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Behind The Reel

Late night grinding, planning for the next event. 

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Live on Twitch!

https://www.twitch.tv/mavreel

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(Mavreel)

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“How gamers feel inside when listening to other gamers... or even worse, non gamers slating their favourite game franchise!” #gaming #gamers #games #gamergirl #gamer #gamerguy #protective #esports #assassinscreed #ubisoft #audacity #geek #nerd #neek #noob #leagueoflegends #rainbow #worldofwarcraft #overwatch #callofduty #fifa #cs #dota2 #dragonballz #loyalty #integrity #fortnite #nintendo #dishonored

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Brilliant!

Black Panther becomes the first MCU film to be featured on Times Magazine’s Cover.

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(Mavreel)

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Microsoft Xbox: Hulk Smash!

The original Xbox came through with more than a splash - it came through with a wave of power. The big powerful console was the closest a console could be to a gaming PC at the time, which allowed console gamers to feel competent when in conversation with a PC gamers debate. PC gamers will highlight that they have always been and will always remain ahead of the console market. We all understand that but gamers buy consoles for different reasons and the Xbox brought power to the console market not yet seen before as well as the ability to play music whilst gaming.

Yes playing music whilst gaming was massive for console gamers back in the early 2000s when this was yet to come to console games. A controller, that for many was the revered controller as a slightly heavier, slightly chunkier design and feel. Which for me was reminiscent of the infamous Dreamcast, which I lost many hours playing Sonic Adventure. But for me, the number one thing that impacted me and my view of gaming, the flourishing industry and what helped contribute to a heightened love for gaming, was the moment I was enchanted by Halo.

I have to thank Microsoft and Bungie for that moment. I first played Halo with my friend Connor when we were the tender age of 11, cruising along Friar St and rolling into the then HMV store. We were fortunate, two little boys rolling into the store and being pleasantly surprised that the Xbox had no queue. As most parents will attest too, Gaming consoles are like magnets for children, and for us, this was the new Xbox we had heard so much about. So we jumped on Halo, and I and Connor had spent over 4 hours glued to the spot playing through the story of Halo: Combat Evolved - making the most of our half day.

Yes, this was when in-person co-op (sofa play) was still prevalent. (Industry professionals, please don’t ever relieve us of this joy. Thank you.) The game was truly enchanting, the graphics, the aesthetics were stunning - better than what I was used to at the time. The mechanics and physics of the game, the story and a soundtrack which resonates with my ears like the Star Wars anthem. This immediately endeared to the console, along with the built-in ‘multi-tap’ allowing 4 players to immediately play.

The built-in hard drive which at the time was equivalent to your Dropbox or cloud storage because space seemed limitless. School home and Xbox was the routine for a very long time. I got right into Splinter Cell, Half-Life 2, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Def Jam Fight for NY, Burnout Takedown, Fable and for me one of my favourites franchises to this day, Rainbow Six. For those who don’t recall, there was much life in the franchise before the critically acclaimed Rainbow Six Siege. The tactical shooter was a far cry from the wet n wild style shooters I was used to, and it quickly engaged me.

Splinter Cell was one of my favourites after Halo, lurking in the shadows and using real precision and tactics drew me in. The realistic quality of the graphics again reflected the power of the Xbox. As I write this it dawns on me that a lot of my favourite franchise today actually started out life on the Xbox, such as Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six.

The Xbox 360 also stormed into the world in 2005, peacocking with graphics that console gamers had yet been blessed with. I remember King Kong being one of the launch titles to run in tandem with the movie release and being inspired by how amazing the lighting, weather effects and the fur of animals within the game looked.

Then, of course, brought the next wave of Halo games, since the evergreen classics such as Mario and Crash Bandicoot as a child, there hasn’t been a game franchise which has intensified by admiration for gaming like the Halo series. I won’t get into the debate of which is the best one, but for me, the first two were my favourite and the one I dedicated the most time to as a carefree teen. Classics such as Red Dead Redemption which has left a highly anticipated buzz around the sequels release Red Dead Redemption 2 later this year, was accompanied by games such Bioshock, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, The Orange Box and Burnout Paradise.

