#source: Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One

[minecraftcorrectmode]

Nurm: ((Jack! We cannot pilot a weaponised drone in Beacontown!)) Jack: Relax, Nurmie - I pilot weaponised drones in Beacontown twice a week. It's like a fine of ten iron and a class you take online. Jack: Jesse can probably pardon us. Jesse: Perks of the job! Nurm: ((Oh, why do I even bother?))

[bobauthorman]

(During the first tournament)

Johnny Cage: Y’know, I’m starting to like it here. Sure, it’s the hideout of a creepy sorcerer and cult who would kill as soon as they’d look at us, but take that away, and what do you have? A luxury tropical resort!

Sub-Zero: Can I kill him now?

Sonya Blade: No.

Sub-Zero: I can make it look like an accident!

Sonya: …How?

Raiden: Sonya!

Sonya: All right, no.

[ratchet-jak-sly-incorrect-quotes]

Dimitri: (Speaks)

Panda King: Can I kill Him now?

Sly: No

Panda King: I can make it look like an accident.

Sly:… How?

Bentley: Sly!

Sly: ok no.

[liugeaux]

The Best Games of 2006 | The 7th Gen is Here

In 2006, with the release of the Wii and PS3, the 7th console generation was officially in full swing. This list ended up having a nice mixture of all the consoles on the market, but 2006 began one of the most pivotal era of video games, and this top 10 is a vivid snapshot of the industry at the time.

As always this will be written as if it was written in December of '06 so any later commentary about these series will not be mentioned. Here we go!

#10 - Tomb Raider: Legend

The Tomb Raider franchise has always had a reputation of being a fun, yet arduous series. The puzzles were obtuse and frustrating and controlling Lara was a bit of a chore. This year, the team at Crystal Dynamics has finally gotten the formula right. With the transition from generation to generation it's hard to know which franchises will successfully make the jump to new hardware, and Tomb Raider proves Lara Croft has legs (no pun intended).

#9 - Tetris DS

Tetris is the best puzzle game ever made. It's the puzzle game on which dozens of other puzzle games are built. Tetris has seen a consistent flow of releases over the years and the quality has been shaky, but Tetris DS gets it right in nearly every way. The controls are tight, the gameplay is true, and like its Game Boy predecessors, the DS makes for a great pick-up-and-play Tetris machine. Even the touch-specific game modes are a welcomed detour, but the real star here is the presentation. Most Tetris games have a reverence for the Tetris method, but Tetris DS has a reverence specifically for the original Nintendo-published Tetris titles and that makes all the difference.

#8 - Resistance: Fall of Man

Ratchet and Clank developers Insomniac tried their hand at an FPS this year and for the most part, hit the jackpot. They created lore and a world engaging enough to explore and sprinkled in just enough Ratchet and Clank gun chaos to make the experience a unique one. Sure it has many of the issues you see with console launch games, but it lays the groundwork for both future Resistance games, and other hard-hitting shooters on PS3.

#7 - Gears of War

Last year's Resident Evil 4 turned out to be much more influential than I thought. Where RE4 established the over-the-shoulder camera as a viable 3rd person game mechanic, Gears of War has perfected it. Borrowing the fast-paced nature of the best FPSs, the over-the-top gore of a Mortal Kombat, and revolutionizing the cover-based shooter, Gears is a new franchise for a new generation. Sure, it's a bit repetitive at times and by the end, the chest-high-walls gimmick begins to feel flimsy, but like Resistance, this world is hungry for my action.

#6 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance

As the spiritual successor to the solid X-Men Legends games, Ultimate Alliance didn't have to be amazing to stick the landing. After being handed the keys to nearly the entire Marvel kingdom, Raven Software built an adventure that successfully translates the enormity of the Marvel universe, while still being an engaging Action-RPG. It even acts as a shortcut through the deep lore of the source material. I learned more about B-tier characters like Thor, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, and Captain America than any other medium has been able to teach me thus far.

#5 - New Super Mario Bros.

Mario has been bouncing around 3D environments since '96's Super Mario 64. Outside of weird esoteric one-offs here and there, Mario hasn't had a proper major 2D adventure since Super Mario World. I don't count Yoshi's Island, that's a Yoshi game. New Super Mario Bros. is a glorious return to form. The simple idea of, let's make one of those old 2D Mario games, but with up-to-date graphics, seems like a no-brainer, and it turns out to be a winning formula.

