Gumballs Plays: Prey 002
I managed to work up the courage to play some more Prey Sunday night. I didn’t play much (the game still freaks me out), but I’m still blown away by how good the game looks every time I play it.
Lawbreakers looks sweet!
Cliff Bleszinski and Boss Key Productions’ debut game, Lawbreakers, revealed a new trailer yesterday and it’s began to generate a lot of hype around the game. I hadn’t heard a lot about the game previously (though I did get a Lawbreakers hat in a Loot Crate awhile back) and the trailer was my first time seeing the game. I’m already sold. I can’t stop watching the trailer, and I’m finding myself already salivating over the game.
Lawbreakers will cost just $29.99 when it releases later this year (I assume we’ll get a date at E3) on PS4 and PC. If the price seems too good to be true, it’s worth noting that there will be no season pass, and all future updates will be free. There will be a loot box system in place, but all items will be purely cosmetic.
If you want a better look at how the game will play, there are several mode tutorials on Lawbreaker’s YouTube channel which show you how some of the game modes will work.
I can’t wait to see more at E3, and look forward to what might become 2017’s Overwatch.
Finally got around to starting NieR: Automata
I’ve heard nothing but good things about NieR: Automata (mostly from Giant Bomb), but I hadn’t gotten around to checking it out until this past weekend. So far I’ve been nothing but impressed with the game, which features one of the strongest opening segments in all of video games. I was blown away from the start, and I only hope that the rest of the game lives up to the intense opening sequence.
I’m looking forward to playing more, but at this point I’m only creating a backlog of games that will be practically impossible to conquer (Fallout 4, Gears 4, Halo 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, Tales of Berseria, Prey… not to mention ongoing games such like Battlegrounds…)
Gumballs Plays: PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (22 May)
Watching me player PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS is probably like watching paint dry. I tend to make a beeline for a building, stock up on whatever’s inside, and then find somewhere to hide in a cowardly manner for as long as humanly possible. This strategy has worked in my favor more often than it seems like it should, as I’ve often gotten lucky and ended up well inside the circle early on. In tonight’s game I scored 3 kills, my highest yet, but unfortunately I’m still terrible once I get out into the open as the circle contracts toward the end, and this is where I always meet my fate.
As boring as it is to watch, I love playing this way. It’s incredibly tense. In tonight’s game I heard someone pull up in a vehicle, get out and open the door downstairs. The footsteps got closer and closer and I felt sure they were going to burst through the door and kill me at any moment. Then, for whatever reason, they turned around, went back downstairs, got into their vehicle and drove off. My heart was racing as I stood up to watch them drive away.
The next person to enter the house wasn’t so lucky. Unfortunately, I eventually had to leave my shelter (I probably could’ve stayed awhile longer) and work my way toward the new safe zone and my ultimate death.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (Xbox One) impressions
I remember playing a little bit of Bulletstorm when it came out for the Xbox 360 in 2011, however it never hooked me and I didn’t spend a lot of time with it. After seeing some coverage of the remaster that released earlier this year I decided I wanted to give it a second chance. I’ve played for an hour or two so far and have really enjoyed my time with it. It certainly feels like a 360 shooter, but that older gameplay and style feel somewhat refreshing in 2017.
The shooting is satisfying, as is the grapple hook which allows you to fling enemies around and pull off sweet moves such as pulling an enemy toward you and kicking them into exposed electrical wires. The text on screen that describes and scores each kill is also quite satisfying. In most shooters your only concern is mowing down enemies as quickly as possible, but in Bulletstorm you get rewarded for killing with style. You use the points you earn to upgrade your weapons and abilities which allow you to take down your enemies in more exciting ways.
The game looks great and plays smoothly on the Xbox One, and never seems to drop in frame rate no matter how many enemies and explosions are on screen. I’m really enjoying the game, and it’s definitely worth picking up if you passed on it during its initial release. The singleplayer campaign will take most players around eight hours to complete, so the $60 price might not justified for some people, but if you happen to find it on sale for around $30 I wouldn’t pass it up.
Gumballs Plays: Torment: Tides of Numenera 001
Picked up a Corsair Void RGB Wireless Headset
I finally decided to purchase a headset for my desktop last week, and ordered the Corsair Void RGB wireless headset ($99). I wanted a wireless solution since I had moved my desktop out of my office when I got my Oculus.
