Hey guys, its Thursday, and I hoped everyone enjoyed watching my first part of my adventures in Minecraft. I know the quality is choppy, and my sound definitely needs a double check as well, but I think it is a great first endeavor. Let me know what you think on any of my pages, be it YouTube, here, or Facebook.
Now past the promotional stuff. I wanted to talk today about television. I love some shows on TV, and I know many people have their favorite shows. Since it is the beginning of a new prime time season, I figure I will talk to you about them.
First off, my favorite show by far is NCIS. I have watched this the most over the years, and I cannot say a bad thing about it. I imagine the characters make up a family, with Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as the father at the head of the table. The more I watch the show the more I see the growth of the characters, how they interact with each other and what their roles are on the show. The show is in its 12th season, and those who want to get into it might have some catching up to do with the characters back story and the multiple story arcs.
Doctor Who is a show that I have heard fantastic things about, but never gotten around to watching. I decided to pick up the show with the newest Doctor. And now I cannot get enough of it. It is a science fiction show without science to help yourself into. All you have to do is sit down and watch. The show just shoves you in to the universe and expects you to believe in it.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. acts as an extension to the countless Marvel movies for those just waiting for the next movie to come out. It takes place in the same universe and time line, and the show reacts to the movies. They are now on a story arc for what has happened after the dissolving of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It looks to be an exciting second season.
I watch Top Gear (the original BBC version) because of the cars. If you like cars, or any vehicles really, watch Top Gear. The three hosts not only review vehicles, but they also do some crazy stunts and road tests as well. They have raced across Europe multiple times, bought the cheapest car to drive across America in, and have raced to the North Pole. It really is a barrel full of laughs for any gear head.
The Graham Norton Show is another BBC show. However, it is a talk show with celebrities, but not Late Night. Take the top celebrities around the world, sit them on a couch, and add alcohol and stories of their past. The greatest part is BBC has little filter, so prepare to be surprised. If you want a great one to start on, watch Mark Wahlberg with Sarah Silverman and Michael Fassbender. Its hysterical.
Comment below or on my Facebook page about your favorite TV shows.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Going Deep with Minecraft
Today I thought I would try something new. I thought I would give you a VIDEO BLOG. So for the next thirty or so minutes, I am going to be playing and talking about Minecraft. Just for some back ground, Microsoft has acquired Mojang last week. Mojang is the studio that created Minecraft just three years ago. So for now, enjoy!
Until next time.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Hands on the PlayStation 4
The PS4 controller is wider than the PlayStation 3's, roughly as wide as a 360 controller for comparison. The "arms" are longer and nestle more into the palms for a sturdy grip. The bumpers and face buttons are more raised and have a different texture that the rest of the controller. The L2/R2 bumpers are also more like triggers. All the buttons are also silent when depressed, not giving a "click" like on the Xbox One controller. The buttons also seem more responsive than the One controller. My favorite part of the controller are the new analog sticks. Sony added a beveled edge to the sticks, doing away with the rounded tops with textures to keep one's thumbs in contact. The sticks are also spaced wider apart, a complaint I had with the PlayStation 3.
I also don't know how to feel about the touch pad in the center of the controller. The games I played never utilized it, so I could not judge its impact.
Booting up the system gives way to a clean home screen. The background has depth, and flowing lines. It doesn't seem cluttered with advertisements either. Categories run across the top of the screen with drop-down options. Each application has its own section at the top of the screen, so scrolling across could take time. Despite this, I wish there were more divisions or categories for things such as games, settings and applications. I actually liked the Xbox One's menu better, even though it was the Panel system from Windows 8. The One has individual pages for categories.
I have played two games on the PS4, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Call of Duty: Ghosts. I already reviewed Ghosts earlier, and I felt Assassin's Creed would be a better test of the PlayStation. I was very pleased with how the PlayStation handled the open-world game, and nothing failed. The colors were vivid and the edges were clean. I did not see any screen tearing or loss of frames in the battles, and the smoke effects were handled very well.
Over all, the newest PlayStation is impressive, keeping pace with the newest games and technology. The graphics are very clean, and the controller is refreshingly new and easy to handle. I wish I could get my hands on one more frequently to explore all of is options, but it looks like Sony is off to a great start.
Until next time.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Birthday Update!
Its my birthday today! The big 21! Honestly, I don't really see the difference between this age or any other. I know many of my peers are looking forward to the opportunity to buy alcohol, but that just isn't me. So happy birthday me, and let's get started.