#4 - Guitar Hero II

Better in every way, Guitar Hero II improves on its predecessor and proves the fad from last year is still in vogue. The only downside to Guitar Hero II is that it's a PS2 release. Moving the series into the new generation would have unlocked a lot of potential. Luckily Activision has announced it will be hitting Xbox 360 in the Spring, so maybe putting this game on the 2006 list might be a bit premature, but few other games have soaked up as much of my time this year as Guitar Hero II.

#3 - Okami

When a team takes an established formula (The Legend of Zelda) and attempts to make a stand-out game, they need to come up with something fresh and brilliant to garner respect and attention. With Okami, Clover Studio did just that. Like Shadow of the Colossus last year, Okami is squeezing every bit of power out of the PS2 that it can. Enough like a Zelda game to feel familiar, yet beautifully animated with stunning watercolors to make it stand out, Okami puts an exclamation point on a tried and true formula whose days might be numbered.

#2 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Ever since Space World 2000 Nintendo has been on the hook to give us a more mature and realistic Legend of Zelda game. Windwaker, arguably the best game in the series, had its detractors, so Twilight Princess had a lot to live up to. Full of polish, and style, this game is the perfection of the formula established by Ocarina of Time. Its dungeons are the best the series has seen and while the wolf transformation mechanic may seem lazy at first, it pays off in both gameplay and story. Twilight Princess is what we've wanted from the Zelda series for a long time and it definitely lives up to the hype.

#1 - Wii Sports

Swooping in out of nowhere, Wii Sports is not only the game of the year, it could go down as the most important game of the generation. With the launch of the Wii, Nintendo has reset the market on what it means to be a gamer. It's hands down the most accessible game ever released and is far more than a proof of concept for the Wii platform. Bowling and Tennis alone are worth the price of admission, even if that admission is the cost of a Wii. Nintendo has successfully predicted the market and given us what we didn't know we wanted: motion controls. As with any new tech and launch there's a layer of jank here, but it's worth it to experience the action that has gotten millions of gamers off the couch and swinging their Wii-motes.

Notable Omissions

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - There are a lot of things about Oblivion that make it not a game for me. It's a heavy RPG, with a fantasy setting. Everything about that turns me off.

Bully - I might have enjoyed Bully, but since I hate playing GTA games, I stayed away from it.

Final Fantasy XII - This series has never been on my radar as it is WAY too anime for my liking. It being a heavy RPG doesn't help my interest either.

That's it! Next time we dive into 2007.

Cheers

[ifanfictiondreamerworld]

Ratchet and Kim Possible Chronicles: Anti-Corporation-Part 4

After a long flight, they were able to arrive at the planet Sargasso. They made their way towards a different area of the planet’s surface. They landed and got out of the ship, they had a chance to look around. Ratchet: “So, this must be where that chemical factory is.” Kim: “Well…at least we’re not anywhere near that Lombax Research Facility.” Ratchet: “I already said this before! That doesn’t matter! These humans are causing a lot of trouble for the entire galaxy. Not only that, but they’re setting a bad example for all other humans! Including…you…” Kim: “I know…thought I might try finding a silver lining to this.” Ratchet: “It was a good try, and yeah, I’m glad that they didn’t go anywhere near my race’s research facility. Come on, let’s find the chemical factory and dispose of it.”

They got themselves read before heading off.

They took a short trek through the surrounding jungle area. Soon enough, they ran into the Smuggler; someone that they were less than thrilled to see. Smuggler: “Well, if it ain’t Polaris’ favorite infamous couple.” Kim: “Oh, it’s you.” Smuggler: “You seem to be stirrin’ up trouble here in our lovely galaxy, lil lady.” Ratchet: “Don’t you dare pin any of these problems within the galaxy on her! All of them were never her fault and they never will be!!” Smuggler: “Whoa! Settle down there, lil Lombax, I was only kiddin’” Ratchet: “I don’t care! Never mention anything like that ever again, or else!!!” Smuggler: “Geez, I didn’t know that you could be so touchy, then again, it’s no surprise considerin’ that you have strong feelings for the lil lady. To be honest, I would have liked her a little more if she were to be stirrin’ up trouble round these parts.” Kim: “If you’re trying to get on our good side, you’re doing a lousy job at it.” Smuggler: “Well then, how about this: I can provide you with some…very intriguing intel regardin’ this area.”

