mookjoones

[mookjoones]

GMook coming soon!

Hi all! I'm putting together a Dungeon World (a Dungeons and Dragons style RPG) campaign for the usual crew to start poking around in!! I like to think I've got a pretty decent general pitch set in place, and I think I've left plenty up to the imagination of the players. I'm really intrigued with the mechanics of creating interesting characters and stories for the crew to engage with. I can't wait to see what kind of opportunities we'll find to flesh out the characters and the world around them. This is all a preface to say some content related to that might end up here! It might be some in world lore stuff or recaps and other things! ✌🏻

[mookjoones]

BattleGround Sounds

One thing that often gets overlooked in games is sound. Not the score, but just the real nittygritty sound effects. I enjoyed Horizon:Zero Dawn, but the sounds effects didn’t go beyond serviceable for me. Not to say it was BAD by any stretch, but it was game that I felt didn’t lose much atmosphere with a podcast on in the background. I mention sound mostly because I’ve been playing a lot of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds lately, and that game uses sound so so well. From the initial plane drop to the long camping sessions, I find the sound of PUBG incredibly effective in building a narrative in each of my 15-20 sessions with the game. Hearing a car drive a stop in front of the house you’ve decided to hole up in, go quiet for a few seconds, and then leave is such a thrilling experience. Or sitting in the same house, staring at the same wall with bullets cracking in the distance (with a little rain too). You learn so much from listening in this game. Moments like these make the games where I do nothing for 20 minutes than randomly die just as interesting as the frantic ones. 

The sound obviously has game play indications as well. There’s no radar that reveals players taking shots at you. The only chance you have is to dial in that ear quick and pray you’re taking cover from the right angle. Long story short, this game uses sound as a key part of the gameplay in a way that many shooters simply don’t. I’m cutting this short because I have to play more. BRB. -Mook 

[mookjoones]

Breadth of The Wild

Excuse the title pun, but I need to drop my thoughts on the Zelda. Quickly, so I can go back to playing it! Simply put, this is probably the most fun I've ever had playing a Zelda game. There are lots of ways to nitpick this game (some are very valid i.e. Frame rate), but the world is so damn interesting that the game's blemishes simply washed away. Nintendo makes good on the promise of "see that mountain? You can go there!" that many other open world games fail at. I can spend hours in this game just scanning the map for an interesting place and exploring with no rhyme or reason. Nintendo rewards this curiosity is lots of ways, so it always feels like your journey always has a payoff. Breath of the Wild shakes the Zelda fundamentals to the core by radically expanding your freedom. Within the first hour of the game, you have all the tools to solve the 100s of shrines scattered around the world. Nothing is stopping you from recklessly charging Hyrule Castle to fight Gannon. It's a very bad idea, but the notion that I could do that is so damn thrilling. To end these initial thoughts with another pun, this game brings a Breath of fresh air to a franchise that sorely needed it. (Sorry)

[mookjoones]

BREATH OF THE WILD IS SO GOOD.

[mookjoones]

Video Game Writing in 2017

Is really hard to do without the broader context of the ongoing shitstorm of Donald Trump. Not that anybody really cared about my thoughts on Fire Emblem Heroes (It’s alright) before, but I certainly can’t blame anyone for giving even less of a shit now! Honestly, that’s probably a good thing. Mr. Trump has reignited a popular protest culture (that was lingering with Occupy Wall Street and more so with Black Lives Matter) that might do us some good in the long run. Not to say i’m going to be watching the next (please not 8) 4 years go by thinking everything is hunky dory because “it’ll be ok”. It might not be ok for a lot of people who face unprecedented attacks from our government based on their religion or color of skin. It probably won’t be ok for people who will lose their insurance. I guess what i’m trying to say here, is that escapism is really hard in 2017. Super Bowl Ads showed us that there really is no escape from the contextual poop-tornado of Trump’s presidency. And maybe that’s a good thing.  Not every game needs to be Papers Please or Half-Life, but I really hope game developers, indies especially, to use their platform in ways that we really haven’t seen before in games. I hope 2017 and on bring us the most woke games humanly possible.     -Mook

[mookjoones]

New Post Coming Soon

I’m kicking around a few ideas, but don’t want to berate you with a TRUMP BAD piece you’ve read elsewhere. Will have something fresh soon! -Mook

[mookjoones]

QUICK HITS

Lots of different things have been popping up lately that I wanted to talk a little bit about, so here come some rapid fire takes.

