Alongside You Don’t Know Jack, Trivial Pursuit has always been one of my favorite party games on consoles and I’m delighted to report that the current gen version is now available for purchase on Xbox One (among other systems).
I’m excited to try it out! I love playing Trivia games with my girlfriend, and can’t wait to dig into Trivial Pursuit Live! this weekend.
It’s available for $14.99 and is 821MB.
Back in December RISK was posted on the Xbox One store and shortly after pulled from sale. It was mistakenly listed for sale (alongside Trivial Pursuit) and quickly pulled alongside a note saying it’s official release would be expected in early 2015.
Well this time it looks like RISK is here to stay. You can pick it up for $14.99. I’m probably going to end up purchasing it, but until then have any of you played it? What do you think of it? I’m somewhat torn on the price. I feel like $9.99 might be a more appropriate price, but maybe there’s enough content to justify it.
I just finished playing through the first couple of hours of Dying Light. Not bad. Well okay, some things about it aren’t great, but overall it’s competent.
Developed by Techland, the people behind Dead Island, Dying Light is an open world zombie game that focuses heavily on parkour traversal and melee weapon combat. The combat feels a lot like Dead Island, with weapons that degrade as you use them, and it feels pretty solid. The parkour, on the other hand, hasn’t impressed me. I found the parkour tutorial section frustratingly difficult to complete. Maybe it’s just because I suck at most video games (especially platformers) but I kept falling over and over again which wasn’t fun. Even once I got out into the world, the climbing and movement felt clunky and somewhat annoying. Having to try to make a jump four or five times is not fun.
So far the story seems cool, and I’ve enjoyed running around the world and fighting off zombies. Once night started to fall I felt absolutely terrified because I’ve already seen what awaits after nightfall in Dying Light (super strong, agile zombies that will rip your face off). Luckily, I was still in the opening sequence and I’m pretty sure the game was waiting for me to get to the safe zone before it became completely dark. It was still quite nerve wracking though.
I’m not sure why I’m trying to play this game. I get scared and anxious enough when night falls in games such as Skyrim (I ALWAYS sleep until daylight) so I’m sure I’ll never be able to handle the night in this game. Heck, I’ve gotten rattled enough just having zombies close in on me during daylight hours in the game. I don’t know how much more I’ll play before I get too stressed out and give up. I probably shouldn’t have purchased the digital version of the game, but I guess I’ll try to push through it.
I managed to get into a co-op game, however the player I was matched with was just standing around unresponsive so at that point I decided I had had enough and should let my heart rate return to normal. I’m interested to see how the co-op works in Dying Light as I enjoyed it quite a bit in Dead Island.
Hopefully I’ll get around to playing some more Dying Light during daylight hours (in both real world and in game). Until then, you can watch my first two hours of the game that I streamed on Twitch.
Are you playing Dying Light? What do you think of it so far? Have any advice for me? Leave a comment!
I just got back from the gym and fired up my Xbox One only to be greeted with a message telling me to sign in with a controller. I tried doing so and was still unable to sign in. Turns out core services are experiencing issues, affecting many users’ ability to sign into Xbox Live.
Are you one of those affected? Hopefully it’s back to normal before too long. At least it’s a nice day outside, may end up going for a sunset walk again.
I jumped right back into matchmaking Strikes tonight, and I had a lot better luck as I was matched with people interested in actually playing the game!
I was initially matched into the Devil’s Lair strike already in progress and my teammates and I made quick work of the strike and final boss. Much more enjoyable with a team that works together!
After that I stayed in matchmaking with one of the players from Devil’s Lair and we actually matched with another third team member who was just as capable as the last. We knocked out the Nexus quite smoothly and I had an enjoyable time doing so.
My only complaint would be that no one used the team voice chat in either strike. I don’t know what it is, but no one ever wants to chat in Destiny. The same goes for the Crucible match I played to end the night, no one was using the team chat channel. Too bad.
I ended the night with a Crucible control match and went a respectable (for me) 20-13 (and we won!). I didn’t really get any notable gear tonight and still sit midway between level 24 and 25. Still, I enjoyed the night and look forward to running another strike or two tomorrow night, hopefully I’ll be just as lucky with the matchmaking!