Could it be an Xbox tribute without mentioning Left 4 Dead and most importantly Gears of War? Gears of War was for me the first game which brought a truly cinematic feel to gaming just through movement and mechanics alone, let alone a gripping story and relatable and enthralling. I remember first running a mission and the feeling on the pad and the movement of the camera added to the immersive feeling I believe they were trying to create and succeeded in doing so. The physics in the game were heightened at this period, and no other games were close.

Then came the horsepower of Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X. Focusing on the ‘X’, Xbox has again released an ultra-powerful console which not only boasts raw horsepower, it has unrivalled online capabilities and matchmaking prowess, which is expected being born of tech and computer heavyweight Microsoft. As cloud gaming becomes more prevalent and gaming SaaS (software as a service) continues to rise, the cloud prowess and hardware expertise could see Xbox fair extremely well.

The backwards compatibility of the console is always a positive, as many gamers (and buying family and friends) appreciate all of those old games not becoming obsolete or downtrodden as the new console is out. The controller is meaty, just as many gamers like it and not only is the hardware powerful, the UI and UX of the Xbox are so sleek, so smooth, so fast it’s like drifting around on Forza Horizon in a Ferrari 458 Italia. With ironclad exclusive franchises in the light of Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Dead Rising, Quantum Break and more, we eagerly anticipate more top exclusives entering the party this year with Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, The Last Night and a game to adventure exploration days, the Sea of Thieves! Just like Sony PlayStation and Nintendo, we're super grateful for all the quality contributions of Microsoft Xbox to the industry.

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“How gamers feel inside when listening to other gamers... or even worse, non gamers slating their favourite game franchise!” #gaming #gamers #games #gamergirl #gamer #gamerguy #protective #esports #assassinscreed #ubisoft #audacity #geek #nerd #neek #noob #leagueoflegends #rainbow #worldofwarcraft #overwatch #callofduty #fifa #cs #dota2 #dragonballz #loyalty #integrity #fortnite #nintendo #dishonored

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“The face of most gamers when the release date of their favourite game is pushed back. This was literally so many people when Red Dead Redemption 2 was pushed back. I personally think it’s better for the devs to have more time to polish the game, then release a half baked game. Games developers and publishers aren’t often afforded the same patience or understanding like what we give our smartphone manufacturers. They release half baked phones annually and we just await the system updates, mainly because we have no choice but to accept or wait. Similar in gaming, but us gamers can be hard work and many of us will complain that there’s too many updates etc on this game. Plus there’s way more competition in the gaming industry, whether Triple-A or Indie titles. So many of the business heads don’t want to risk the game tanking because of bad early traction/PR and the creatives want to release a creation they’re proud of naturally. Some of the best games took 5 years or more to complete. We have been waiting since 2004 for The Incredibles 2! Let’s afford the game devs the same patience we have for Pixar and smartphone manufacturers. #patience #perspective #gaming #games #gamer #gamergirl #gamerguy #metalgearsolid #playstation #xbox #nintendo #reddeadredemption #ea #ubisoft #pixar #activision #gratitude #apple #samsung #android #smartphone #creative #life #happy #fun #dog #fitness #health #love #disney

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“How my team pose after winning a ranked game on Rainbow Six Siege. (I just feel like that after getting through MGS, Watch Dogs 2, Ghost Recon, Horizon Zero Dawn or Hitman without being spotted - lover of stealth)” #gamer #games #gaming #gamergirl #gamerguy #sonic #sega #classic #rainbow #rainbowsixsiege #ubisoft #esports #winning #nostalgia #mvp #speed #positivevibes #positivity #life #love #peace #relationships #men #women #fitness #fitnessmotivation #healthylifestyle #joy #happy

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Tune into Twitch to watch our very first broadcast of Leon from Mavreel, showcasing his talent (hopefully) on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered!! 👊 #classic #gaming #gamers #games #callofduty #gamerguy #gamergirl #fps #live #mavreel #twitch #esports #pressure #funny #boss #videogames #activision #callofduty #shooter #fun #nostalgia #playstation #nintendo #xbox #winning #represent #lol #swat #memes https://m.twitch.tv/mavreel

