lack of the open world, the lack of swimming pools, no dishwashers, basically the idea that many aspects from The Sims 3 has been stripped out to make a more accessible Sims 4. I can see where the disappointed people are coming from, but I find the criticism to be a little unfair. Sims 4 is not nearly as complex as The Sims 3 was. The one thing the series is known for is the quantity and quality of the expansions, I assume that most everything that people are complaining about will find their way into the game at some point down the road.

The Sims 4 is an absolutely addictive experience that I have a really hard time putting down (even though I'll have to once Destiny comes out in just a few short days). While many Sims veterans will find things to complain about (even try to boycott which confuses me), even the most hardcore Simmer will find things to enjoy here. For those like me who were always interested, but never fully gave the series a chance, The Sims 4 offers the best chance to get caught up in Sim-mania and believe me, I've caught the fever and I adore this game.

Word of caution: if you search YouTube looking for "Let's Plays" of this game, be VERY careful. I have found many players have the most annoying voices I have ever heard. I recommend The Sim Supply, quill18, Andrew Arcade, or Sims3loser. You'll thank me later.