So I’ve started playing Destiny here and there again, and I’m still getting frustrating by a very annoying occurrence that happens way too often. Three times since this weekend I’ve gotten into matchmade strikes only to find that one of the three players is just standing still, refusing to move (or just outright “AFK”). This makes some of the strikes more cumbersome than they should be and it’s certainly not fair to the other two players.
Each time I make sure I report the player in Destiny and also through Xbox One, and I’ll usually send them a message as well (and block them of course). It’s infuriating to constantly run into these worthless, unsporting players in strikes. I wish Bungie would add a way to vote to kick players from matchmade events, and I wish AFK players would be automatically penalized for refusing to play the game (why bother even trying).
Anyway..I guess I’ll have to find a group of players to join up with, but I’ve only just hit level 24 today so I’m a bit behind the curve.
How do you deal with AFK players?
My copy of Puyo Puyo Tetris arrived today from Japan! After the rather dull and plain Tetris Ultimate, I was excited to check out the eccentric and energetic Tetris (and Puyo Puyo) game from Japan.
The first thing worth noting is that the game comes with a manual. Not just a slip of paper, but a full blown instruction manual, something that’s a rarity these days (not that I think they’re useful. I buy all of my games digitally anyway).
So far Puyo Puyo Tetris is an absolute blast to play! I’ve been enjoying the “story mode” which features some lengthy, strange cut scenes in between each match. Yep, that’s right, this Tetris game has a story! Each cut scene is actually pretty lengthy, and I have absolutely no clue what’s going on but I’m enjoying it! You’ll face a variety of opponents and different challenges as you progress and you can earn 1-3 stars from each level depending on how well you do.
There’s also a variety of VS modes which can be played with 1-3 computer opponents, local co-op (which can also involve CPU opponents if you like) and online play (which I haven’t tried yet). Every mode is a blast to play, and it’s interesting that one person can be playing Tetris while the other is playing Puyo Puyo as you battle it out (there’s even a mode that uses both Tetris pieces and Puyo Puyo pieces at the same time!).
I’m definitely looking forward to playing more Puyo Puyo Tetris, and I definitely recommend picking it up over the U.S. release of Tetris Ultimate. It’s a far superior game! Also, it’s pretty cool to get some Japanese achievements 🙂
After seeing the quicklook on Giant Bomb and realizing that current gen consoles aren’t region locked, I immediately went over to Solaris Japan and ordered a copy of Puyo Puyo Tetris from Japan. As many were, I was a bit underwhelmed by the recent release of Tetris Ultimate here in the states, but was immediately sold once I saw the Japanese game. The game offers a unique style (very Japan) and a twist on the gameplay with the Puyo Puyo integration.
If you don’t know anything about Puyo Puyo, I invite you to check out Giant Bomb’s quick look, it’s quite entertaining! Can’t wait to play it after it arrives!
I had never imported any video game before, but Solaris Japan made it quick and easy. I was able to pay using PayPal, and after selecting the quickest shipping option the total came out to just over $60 which seems pretty reasonable. The game shipped quickly (the day after I ordered it I believe) and everything has gone smoothly so far. It’s scheduled for delivery tomorrow by DHL, so hopefully I’ll be able to pop it in and give it a try before heading into work tomorrow night.
Number Five: Civilization Revolution 2 (iOS)
Back in 2008 Civilization Revolution on the Xbox 360 served as my introduction to the wonderful strategy series that’s been around since 1991. The gameplay was incredibly addicting and winning battles was wonderfully satisfying again and again. One night browsing the app store in my hotel room in Hawaii I stumbled across a pleasant surprise when I saw Civilization Revolution 2 for sale. I bought it immediately and spent countless hours trying to dominate the world rather than sleeping. Revolution 2 plays great on the iPad and offers hundreds of hours of enjoyment for longtime Civ fans or newcomers alike. I’ll be enjoying Civilization Revolution 2 well into 2015 and beyond, and it certainly deserves recognition as one of the best games released in 2014.
