Month: October 2016

Adam Ruins Everything: The Conspiracy Behind Your Glasses

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

The Adam Ruins Everything series has quickly become one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube, and this morning I saw the “conspiracy behind your glasses” segment while watching TV. I don’t wear glasses (not even sunglasses usually), but watching this video was infuriating! How could something like this happen? What’s worse is that what is exposed in this video is probably true of a lot of industries, and it’s just not cool. I wanted to share it because first of all it’s entertaining, but also it’s quite informative, and I’m hoping more people will watch and share it so that more people will know what’s going on in the world.

I played Virginia

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

Virginia game Xbox One

Last night I bought and played through Virginia ($9.99) on the Xbox One. Virginia is a game unlike anything I’ve ever played, and is the first game put out by developer Variable State (available on Xbox One, PS4 and Steam). The game has no dialogue from beginning to end, however its beautiful soundtrack sets the mood for every scene. The game tells its story by pushing the player through a series of scenes, however most of the scenes end abruptly and spit the player directly into the next relevant scene, sometimes midstep.

I love the music and artwork of Virginia, however by the time the game ended I was left scratching my head and with little insight as to what exactly was going on in the game. I’ve heard that it’s best to play through the game more than once in order to try to piece things together, however part of me wonders if Variable State wants us to know everything that’s going on. Despite being terribly confused throughout, the music and artwork did a great job of creating an emotional state that left me satisfied. I don’t really know how to explain how the game made me feel, but it definitely evoked a wide range of feelings throughout that just felt right, if that makes any sense. I enjoyed the journey, even as I was left wondering exactly what I was supposed to think of it all.

stakeout

I highly recommend checking out Virginia. It’s a unique and bold experience among so many cookie cutter games these days. The game only lasts a few hours, but it was worth the $10 price of admission for sure. It was an experience that will still be kicking around in the back of my head for days to come.

XCOM 2 on the Xbox One

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

1465311301-xcom-2-x1

The first time I had ever played an XCOM game was with the Xbox 360 release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. I was quickly addicted to the game, and ultimately ended up sinking a lot of hours into it on the PC and iPad. Despite having a lot of fun with the first game, I had never gotten around to checking out XCOM 2 when it released on PC. Since its release I had heard a lot of mixed reactions to the game, but I ended up adding the Xbox One version to my GameFly queue and it arrived today.

I’ve spent about an hour or so with the game so far and thought I’d share a few thoughts about the experience.

Xcom 2 screenshot xbox one

One of the first things I noticed was that the gameplay is nearly identical to the first game, with a few minor additions here and there. This isn’t a bad thing, as it made the game easy to pick up and dive into. Like the 360 release of Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2 plays surprisingly well with a controller. It’s incredibly easy to maneuver your troops into position, perform attacks and navigate the menus. Rather than hovering over a keyboard and mouse, it’s nice to play XCOM while relaxing in a recliner watching the battle unfold on a big screen.

Xcom 2 xbox one

My one complaint about the game so far is that the percentage to hit system makes absolutely no sense. In the screenshot above I’m literally one tile away from an enemy, and yet I have a 74% chance to hit the target! It’s incredibly frustrating and entirely unrealistic to miss a shot from this close. What’s worse is that I’ve been no more than 3 tiles away from enemies with no obstacles in the way and have still had less than a 50% chance to hit, even with a sniper! In fact, I’ve had my sniper and another character equidistant away from an enemy, and for some reason the sniper has had a lesser chance to hit!

I had heard people complain about the absurd randomness of XCOM 2 around the time of the PC release, however I had expected those issues to be remedied by now. It’s unfortunate that it’s still an issue, yet so far it’s only been a minor annoyance in an otherwise enjoyable game. At most this system has caused missions to last a few turns longer as I’ve missed several sure shots, but it hasn’t yet gotten any of my characters killed.

xcom 2 xbox one

I’m looking forward to relaxing on the couch and playing through a few more missions in XCOM 2 tonight. Hopefully it’ll continue to be an enjoyable experience.