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"People are stuck because the fear of losing trumps the excitement of victory.That fear is usually others opinions and judgements. Pick up the pad you’re in control.” #gaming #esports #gamergirl #gamer #gamers #games #tournament #gamerguy #pressstart #nintendo #pokemongo #pikachu #love #life #beautiful #jump #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #business #career #men #women #hope #god #spiritual #motivation #inspiration #health #fitness

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“The face you pull when you try to remain humble after a very public landslide victory.” #gaming #gamer #gamergirl #gamers #nintendoswitch #nintendo #streetfighter #egx2017 #egx #humility #fun #firstneverfollows #entrepreneur #fitness #health #smile #happy #focus #public #hadoken #mainstage #perspective #gratitude #respect #winner #esports #competition #fighting #joy #peace

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"Make the commitment to yourself and those around you that you're no longer driving through life with the handbrake on. Let everyone know that you are about to start red lining life, pushing the accelerator completely to the floor ready to blow the casket on the engine of your potential. Attack your goals ruthlessly. But remain compassionate and empathetic. There is no failure unless you quit. It's impossible for you to run out of energy. It's impossible for you to run out of creativity. Look at Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Activision, EA, Namco, Bungie and more. It's impossible for you to run out of new ideas. You'll always have another tactic, another level, another restart, another difficulty level for your gaming. In business, you’ll always have another call, another email, another DM or more persistence, tenacity and grit. You can go 'all in' on every hand, you are not a limited or finite commodity, there's no limit to you as a resource. Go at life positively in every area of your life. Not just one facet, but all areas of your life. Your gaming, your love, your career, your business, your relationships, your family, your marriage, your health, your spirituality, your potential. Remember you can't hit it out of the park by playing safe and never swinging for the fence! Who ever won eSports by playing it safe! Who ever felt fulfilled playing on ‘easy’?" #gamer #gaming #gamergirl #esports #career #relationships #relationshipgoals #fitness motivation #fitness #love #loyal #lovelife #business #entrepreneur #egx2017 #grantcardone #god #healthyeating #life #potential #inspiration #10x #motivation #forza #xboxone #cars #racer #porsche

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"If you're good enough, nobody can stop you. This is as real as it gets... either deploy patience or eliminate excuses to get to your wants and needs. That doesn’t mean trample on anyone else, you can’t stop a winner anyway. Just rise and grind - take action. No ‘difficulty setting’ will stop you.” Empathy. Perspective. Gratitude. Intestinal Fortitude. Action. Humility. Patience. Kindness. #gamer #gamergirl #esports #love #life #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #happy #smile #women #men #business #fit #heart #fitness #health #ambition #inspiration #goals #relationshipgoals #god #spirtuality #career #onelife #market #beautiful #art #blackpanther #marvel

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Are Sony PlayStation at the Heart of the Gaming Industry?

The best things about Sony PlayStation!

We didn't want to leave anyone out with our blog post on why we all adore Nintendo. We have a lot of love to go around, and the PlayStation brand is also at the heart of the industry and for myself personally, my childhood. The PS1 startup sound is a melody that evokes sweet memories of the excitement when the classic PlayStation logo would load up on our humble sized screen. The games as a child that I would play with my sister and would be brother Jahv,  would include games such as Donald Duck: Quack Attack, Tekken, Pandemonium, Spyro The Dragon and of course the infamous Crash Bandicoot - the true PlayStation mascot.

Now PlayStation, you remastered Crash Bandicoot after many years, please grace us with a remaster and continuation of Spyro The Dragon and Quack Attack. But this article would not be complete without me mentioning our love of Worms! Worms - the very simple 2D level game, wherein simple terms we would destroy opposing teams of worms in the most fun and creative ways (please go watch gameplay footage on YouTube as my synopsis is not enough justice for the game). There were many hours where myself and family would blowtorch and ninja rope across the maps, just to execute the most embarrassing and humorous kills such as the Street Fighter Ryu influenced uppercut or push if they were near the edge. Sometimes it resulted in Kamikaze, but that was part of the all loving process. Not to forget the infamous sheep...Thank you Team 17.