Kim did not seemed pleased by this. Kim: "What kind of intel?" Smuggler: “Let me ask you this much; do you know that there is a factory of sorts built here?” Kim: “Of course we know. Why else would we come here?” Smuggler: “Hm, good point, but do you know what kind of damage they have caused to this area?” Ratchet: “Not really, but we know that they are damaging this area.” Smuggler: “Oh, that ain’t the half of it, partner. The humans have managed to manufacture a chemical that can be made only from the swamp water of this here planet. They discovered a mineral, one that is unique to this planet and they are using it to construct this chemical. They call this chemical Sargassium.” Kim: “Sargassium? You mean after the planet?” Clank: “Do you know what those humans intend to do with this man-made chemical?” Smuggler: “Who knows? It could be a lethal toxin or a new energy source or perhaps…something far worse than we could ever possibly imagine.” Ratchet: “We’ll figure that out once we get there. Thanks…for your help…I guess…” Smuggler: “Don’t mention it. Hmph! Lousy humans! They come on to any planet or barren land and do whatever they want like they own the place regardless if it’s occupied or vacant. I don’t blame anyone for pinnin’ any of these issues that they have caused on the girl.” Ratchet: “I thought I told you to never say anything like that ever again.” Smuggler: “Whoa there! I didn’t say that I blame her, but you got to admit that a lot of what I just said is, in fact, the truth.”

Ratchet folded his arms and turned his head to the side as he pouted and groaned. Ratchet: “Good point, but that doesn’t make any difference to me; Kimberly is nothing like those other humans and the same goes for all the good ones.” Smuggler: “Whatever you say, Lombax, whatever you say.”

Ratchet and Kim continued on their way. They both had unpleasant looks on their faces.

[terra-drone]

Ratchet’s Age by Game’s Timeline since some people be calling people a child bonker over a goddamn ship (ffs you’d think this dumb shit would be over by now what is this 2015)

RaC 1: 5354 

According to a magazine unlock in-game, game happens on this year, 15/17 yo depending on which source you go with.

RaC GM: 5355 

We don’t know if it was still the same year but according to the intro 6  months has passed so we round it up, 16/18 yo.

RaC UYA: 5356

Gadgetron discount you get from having RaC 1 only applies in-universe for being w the Gadgetron company for 2 years, 17/19 yo.

Ratchet Deadlocked: 5357

According to Jak X: Combat Racing, Ratchet was stated as 18 in this game so in all likelihood Ratchet was 15 in RaC 1.

Juanita mentioned that Ratchet encountered Courtney Gears a year ago in one of the cutscenes, which sets UYA a year before Deadlocked.

RaC Size Matters: 5357-5358

According to devs SM happens after Deadlocked so if we want to stick w 1 year has passed for each game it happens somewhere between 5357-5358. 19 yo.

RaC Tools of Destruction: 5359

Following the 1 year scheme, 20 yo.

Secret Agent Clank: 5359

Since it launched concurrently w QfB, it can be assumed that this was a dream sequence Clank experienced while at the Clock.

RaC Quest for Booty: 5359-5360

QfB was shorter than most installments so it can be assumed this one didn’t take a full year. 20-21 yo.

RaC A Crack in Time: 5360

Sigmund mentioned that Neffy has been trying to get into the Orvus Chamber for over a year. 21 yo.

RaC All 4 One: 5362/5363

Intro sequence said that it’s been over 2 years since the duo beat Neffy but no definitive answer on whether it’s exactly 2 years or 2+ years. Probably in the middle of Qwark’s presidency. 23-24 yo.

RaC Full Frontal Assault: 5364/5365

Qwark stated he finished his public service as President. Assuming that they have a 4 year term we can surmise it has been an additional 2 years since A4O since he was still president at the time. 25-26 yo.

RaC Into the Nexus: 5365/5366

Since no timeframe was given for this game we’re using back the 1 year thing. 26-27 yo.