I wanted to talk today about Call of Duty: Ghosts, mainly because I played it on the PlayStation 4. I will review the system on Thursday, because I want to focus on the game today.
The Single player puts you in the boots of a young soldier after the invasion of the United States by a group of South American oil barons named "the Federation". As the protagonist, you fight as an elite special forces soldier (what else?) trying to remove the invaders. And you fight with your brother and a special forces German Shepard named Riley.
The story is near-future, so any gadgets or weapons you use are either in development or are similar to today's armaments. The weaponry is fairly diverse, but the lack of customization I was used to after Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 in the single player was evident. The story was very linear, with "Follow me" sections, and "We are going to split up and meet up later" events. Either way, one travels fairly linearly in the levels. As with many shooters today, Ghosts forces in a "wow" factor for most missions, usually with the player forced to operate some high-tech weapon to obliterate enemies. I enjoyed using a remote sniper rifle to cover my squad mates as the advanced around a baseball stadium, but the challenge of defeating so many enemies was lost after the player was given such a powerful weapon. I also found the enemies to be tough to kill yet posed no threat to the player unless they were equipped with an overpowered weapon (like rocket launchers) or swarmed the players position repeatedly.
The story was pretty lackluster as well. The protagonist is tasked to stop the dastardly plans of the Federation, and doing so faces off against the main antagonist, a former Spec-Ops soldier. The bad guy was brainwashed by the Federation and now is hunting down and killing all your comrades, so you run into him a lot.
So the multiplayer side.
Its Call of Duty, let's start there. Two teams of six either killing each other or killing each other for objectives.
After CoD: Black Ops, I never really noticed a difference in the difference in weapon noises, but definitely in handling. Assault rifles are useless in the game, as their "average" attributes make them outclassed by other weapon types. Sniper rifles have the highest damage-per shot ratio, as do shotguns. Sub-machine guns, or SMGs, are lighter and have ridiculous rates of fire. And light machine guns carry the most ammunition for those who aren't afraid to spray around. The assault rifles have average rates of fire, usually faster than LMGs, but slower than SMGs. Their range is poor in comparison to snipers and LMGs, however, and they are next to worthless in close-quarters combat against SMGs and shotguns.
One logically thinks that the assault rifles fill in an "average" range. This is far from the case due to the map layouts of Ghosts. Most of the basic maps are mazes of short, wide hallways with tight corners. The open layout means you can see targets clearly outside of cover, but there are hiding spots where some lay down for quick kills. There is not a lot of viable cover in larger areas, and even when you are hidden behind cover, your opponent can usually shoot through it or can easily flank around you.
The environment was more aesthetically pleasing as well, with lush bushes and grasses, and high detail on background environments. It felt like one was playing in the map, and not just dragged and dropped on. Overall, I was not pleased with the game, as its story was shallow and the game play was not inventive or fresh.
Until next time.
I wanted to talk today about Call of Duty: Ghosts, mainly because I played it on the PlayStation 4. I will review the system on Thursday, because I want to focus on the game today.
The Single player puts you in the boots of a young soldier after the invasion of the United States by a group of South American oil barons named "the Federation". As the protagonist, you fight as an elite special forces soldier (what else?) trying to remove the invaders. And you fight with your brother and a special forces German Shepard named Riley.
The story is near-future, so any gadgets or weapons you use are either in development or are similar to today's armaments. The weaponry is fairly diverse, but the lack of customization I was used to after Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 in the single player was evident. The story was very linear, with "Follow me" sections, and "We are going to split up and meet up later" events. Either way, one travels fairly linearly in the levels. As with many shooters today, Ghosts forces in a "wow" factor for most missions, usually with the player forced to operate some high-tech weapon to obliterate enemies. I enjoyed using a remote sniper rifle to cover my squad mates as the advanced around a baseball stadium, but the challenge of defeating so many enemies was lost after the player was given such a powerful weapon. I also found the enemies to be tough to kill yet posed no threat to the player unless they were equipped with an overpowered weapon (like rocket launchers) or swarmed the players position repeatedly.
The story was pretty lackluster as well. The protagonist is tasked to stop the dastardly plans of the Federation, and doing so faces off against the main antagonist, a former Spec-Ops soldier. The bad guy was brainwashed by the Federation and now is hunting down and killing all your comrades, so you run into him a lot.
So the multiplayer side.
Its Call of Duty, let's start there. Two teams of six either killing each other or killing each other for objectives.