Coming out after the NES and the SNES, the PS1 caught me in a slightly more mature stage of childhood (5 years young)  and I united with the brand ever since. As time went on, more and more classic games entered the foray such as Gran Turismo, Porsche Challenge and longtime favourite Spider-Man games. Then there were the games that also consumed many hours such as Crash Team Racing and Driver.

Upon reflection, as I write this, I think I was too young for Driver, and I most certainly was too scared to play Resident Evil when my cousin (whom I shall not name) would try to leave me to play that alone, at night as a child. I wouldn't even do that now as an adult. Some games you don't always play but you take solace in watching others play, and for me, Tomb Raider was one of those I would watch my dad play. The legendary Lucozade advert with Lara Croft in always comes to mind - phenomenal marketing. The fact I remember the advert after decades, literally as it came out in 1998.

But beyond the PS1, we stepped into the era of the PS2, which for me was the best era of gaming so far for me, in terms of the number of great quality content titles we had to choose from. Many gamers would argue that today we have the best games, well I am not saying that the games today are not epic they are, in terms of gameplay, graphics, audio, story, integration, gaming as a service, online and more. I just feel like we had even more options in the era of the PS2, this was heightened with brilliant of both the original Xbox (Halo etc) and the Nintendo Gamecube (Mario Kart Double Dash, Super Smash Bros Melee, Super Mario Sunshine etc). It's similar to mobile phones, back in 2005 there would always be at least 5-8 great phones you would consider to buy if not more, and nowadays we have like 1-3 phones, for some just 1 great phone option. So I am talking about depth and width in terms of game quality in that era, as opposed to today where I feel we don't have as much width, but still quality, understandably. We will discuss that another time.

I don't have enough space to write all the PS2 classics and sequels from Final Fantasy XII, Gran Turismo 3, Kingdom Hearts 2, the Prince of Persia Trilogy, Splinter Cell, GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas Jak and Daxter, Tekken 5, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Dragonball Z Budokai 2, Need for Speed Underground 2, Ratchet and Clank, Tony Hawk's 3, God of War, MGS 2 and a whole lot more. But this console and that entire era were pivotal to console gaming.

The PS3 followed up with its own terrific library of games, and free online gameplay which resulted in many hours of me running around as a one-man SWOT team on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Then one of my favourite game sagas in 'Infamous' was released on this console, which has gone from strength to strength since. You had the multi-award-winning cinematic The Last of Us, which was so emotive and successful it was quickly released on PS4 too upon launch. With the sequel one of the most anticipated games this year. Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, Call of Duty Black Ops 1, 2 & 3, GTA V, Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, COD Modern Warfare and 3, Assasins Creed franchise was born and a whole host more.

Fast forwarding to 2018 and PlayStation's slogan is 'This is for The Players' and it is hard to disagree with this statement. Steaming into 2018 with an already solid PS4 exclusive catalogue, we are fortunate to already have Infamous Second Son, Street Fighter 5, Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn, which is such a beautiful game, truly stunning with an enthralling storyline. The Last Guardian, Uncharted 4, which, like The Last of Us is cinematic in quality, which comes as standard from majestically blessed Naughty Dog. Naughty Dog always had my affection since the days of Crash Bandicoot in the 90s.

This all seems to be the warm-up for PlayStation because just this year we have Spider-Man, Detroit: Become Human, God of War, Days Gone, Death Stranding, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Shadow of Colossus and of course The Last of Us Part II. This isn't even all of their exclusives, they are just churning out high-quality exclusives like Drake in music. It feels like a warm-up, just like Aubameyang's debut goal for Arsenal today. But for all of us gaming fans, whether we are fangirls or fanboys, we gamers are favoured with many special games. Long may it continue, as the industry needs competition. Thank you, Sony PlayStation.

Disclaimer: Yes, we love Nintendo and Microsoft Xbox too.Like the Nintendo article, this is not an article to belittle others, it’s a post to give praise Sony PlayStation and their contributions to the industry. Microsoft Xbox, we have one coming for you too.  

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This is a list of games that Jem is looking forward to in 2018! This is not representative of the entire Mavreel team and we will be releasing other team members views on this topic shortly. This is a subjective viewpoint, does it contain all the massive Triple-A titles of the year?... Let us know what you think and which games are you are most excited for this year? 

Image: Marvel | Insomniac | Sony PlayStation