The Wonderful Weirdness of Let It Die

I have no idea if I actually really enjoy playing this game. The environments are effective, but drab and repetitive. The gameplay aims for the intricate dance of Dark Souls, but falls short with an awkward imitation that never feels quite right. The game also stacks in an overwhelming amount of mechanics up front in a way that really isn’t inviting.

And yet…. This game is awesome. Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacturing have never been afraid to take tropes in games and completely upend them, and Let It Die is no exception. The game has a quirky and charming spirit that is central to why I am fascinated by this game. You’re guided through the Tower of Barbs by Uncle Death, presumably the supercool skateboarding uncle of Death itself. The other characters are quirky and crazy in ways that feel natural in this world, serving much more function than lol random XD. I am sucker for games with styyyyyle and this game has loads.

I don’t know if i’ll spend much more time with Let it Die before passing final judgement, but this weird Punk Rock/Dark Souls mash of a game commands attention in a way few other games do. I respect that. (Did I mention it’s Free to Play? Because that gives you one less excuse to try this game). 2.  The Continuing Brilliance of Hitman

The more I dig into this game, the better it gets. I’m working my way through the escalations and trying to pin down the elusive targets, and IO really has something special here.

Playing all these levels at once is nice, but I really feel like I missed out on the forced deep dives as the game’s chapters were delivered episodically. I don’t think this is a mistake i’ll make with Season 2! 3. The Inauguration

The Inauguration of the 45th President of The United States is this Friday. There are many many things I can list here (namely his alarming disrespect of things like the institution of journalism, Women, civil liberties) that you are likely well aware of. If you didn’t vote for him, you know what you need to do. Call your representatives and let them you are watching them hawk. Let them know what their tacit acceptance of this reckless individual means to you and your fellow constituents. Don’t forget that these representatives work for us!

To those who voted in favor of him, I would ask that you do the same thing.

It’s a free country and you are allowed to vote who for you choose. I may strongly disagree with many of the things he stands for and represents, but I understand that it wouldn’t be a free country if we agreed all the time. Please hold your representatives accountable. Does appointing grossly unqualified cabinet members Make America Great Again? Does repudiating NATO, an organization that has created unparalleled global peace in its time, make us safer? Does white supremacy have a place in a government that champions unitiers like Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, and the Founding Fathers? Think about these questions over the next few years. Take a look at what you see and ask yourself if this is really what you wanted when you voted to MAGA.

Extremist voices, as loud as they can be, are vastly outweighed by the quiet goodness we see around us everyday.  I refuse to believe this goodness can be so easily undermined by pockets of hatred and division. It’s hard work, but we need to reset discourse in this country. Liberals aren’t Satan, and neither are Conservatives.

We have to fix this poisonous notion by talking to each other. Not in twitter fights or on reddit, but face to face. It’s very easy to put yourself in echo chambers that only serve to confirm your world views. I know I’m very guilty of this, and I bet i’m not the only one. I’m going to take some time to try and understand where conservatives are coming from. I don’t think i’ll agree with anything I hear, but I might be able to at least get a better idea as to how they’ve reached their conclusions. Or it might not work, who knows. But if it allows us to make politics about finding what is best for all Americans instead of SALTY TEARS LOL, it might be worth a shot. (PS: Please check your sources with any piece of news you see. Objective truth cannot be distorted. Please do not dismiss something you don’t agree with as false. Just please. Good god) -Mook

[mookjoones]

Mook’s Top 10 Games of 2016

Hi, i’m back! Sorry for the delay, I promise i’ll write more. Boom, ok. Done. Let’s talk about 2016:

Shit got weird in 2016. I probably don’t need to reiterate here, but I just wanted to put that out there. Let’s just try to remember that we have one planet, so let’s not wreck it too bad, ok?