The Void has a small USB receiver that’s about the size of a thumb drive, which once plugged in will have the headset ready to use in about a minute. You can then download the Corsair Utility Engine app which will allow you to change the color and animation of the lights on the headset (note my sweet pink glow below) as well as tinker with sound profiles.
The headset is the most comfortable gaming headset I’ve owned to date, and they stay comfortable even during longer gaming sessions. My desktop is about ten feet from my desk and I haven’t had any issue with the wireless signal dropping, even as I walk into the kitchen to grab a drink between rounds in PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS.
One of the most important features (behind comfort in my opinion) of a headset is of course sound quality, and the Void doesn’t disappoint. I’m not picky, but every game sounds great through the headset.
If you’re in the market for a new PC headset, I highly recommend the Void RGB Wireless by Corsair.
Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels!
I played a little bit of the latest Forza Horizon 3 DLC, Hot Wheels and had an absolute blast with it! I didn’t know a lot about the expansion going into it, and mostly assumed it would just feature Hot Wheels cars, but they went all the way with it, right down to the orange plastic tracks that loop and turn in wacky ways! There’s so much attention to detail, and I especially love the mechanical sound the launchers make as you approach them (it sounds like a rollercoaster). I’m looking forward to checking out more of the game this weekend!
A Walk in the Dark has one stylish trailer
I hadn’t heard of the upcoming (May 19) game A Walk in the Dark until I happened across the trailer above last night, and I have to say the trailer took my breath away. Once it started showing gameplay I was a little put off (it looks a lot like Limbo, and I’m just not into those types of games) but the incredible music made kept me watching from beginning to end. I can’t say I’m interested to play the game, but I am going to buy the soundtrack.
For those interested, the game has been available on Steam for nearly four years (currently $6.99) and 83% of its 270 reviews on Steam are positive, resulting in a ‘very positive’ rating. I haven’t been able to find the price for the Xbox version, however it will be an Xbox Play Anywhere game.
Checking out Corroded (early access)
It’s no secret that the Steam store can be a little crowded, and it seems like the new releases list can change every hour of the day. Therefore it’s easy for games to get lost in a swamp of releases (most seem to be visual novels) and never heard of again. I’ve decided to browse the new releases category on steam in an effort to try out new games that people might not have heard of yet and write about them. The first game I’m doing this for is Corroded, an early access game recently released on Steam by Encircle Games, a six man team out of Norway.
From what I understand the game is an eight player battle arena game. From their website the game is described as:
Corroded is an arena brawler inspired by the Warlocks mod from Warcraft 3, where two to eight players fight and push each other out of a shrinking arena surrounded by a hazardous environment. We supplement this by introducing dynamic levels, and focus on speed and a streamlined skill system, giving it a more arcade-like feel.
This sounds intriguing. I never played Warcraft III nor have I heard of the mod, but it seems to have become popular again as I came across another game in development based on the mod, Ruin. According to their Kickstarter page, Ruin was shooting for a March 2017 release, however their most recent update indicates that the game is only in a pre-alpha stage right now. This may work out in Corroded’s favor, if there truly is going to be a market for this type of game.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to truly test out Corroded as of yet. I launched the game after midnight Mountain Time tonight only to find myself to be the only player logged into the game. I did, however, poke around the menus and launch a custom game so that I could run around and everything I’ve seen so far seems solid. The menus are simple, but effective and everything worked smoothly. The game didn’t have any hiccups, and ran at over 300fps while I poked around an arena by myself.
The game is selling for $12.99, has been on Steam since April 26, and currently has 33 reviews (17 in English, and 3 that Steam counts) all of which are positive (note that most of the reviewers received the product for free). The $12.99 early bird fee grants access to all characters, both current and future, and all the “early access” skins. The game already has menus to buy in game currency which can be used to unlock characters and skins, which makes me believe that the game may end up going for a League of Legends rotating free character sort of thing.
Until I have a chance to play a round or two with other players there’s not much else I can say, so hopefully I’ll be able to find someone to play with at a better time of day this weekend. I recorded a short video of me running around an arena by myself if you’re curious to see what that looks like check it out below.
Gumballs Plays Games 