After CoD: Black Ops, I never really noticed a difference in the difference in weapon noises, but definitely in handling. Assault rifles are useless in the game, as their "average" attributes make them outclassed by other weapon types. Sniper rifles have the highest damage-per shot ratio, as do shotguns. Sub-machine guns, or SMGs, are lighter and have ridiculous rates of fire. And light machine guns carry the most ammunition for those who aren't afraid to spray around. The assault rifles have average rates of fire, usually faster than LMGs, but slower than SMGs. Their range is poor in comparison to snipers and LMGs, however, and they are next to worthless in close-quarters combat against SMGs and shotguns.
One logically thinks that the assault rifles fill in an "average" range. This is far from the case due to the map layouts of Ghosts. Most of the basic maps are mazes of short, wide hallways with tight corners. The open layout means you can see targets clearly outside of cover, but there are hiding spots where some lay down for quick kills. There is not a lot of viable cover in larger areas, and even when you are hidden behind cover, your opponent can usually shoot through it or can easily flank around you.
The environment was more aesthetically pleasing as well, with lush bushes and grasses, and high detail on background environments. It felt like one was playing in the map, and not just dragged and dropped on. Overall, I was not pleased with the game, as its story was shallow and the game play was not inventive or fresh.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Hectic Scheduling
So I just got back from my Writing for the Media class and have decided to update my blog.
After about three months of not doing so.
Granted it is not the longest I have been away from my audience, but I feel bad just the same. So an update is in order.
I am in my junior year at university, and am now taking classes to satisfy my writing minor, like the one I stated above. I am also participating in the school's newspaper, which was published this week with my first article! Go check it out if you are on campus. Also in my life, I have acquired an Avermedia Live Gamer Capture Card Portable. This handy gadget allows me to capture game play and post it on YouTube or stream on Twitch. So check out my profile and watch as I will hopefully be streaming a bit this weekend as I work my way through FarCry 3.
In other news, I am now living in an on campus apartment, so for the first time I have my own room to sleep in. I share the apartment with three other guys, and so far it has worked out great. I also am going to pursue a career in environmental law, so LSAT here I come!
But today I really wanted to talk about writing. As many of my dedicated followers know, I do not post very frequently. This is due to me not getting around to it, and I am sorry for that. This semester, I really want to buckle down on some things, and hopefully some of you can help me out. I plan on practicing the LSAT on weekends so I can be accepted to law school. I am also going to be cracking down on studying to raise my GPA (you're welcome mom and dad). And I plan on spending more time blogging. Hopefully these updates will occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. If you have something you want me to talk about, I encourage you to comment below.
Now on to something a little more light hearted.
I am addicted to Rooster Teeth's RWBY series. It is a fantastic series of four girls training to become monster hunters and protect the kingdom they live in. It is in it's second volume, and the episodes are only fifteen minutes at most. Check it out here and be sure to hit up new episodes premiering Thursdays at 7.
I have also never gone in depth with what is now my favorite video game series ever. I know that is a bold claim, but bear with me.
Mass Effect is epic. I cannot get enough of it. If you haven't explored the galaxy and universe created by BioWare, check it out. And start with number one. I know many people say you can skip ahead to the second installment of the trilogy, but you lose significant story and build, as well as not being able to ease into the universe. It also allows one to appreciate where the series had came from and what happened to it in the consecutive games. My favorite game of the series is definitely the second one. It includes better control over your character, Commander Shepard, and has simplified many UI functions from the first Mass Effect. However, the first game has the best story of the series. The plot is winding and allows one to explore the galaxy with new eyes, and interactions lead to different systems and quests.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I do a lot of talk about gaming here, or movies, and an insight into what I like to play puts a little bit of faith into me.
So Mass Effect would be my favorite series, but what about and individual game? That would be Battlefield 3. I sank so many hours into that game's online, and I do not regret a minute of it. The UI is very blue (distracting for the newcomers), but navigable and quickly adaptable. I think I almost broke my Back button on the controller because I spammed it so much. The weapons feel real and sound authentic, not the carbon copy feeling I get when I play Call of Duty. And you get to control vehicles, which means you can roll up in a tank on a position, or fly overhead in a helicopter or jet.
The other great part of Battlefield is the team work. Two summers ago I teamed up with some friends in a squad. We talked strategy during the entire match, and complemented eachother's game styles perfectly. I got more fun out of playing with people who communicated in a team than I every got by myself. Our favorite gamemode was Rush, a plant the bomb objective. I won't brag about how well we did or didn't do, but I am very happy of our results.