That sounds like enough Debbie Downer talk for today, so how about we talk about some games? 2016 had some pretty badass ones, so im’a run them down here right quick. BUCKLE UP! HONORABLE MENTIONS

Devil Daggers

Overcooked

Furi

Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight

Surprise! It’s a Top 14! I really enjoyed these titles, but 2016 is a cruel mistress and some awesome games must be left off of the top 10. Frantic symphony of Overcooked is some of the best couch co-op you can find theses days. Furi’s style and speed is a joy to experience, and it has pretty badass soundtrack to boot. Momodora was a short, but sweet tribute to castlevania/souls with great sprite work.

And then Devil Daggers....

Actually, I liked this game too much to cut it. Fuck it. TOP 11

11. Devil Daggers

This game is so damn cool. It doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel (It’s a 1st person Geometry Wars), but i’m a sucker for style and this game has loads. The almost PS1 era graphics give some extra oomph to the experience as you furiously dodge the spoopiest-skeley dudes. To me, this game really felt like some crazy gem you would dig up in the bargain bin of your ma and pa game store (not to sell the game short by any means).

The action is only enhanced with the leaderboards (I have a higher record than my co-host Josh, if anyone was wondering) and the accompanying replays that gave me a few ideas on how to survive just a few more seconds. It’s not the deepest game I’ve played, but this game is one that you can find yourself pouring a surprising amount of time into. 10. Dishonored 2 9. Dark Souls III

I put these two games together as my blurbs about them ended up being pretty similar. Both of games expanded on elements that I enjoyed in previous entries in the series (the combat/LORE!). Additionally, parts that I found clunky were streamlined in these entries (weapon repair/bone charm hunting). While these game were definitely improvements on their predecessors,it was hard not to feel like parts of these games were a little too familiar. Ultimately, Dishonored 2 and Dark Souls III were more of what I know I enjoy. Comfort video gaming at its best. 8. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

While it is the final entry in a series that has gotten a little long in the tooth, Uncharted 4 finally lives up the lofty goals set by Naughty Dog; something that it’s predecessors could never quite achieve. The storytelling and characters finally take precedence over the latest McGuffin hunt, without sacrificing the jaw dropping set pieces, gorgeous scenery, and swashbuckling we’ve come to expect from the Uncharted series.This game is a wonderful coda to a great series of which Naughty Dog should be very proud.

7.  Titanfall 2

This game finally made the COD style shooter click for me. All the modern shooter needed was an incredible traversal system with giant robots. Who knew? The multiplayer is incredibly cinematic, and sets up great opportunities to do the coolest looking shit ever. Like, throwing ninja stars while jet boosting from building to building cool.

As for the campaign, Respawn delivers a well crafted story that feels like an action movie crossed with The Iron Giant. It’s not afraid to introduce unique mechanics and ideas that don’t stick around too long; it’s a move that keeps the game fresh and something I wish more games would try. A very well rounded game that is just a blast to play, and I’ll keep coming back to for a long time. 6. SUPERHOT IT’S ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE SHOOTERS IN YEARS.

SUPER

HOT

SUPER

HOT

5. Hitman:2016

I always appreciated earlier entries in this series from afar. The intricate level design seemed fun, but it wasn’t enough to draw me with sluggish control and muddy graphics. I’ve only really scratched the surface of this year’s Hitman, but it forced me to readjust my ordering of the list as I dive deeper.

First all, the environments look great are brimming with detail. However, the real beauty of this game is hidden in the intricate design. The clockwork constructions IO has put together are incredible to explore and dissect. I barely made it through my first missions, but as I learned more and more about each map, the game opened up for me in ways I never imagined. The ability to masterfully manipulate the mechanics and unique quirks of each level to pull off the perfect hit is gripping.

To be honest, I’ve really only spent major time in one of the games beyond the tutorial levels. There is always a new trick or zany disguise to pull off that keeps you replaying the same mission over and over in a way that is surprisingly engaging. The core mechanics in Hitman are excellent foundation to a game that has a ton of personality too. They play it straight on the surface, but you’re only a few cans of spaghetti sauce and a crowbar away from a really good time.