Number Four: The Wolf Among Us
Telltale Games’ The Wolf Among Us took me by surprise this summer. I was never blown away by the Walking Dead games but decided to give The Wolf Among Us a try. I downloaded the entire season on the iPad this summer and dove right in. I was immediately blown away by the unique, dark world and the amazing characters within. The music and scenery during the introduction following the preface absolutely blew my mind and ranks as one of the most awe inspiring sequences in a video game I’ve ever experienced.
The mystery Bigbee gets wrapped up in kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire experience and every twist and turn made it so hard to put my iPad down. I burned through the episodes as quickly as I could and loved every minute of it.
Number Three: Hearthstone
Hearthstone is an incredibly well made, free card battle game. Blizzard took a chance and hit a grand slam with Hearthstone. The game features great artwork, animation and sounds along with easy to pick up, hard to put down gameplay that provides countless hours of entertainment. I feel like Hearthstone is quite easy to understand and get the hang of compared to other card battle games like Magic the Gathering, but there’s still plenty there for more seasoned players. Hearthstone is so hard to put down because no matter how badly you’re being beaten you’re never quite out of it. I’ve been on the edge of defeat and have gotten the right cards at the final moments and have battled back from that edge and onto an incredibly satisfying victory. There’s hardly anything more rewarding than experiences like that!
Number Two: Tales from the Borderlands (episode one)
Telltale games have had a big year this year. The Wolf Among Us came to a wonderful conclusion this summer and then this winter saw the start of two new adventures with Game of Thrones and Tales from The Borderlands. The latter has not only been my favorite Telltale game to date, but also one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had with a video game ever! The first episode is upbeat, colorful, energetic and absolutely hilarious from start to finish. I’ve never laughed so much while playing a game. I had a smile on my face from start to finish as I made my way through the exciting chapters of the first episode. There was never a dull moment and the conclusion to the episode had me dying for more. I can’t wait to experience the rest of the story! Tales from the Borderlands confidently lands at number two on my list because it was a refreshing experience with some incredible writing in a great world. I highly recommend it!
Game of the Year: Halo: The Master Chief Collection
This is sure to be a controversial pick for a variety of reasons. First of all, this is technically a re-release of games spanning from 2001 to 2013. Secondly, the game had an incredibly rocky launch, and was not ready to be released upon the salivating masses in November. It’s true, for the first three weeks I owned the game I was only able to play around 15 matches which is entirely unacceptable. That said, now that the game has been more or less working as intended for the last week or so it’s easily been my most enjoyable gaming experience of 2014.
Being able to jump into matches across four different Halo games with my friends from around the world with whom I’ve played the games with in the past. It’s amazing to see how much Halo has grown all in one package. We used to throw our cumbersome CRT TV’s in our cars and drive miles to a central meeting place, lug our TV’s downstairs, order pizza and play Halo for hours on end. To be able to jump into a game of Halo Combat Evolved or Halo 2 with the push of a button is awesome. To be able to play a match of Halo 3, 2, and CE in quick succession is equally awesome. The Halo 2 Anniversary remake is a stunningly beautiful way to relive both a great campaign and a great multiplayer experience.
I will easily spend hundreds of hours over the next year and beyond enjoying the Master Chief Collection. The last week of fun alone has already made up for the three weeks I was barely able to play the game I invested $60 in. From the start the Master Chief Collection was a bargain for $60. They could have easily charged $60 alone for the Halo 2 Anniversary edition, but instead they threw in three more games and gave us an unimaginable value. For that, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is crowned A Video Game Life’s Game of the Year! Congratulations 343!
After about an hour of enjoying Master Chief Collection with friends we all lost our connection to the party and all of a sudden all of our friends lists went dark. They showed zero players online, and we were unable to invite each other back into the game and had issues sending messages even from the Smart Glass app.
We were all able to join Halo matches on our own, but coudln’t join each other’s games or parties. It appears as if Xbox Live is once again under attack and most of the social services seem to be affected right now (over the last 30 minutes or so).
We were having a blast playing Halo, and it’s frustrating to have our enjoyment interrupted once again by a group of “hackers” (the hashtag #xboxlivedown seems to show a widespread interruption). What a shame. I guess I’ll either try to play Dragon Age or just give up all together and play some 3DS to end the night.
Gumballs Plays Games 