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The rats want to eat me

I feel very bad for the monk. I watched swarms of black rats chase after him as he cried for help. Once he was caught the rats pulled him down and it was over quickly. They made a meal out of the monk. 

I knew I was in for something troubling in A Plague Tale: Innocence, a game set in France during the time of the black death. These strange supernatural rodents with red eyes can shoot out from the ground out of nowhere. My reaction was, “What in the hell is going on here?” These damn rats are restless and hungry for human flesh, and in my way of finding a cure for my brother’s sickness.

I applaud Asobo Studio for making a game about avoiding swarms of flesh-eating rodents. I’m glad this game allowed me to witness knights in heavy armor get dragged down and eaten by armies of rats. It never got old. I don’t have fancy armor but I can rely on fire pits, lanterns, or torchlights for protection since the creatures hate the light and step back. Still, they surround me, facing towards me looking very agitated. It’s an epic fight that I encounter throughout the game, as they seem to be everywhere- underground, outside, inside buildings, and worst of all, in crypts or dark rooms. The worst one was when I was in a pretty castle but then the rats were everywhere. Those encounters, as well as some story scenes, and the relationship between Amicia and Hugo, were the strength of A Plague Tale: Innocence.

[gamesociety]

I’m early into Life is Strange and I’m impressed

Life is Strange has been quite a surprise. I didn’t think a video game would bring back memories of my time in college- dorm rooms, hangouts, crushes, and clubs. I’m impressed by the game’s art direction, way better than other recent games I’ve played. Max is great and the supporting cast is treated respectfully, peppered with personality, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

Video games I’ve played rarely reflect on the issues of the real world. I didn’t expect to see Life is Strange go in that direction, and it seems like it will play a role in the story. No way was I expecting to see commentary on privacy and indigenous rights.

The last thing I want to say is this game has been a refreshing change over the usual stuff I’ve played.

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I don’t like most of these Talos 1 employees

I’m having a good time with Prey and plan to finish it this week. I don’t plan to do all the side quests currently on my list because I think I’ve seen enough of Prey. A recurring event that I see happen aboard the space station Talos 1- a lot of idiot employees who complain or make bad decisions. That's the vibe I get from reading all those emails and notes, listening to the audio logs- “don’t do this,” “why did you do that,” “you screwed up,” “why did you leave us,” etc. I figured a place as impressive as Talos 1 with its scientific ambitions for human evolution and exploration would have more competent employees. I’ve had my fill of that nonsense and wish the game steer towards more entertaining stories to read and listen to, what life was like when things didn’t go to hell. I will give the game props for at least introducing a decent supporting cast with some personality, like Dr. Igwe, Mikhaila, and Danielle. Mikhaila is a good person, compassionate, and the opposite of Dr. Igwe who tends to favor his work over people. There was a wonderful moment when I met Danielle for the first time in the pool room and wished I had the chance to meet her more. She seemed like the more sane person on the station, someone I wouldn't mind listening to tell me what happened aboard Talos 1.

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My thoughts on Xbox Game Previews

I decided to dip more into Xbox Game Previews and see what the experience was like. Game Previews is the equivalent of Steam’s Early Access program, unfinished games that you can purchase. What you can expect are bugs and a lack of content, but the game can still be enjoyable in its current state. Game Previews has only a couple of games while Steam has thousands of them. Valve is on the win column for sure with early access thanks to hits like Phasmophobia and Valheim. Can Xbox ever have the kind of success with early access games as Valve? I have no clue.

I’m not sure why there’s not many games on Game Previews. Maybe developers just don’t have the time to invest in another platform if their game is already in Steam’s Early Access program. Maybe they aren’t interested in Xbox due to a smaller audience compared to PC. Maybe the tools, resources, or support on Xbox is not for them. 

Additional thoughts on Game Previews:

Only six games on Game Previews. Why isn’t there more? 

The only work-in-progress titles on Game Pass I see is Grounded, TABS, and Comanche. The subscription service continues to evolve and more early access games on there would be the perfect platform for players to check out before buying. Players can just try the games out and see for themselves how it is in its unfinished state.  