4. The Witness

This game shatters the previous standards for art direction in games. On a basic level, the game is gorgeous and is a joy to simply “take in” all the varied and colorful environments. However, this “puzzle” game shines when you begin to understand how much damn thought went into crafting this world. The game asks the player to constantly rethink the nature of the surrounding environments. The art is interwoven into the gameplay with stunning intellect.

Like the art, the gameplay in The Witness is constantly challenging your preconceptions. What starts out as simple mazes become dastardly puzzles, trusting the player to build a mastery that equal parts frustrating and brilliant. This game has found a way to trigger that Eureka moment for me that is thrilling. The Witness is a game that demands your attention and thought as a player, and the payoff for that investment is incredibly rewarding. 3. Hyper Light Drifter

The complete package offered by Hyper Light Drifter made it one of my absolute favorites this year. The haunting a mysterious art; the moody and evocative score; the subtle, yet powerful storytelling. These elements combined with snappy and stylish combat (especially after the 60fps patch) create a game that I just adored. The execution on everything, top to bottom, in this game is so cohesive. Everything comes together so perfectly, it transported me into a completely different world with ease.

Not bad for a Kickstarter game, huh Ray?

2. DOOM

For a guy who’s only experience with old DOOM is Chex Master Quest, I wasn’t sure of what to make of the first reports on DOOM. Was there going to be anything for someone who didn’t have any long lost childhood memories buried in a sarcophagus with Doom Guy? I feel foolish for ever thinking this.

DOOM is just fucking incredible. The combat has a thrilling speed that is so refreshing compared to the run-of-the-mill shooter these days. The design of the environments is masterful. The soundtrack is so damn metal, only serving to make the action feel that much more intense. The story is whip smart and is incredibly effective at delivering what the game needs to move the story while being endearingly cheeky just beneath the surface. What DOOM’s story lacks in quantity, it makes up for with the hilariously one-note Doom Guy and his 0 tolerance policy any and all demonic forces, no matter the cost to humanity’s efforts to use Hell Energy as clean/renewable energy (no, seriously). This game is just a nonstop thrill ride from beginning to end in a way that is almost peerless.

Rock on Doom Guy. Rock on. 1. Overwatch

I covered my thoughts on this game pretty well in my review last year, and not much has changed. This was my most played game this year, and it’s still a blast to play every night. New characters, maps and modes have only made the package better. This more I play this wonderful game, the better it gets. There simply isn’t a better choice for my personal Game of The Year.

Thanks for checking out my list fam. Time to start working on that 2017 list!

-Mook

[mookjoones]

I am so sorry.

[mookjoones]

I went inside INSIDE.

Another quickie review:

INSIDE is a somber puzzle platformer from Play Dead, the makers of LIMBO, that tells the story of a boy investigating a foreboding compound in an Orwellian world. This game is vastly superior to its predecessor in many aspects, however INSIDE doesn’t deliver in a few key ways that kept me from falling in love with this game.  INSIDE isn’t a particularly long game, which might be for the best since the art design and sound are weigh heavily on the player. While the color palate is limited to greys, browns, blacks and stark whites, Play Dead expertly blends to create haunting visuals that are a marvel. The game is 2D, but Play Dead tells much of the story in the background with depth that makes you feel small and alone in a way few other games do.  In a similar way, the sound design is incredibly effective. The rain is cold and harsh. Barking dogs make your heart race. The creaking of ancient machines and modern horrors is striking. Play Dead uses all of these elements to craft a story that shows more than it tells and is simply stunning in its best moments. Unfortunately, none of these elements were ever really to bring me away from the fact that I just didn’t enjoy the gameplay. The puzzle design, while clever at times with its narrative contribution, felt more  like an exercise in checking off boxes to progress than clever manipulation of the environment. Puzzles were often solved rather quickly, but would become bogged down when actually implementing the solution. Compared to another 2016 puzzler, The Witness, INSIDE’s puzzle’s didn’t come close to creating those epic A-Ha! moments. As the conclusion of the game approached, I started to really notice the 10-minute stretches where the only gameplay input is point stick to the right.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of INSIDE will vary. While the game has some great moments where the gameplay/art/sound come together in haunting ways, the core gameplay simply isn’t enough between these high points for me to say i really enjoyed this game. Time to go outside. Sorry for the box quote ending there. Thanks y’all. -Mook

[mookjoones]

I actually did play Uncharted 4, so here is my thing about it, finally!