Another game that I said I would be talking about is Civilization V. If at all possible, go get the game for your PC or Mac. Civ is a turn based strategy game in which you build an empire in the world. There are real-world civilizations to play as, each with their own modifiers, but you are in control of what will happen. Want to make American a Communist government, go ahead. Denmark is now a dictatorship with a nuclear military? Fantastic.
In the game, you collect resources that are to be used for military build up or to keep citizens in your country happy. Games last until unless a condition of victory is met, if one does not play with a limiting amount of turns. I am really enjoying playing as the English right now, and they have major modifiers through the middle and industrial ages. I have played as the Russians before, who have more variability through the entire game (stone age to modern age), but their build up of resources and cities has slowed me down in some games. And avoid Gandhi. The Indians have a rapid expansion modifier, making them crank out settler units and new cities constantly. Plus Gandhi NEVER likes your civilization, and usually turns everyone against you.
That about wraps it up this week. As usual, please comment below, check out my Facebook page.
Until next time.
But today I really wanted to talk about writing. As many of my dedicated followers know, I do not post very frequently. This is due to me not getting around to it, and I am sorry for that. This semester, I really want to buckle down on some things, and hopefully some of you can help me out. I plan on practicing the LSAT on weekends so I can be accepted to law school. I am also going to be cracking down on studying to raise my GPA (you're welcome mom and dad). And I plan on spending more time blogging. Hopefully these updates will occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. If you have something you want me to talk about, I encourage you to comment below.
Now on to something a little more light hearted.
I am addicted to Rooster Teeth's RWBY series. It is a fantastic series of four girls training to become monster hunters and protect the kingdom they live in. It is in it's second volume, and the episodes are only fifteen minutes at most. Check it out here and be sure to hit up new episodes premiering Thursdays at 7.
I have also never gone in depth with what is now my favorite video game series ever. I know that is a bold claim, but bear with me.
Mass Effect is epic. I cannot get enough of it. If you haven't explored the galaxy and universe created by BioWare, check it out. And start with number one. I know many people say you can skip ahead to the second installment of the trilogy, but you lose significant story and build, as well as not being able to ease into the universe. It also allows one to appreciate where the series had came from and what happened to it in the consecutive games. My favorite game of the series is definitely the second one. It includes better control over your character, Commander Shepard, and has simplified many UI functions from the first Mass Effect. However, the first game has the best story of the series. The plot is winding and allows one to explore the galaxy with new eyes, and interactions lead to different systems and quests.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I do a lot of talk about gaming here, or movies, and an insight into what I like to play puts a little bit of faith into me.
So Mass Effect would be my favorite series, but what about and individual game? That would be Battlefield 3. I sank so many hours into that game's online, and I do not regret a minute of it. The UI is very blue (distracting for the newcomers), but navigable and quickly adaptable. I think I almost broke my Back button on the controller because I spammed it so much. The weapons feel real and sound authentic, not the carbon copy feeling I get when I play Call of Duty. And you get to control vehicles, which means you can roll up in a tank on a position, or fly overhead in a helicopter or jet.
The other great part of Battlefield is the team work. Two summers ago I teamed up with some friends in a squad. We talked strategy during the entire match, and complemented eachother's game styles perfectly. I got more fun out of playing with people who communicated in a team than I every got by myself. Our favorite gamemode was Rush, a plant the bomb objective. I won't brag about how well we did or didn't do, but I am very happy of our results.
Another game that I said I would be talking about is Civilization V. If at all possible, go get the game for your PC or Mac. Civ is a turn based strategy game in which you build an empire in the world. There are real-world civilizations to play as, each with their own modifiers, but you are in control of what will happen. Want to make American a Communist government, go ahead. Denmark is now a dictatorship with a nuclear military? Fantastic.
In the game, you collect resources that are to be used for military build up or to keep citizens in your country happy. Games last until unless a condition of victory is met, if one does not play with a limiting amount of turns. I am really enjoying playing as the English right now, and they have major modifiers through the middle and industrial ages. I have played as the Russians before, who have more variability through the entire game (stone age to modern age), but their build up of resources and cities has slowed me down in some games. And avoid Gandhi. The Indians have a rapid expansion modifier, making them crank out settler units and new cities constantly. Plus Gandhi NEVER likes your civilization, and usually turns everyone against you.
That about wraps it up this week. As usual, please comment below, check out my Facebook page.
Until next time.
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