I was surprised to see that Ooblets and other Game Preview titles with only a one-hour trial period. 

I'm glad there's a trial for Ooblets because after playing it, I'm gonna have to give it a pass. The game is pretty, the characters and art look fantastic. There’s a lot of charm and warmth. What I didn’t enjoy were the dance battles. The presentation during the dances was a bit too much- too many things going on with the crowd and colors. It was more distracting than entertaining

[gamesociety]

How to check which games are optimized for the Xbox Series X Photo 1- Visit your full library and click on the filter option. You will see a choice for games optimized for Series X|S
Photo 2- These are the games optimized right now for Xbox Series X|S

[gamesociety]

Japanese Games Are Making Noise On Xbox Game Pass

It’s not hard to find high quality Japanese games on Steam and PlayStation. But on the Xbox side, the selection is nowhere close to its competitors, if it ever will be. But comparisons aside, Microsoft has made progress in bringing more Japanese games to their audience thanks to Game Pass. 

Microsoft is committed to a diverse lineup of games on Game Pass, some of those coming out of Japan. I can already play more than 20 Japanese games, popular titles from the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchise. A recent game that arrived on Game Pass was Dragon Quest XI S, one of Japan's most successful video game franchise. I don’t think anyone would have expected to see a Dragon Quest game on Xbox. 

Subscribers can now play Soul Calibur VI, Nier: Automata, Tales of Vesperia, and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Support for Game Pass from three of the biggest Japanese publishers- Sega, Bandai Namco, and Square Enix- has me optimistic about the chances more Japanese games arrive on the service. 

Then there’s Zenimax’s Japanese studio, Tango Gameworks (Evil Within franchise). Many in the games industry were stunned to hear the news that Microsoft bought Zenimax Media, the parent company behind popular studios like Bethesda and id Software. With Tango included in the blockbuster deal, I’m eager to see if the Japanese studio will makes games on a larger scale now that it’s backed by the Microsoft dollars. I’m still not sure what Microsoft has in mind for the studio but my guesses include: Evil Within 3, a new IP, or a revival of an old Xbox franchise. 

I don’t know if Microsoft is going to continue this year adding as many Japanese games to Game Pass as they did in 2020. I do know that Square Enix had promised in the past to bring more Final Fantasy games like X and XII to Game Pass. We will wait and see when those games arrive. For now Game Pass members have reasons to celebrate with many Japanese games ready to play. Capcom even decided to put a game of theirs on the service, a small game you may have heard of, called Monster Hunter: World.  

Here is a list of Japanese games already on Xbox Game Pass:

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered 

Final Fantasy IX

Nier Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition

Tales of Vesperia

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter

Kingdom Hearts 3

Code Vein

Resident Evil VII

Soul Calibur VI

Yakuza 0

Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2

Yakuza Remastered Collection featuring Yakuza 3,4,and 5

Yakuza 6

Disgaea 4 Complete+

Monster Hunter: World

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Coming to 2021 and beyond:

Possibly Ghostwire Tokyo or future title(s) from Tango Gameworks

Final Fantasy XIV (according to Phil Spencer)  

Supposedly on Game Pass for 2020 but didn’t happen. Maybe 2021?:

Final Fantasy X: HD Remastered

Final Fantasy X-2: HD Remastered

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Not on Game Pass but is free-to-play on Xbox: 

Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis (coming 2021)

Trivia: 

Did you know on Game Pass you can play games made by Western studios but published by Japanese publishers? That’s right. They either own the studio or were partners in making the game. For example, on Game Pass you can play Sega games made by Creative Assembly (UK), Amplitude Studios (France), and Relic (Canada). If anyone says there aren’t many Japanese games on Xbox maybe mention that these Western games from western developers are technically Japanese, because it was published by a Japanese company.

Here’s a list of games made by Western studios from Japanese publishers:

Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (Bandai Namco)

Company of Heroes 2 (Sega)

Alien Isolation (Sega)

Two Point Hospital (Sega)

Endless Legend (Sega)

Dungeon of the Endless (Sega)

Endless Space 2 (Sega)