            Like the title says, I never got a chance to give Uncharted 4 its due on the podcast so I’m doing it now! With Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog bids farewell to the series in with its best entry yet in every single aspect. While the core mechanics are certainly showing their age (so many climbing puzzles oh muh god), these sequences are woven so intricately into the environment and within combat engagements that everything feels so fresh and flows so well. It really does feel like you’re playing a movie at times with how well all these sequences blend together.

              This game has “direction” in a way that few other games do. On a surface level, this is the best looking PS4 game you can buy right now. Period. The visuals alone are simply stunning and would elevate any mediocre game or story. However, Naughty Dog uses the raw power they’re able to extract from the PS4 to not only create some of this generation’s best action sequences, but to create truly cinematic shots and visuals that are used to complement an incredible script.

                                 Uncharted 4 is a visual juggernaut

              Speaking of the script, Uncharted 4 takes the deep dive into the characters that was always hinted at in the previous title, but never fully explored. While there is treasure, mystery, and swashbuckling aplenty, Uncharted 4 makes you care about these characters and their relationships like its predecessors could never could, a feat accomplished by a clever and mature script with incredible performances from the star studded cast of actors behind the VA and Mo-cap.                      

              While one can definitely see the Uncharted formula showing its age, it cannot be denied that Naughty Dog delivered a truly epic conclusion to the Uncharted series with an entry that far surpasses its predecessors in every element. The bar has been raised once again by the incredible teams at Naughty Dog.

[mookjoones]

Orlando

            My thoughts go out to all of those whose lives were destroyed and forever change by this awful tragedy. There is no place for this grotesque violence in our society. We must not waste this opportunity to push for the changes that might prevent evil people from doing harm on this scale going forwards.               A paragraph like the one you just read is problematic for one large reason; I neglected any actual details about the event. I forgot the name of the shooter, I forgot to mention the body count, and I even forgot the location. This piece could’ve been about the tragedies in Aurora, Newton, San Bernardino, and Orlando. Each of these horrors bring out the same sorrow in me and inspire to beg our officials to do something about this. And yet, they have done nothing.

              There has been no expansion for background checks to people on a No Fly List. There has been little action taken to regulate the sale of weapons in Gun Shows to people unfit to own a weapon. The people in the pocket of the NRA don’t even want to fund research into why events like this occur in the United States at an alarming rate compared to other developed nations. It’s hard not to be hopeless in the face of such reckless inaction.

                I will write to my representatives in the hope that they finally may have had enough of this senseless violence like I have.  While I strongly believe that there is in fact something we can do in our country to prevent this, I’ll have the first paragraph of my piece ready the next time a tragedy like Orlando happens and once again nothing is done to break this horrific cycle.

[mookjoones]

Overwatch: A Breath of Fresh Air

     For my first post, I wanted to write a quick review on a game I've been playing and enjoying quite a lot lately; Overwatch.      For those who might not know, Overwatch is the most recent title from the prolific studio Blizzard (of Warcraft and Diablo fame). Overwatch represents a significant departure from Blizzard’s previous work, as it is a multiplayer First-Person shooter featuring a diverse cast of characters working together to complete objectives on various maps. However, Blizzard takes this challenge of stepping into a completely new genre and excels, creating a simply delightful game in the process.        Overwatch pits two diverse teams of 6 players against each other in numerous maps and game types. While this doesn’t exactly sound revolutionary at first (Valve’s Team Fortress 2 is the easy comparison), Blizzard brings a polish and energy to the genre that makes Overwatch feel so fresh. Each of the 21 heroes in the game, divided into the 4 categories of Attack, Defense, Tank, and Support, are bursting with personality in their visual and mechanical design.

                                                            Look at all that variety!

     You could play as Winston, a hyper intelligent Scientist/Gorilla/Tank who can leap across huge portions of the map to flank the enemy or quickly escape a bad situation. If that’s not your cup of tea, you could try my personal favorite, Lucio, a Brazilian DJ Support character who roller skates around the map (and up walls) while fighting enemies and healing allies with the power of music! That’s amazing! It’s also very exciting to not have to just play Sniper Dude or Healer Guy, but to have 3 or 4 very unique characters who can fulfill that roll in completely different ways. The point here is that Overwatch’s roster gives the player so many fun options to support their team within the 4 categories of heroes.

     Blizzard takes this perfect polish of the shooter genre to other elements of the game, namely the information that is presented to the player. Other shooters often encourage obsession with a player’s individual performance, predominantly through their K/D ratio stacked against their own team. While Overwatch still showcases these strong individual feats, often through the Play of The Game feature, it also aims to teach players other key elements of the game by showing off players in the postgame screens who spent the most time pushing the objective or the tank and healers who blocked and healed for their teams.The equal featuring of the diverse needs of a team is simply awesome compared to other games where some of the most essential roles, like the TF2 Medic, are often brushed aside. It feels great to be rewarded for providing essential support for your team, even if you didn’t exactly rack up sick frags .This element of Overwatch also goes hand-in-hand with character selection at the beginning of the round. Players are prompted and encouraged to select heroes that will ensure your team is balanced and healthy. It’s a small feature that has a big impact as it encourages players to try new heroes and play-styles they may not have tried before while simultaneously giving you a great team that is balanced and is much more competitive than a poorly constructed team      And if I haven’t made it clear enough, the game is damn fun to play. The mechanics are rock solid. The movement and shooting feel great, which is impressive for a game that has so many different styles of movement and types of weaponry. It’s incredibly rewarding when your team coordinates a final push in overtime, Ultimate abilities popping off left and right, to steal a win in an energetic and thrilling conclusion. The art design of the characters and world has the energy of your favorite Saturday morning cartoon and the lore built within and outside the game gives you a reason to be really invested in these characters, a tall order for a game that doesn’t have any story focused campaign. 

                          The maps are as colorful and diverse as the character roster.

     There are a lot of nitpicks that can be made about Overwatch that are valid. Sometimes it can be frustrating when your team isn’t exactly playing the objective, or not paying attention to the balance of your team. One could bemoan the lack of value in a multiplayer only game that only features a handful of maps at a price of $60. But personally, the diversity of the roster nips these criticisms in the bud. Jumping from one character to another almost feels like playing a completely different game, keeping things very fresh. Strategically, its even recommended to change heroes to counter the hero picks of the other team and to keep them guessing. With additional heroes and maps to be added at no cost down the road, I believe that fully addresses the main concerns in regards to the value proposition of Overwatch. 

     2016 has been a great year in games so far. Uncharted 4 was great. Dark Souls 3 was a hoot. The Witness was an awesome experience. But none of these games held my attention like Overwatch has. It’s just such a joy to play. I find myself eagerly waiting to hop in with my squad, ready to try crazy new combinations of heroes that will throw the opposition for a loop. Blizzard plans to expand the map rotation and hero roster, and I can’t wait to see what’s next and how it will evolve the balance of the game as we currently know it. As surprising as it is to see a studio’s first foray into the genre be this successful, maybe I should learn to never underestimate Blizzard’s ability to breathe life into a well worn genre with incredible polish and care. I can’t wait for the Blizzard cart racer. -Mook All images by Blizzard from playoverwatch.com

[mookjoones]

Test Post Please Ignore?

Hi! This is Mike from the Unscripted Gaming podcast. I have longer rants about things that I can’t quite fit in the podcast, so i’ll be posting them here! I plan on doing some reviews, retrospectives on older games I enjoyed, and lots of other stuff too! Regular updates will be coming soon! Thanks! -Mook