RaC 2016: 5364

The oh so famous reboot. Is said to be 18 yo in this but honestly he acts like he’s 10 but then again the canonity of this installment in the timeline is questionable at best.

RaC Rift Apart: ???? We have no context for this game yet whether it’s continuing the reboot’s or following up ItN so who knows really. All we know it’s been a few years since Neffy last showed.

________________________________________________________

Now, for the oh-so-controversial ship subject: Alister Azimuth.

He’s a general, so safe to assume he’s done service for roughly 20 years unless Lombax military fast tracks stuff. Operating under the assumption that it works like America by which you graduated at 18, finish college at 22, and immediately enlisted, Alister would be in his 40s by the time he got to that rank. Add 21 years to get to ACiT and that’d put Alister in his 60s.

Sizeable age gap? Sure. But it’s a goddamn fictional ship in a goddamn fictional world over two goddamn fictional space cats w weird ears and feet. At worst it makes Alister a foxy grandpa, and we can’t even know for sure since 

We don’t know what his actual age is.

Insomniac never provided details on how Lombaxes work as a culture so we don’t have a baseline to infer to, that is spitballing based on America and we could be totally wrong.

We don’t know what the average lifespan of a Lombax is. They could get up to 300 for all we know.

And last but not least; Ratchet is of consenting age at that point. If it was explicitly shipping w RaC 1 Ratchet then yeh. That would be unacceptable.

So please, for the love of god, stop calling people an istaphobephile just because you don’t like something. Seriously. You’re diluting the definition of the term and make people not take seriously when it’s actually true cuz people like you keep throwing it around like wet toilet paper that’s been stuck on a bridge troll’s ass cheeks. Grow up.

[turqrambles]

The Five Worst Things About Digimon World

I did it.

It took 20 years but I did it.

I finally beat Digimon World for the Playstation 1, a game that has haunted me for most of my lifetime, and I did it with a Phoenixmon, the reason why I use “Turquoisephoenix” as a handle!

This is who I used to beat the game, named after an obscure Ratchet and Clank character because that’s just how I roll. The final boss battle involved a lot of Prominence Beam spamming and med recovery floppy spamming but I did it fair and square. 

Before I get into what I thought about this game as a whole - and I do have a lot of good things to say about this game since I obviously enjoyed it enough to get to the end - I gotta talk about my least favorite things about this game. In a concise, Buzzfeed-esque list because I like writing things in easy to digest chunks.

Because, like most charming yet difficult games of the late 90′s, this game is very flawed and the flaws are pretty annoying!

1. Care Mistakes

The three emojis - Smile, Cool, and Poop.

Okay. This one - my least favorite part in the game - is going to take a bit of explanation.

First off, I don’t actually hate care mistakes existing as a mechanic. I think it’s a cute, virtual pet-y way to add a different wrinkle to evolution requirements, even if I think it’s a bit counter-intuitive to have to suddenly abuse my little companion once they reach Champion just because I want them to evolve into a floating metallic ball with a chainsaw.

My problem with care mistakes is that there’s literally no way of telling many care mistakes you have on your given Digimon. 

Literally everything else in this game is concisely recorded and easily displayed on your Digimon’s stats screen. You can see how much your Digimon weighs. You can see their Happiness, their Discipline. How much Life they have left. Their Age. Even how many poops they need to make before they digivolve into a sentient pile of feces.

But Care Mistakes? Naaaaw, you just gotta remember every single thing that you did to your Digimon from the moment it evolves in your fallible human brain. What’s that? A good portion of this game involves grinding in the Green Gym and it’s really easy to make a Care Mistake there without knowing you did so because you mashed A too fast like the stat-grinding numskull that you are? Well, that’s just too fucking bad for you, then! Enjoy not getting some of the best evolutions, you piece of shit. You stooge. You moron!

This game, multiple times: You know who I hate? The player.

Care Mistakes are such an invisible mechanic that, to this day, there are many guides with misleading info about what counts as a Care Mistake and what doesn’t, which...really stinks for a game such as this where you will be using a guide pretty extensively to get the Digimon you deserve. And you know why that is? Because we don’t get any indication as to whether or not some random event counts against you when raising your Digimon.

And honestly, having one of your main mechanics of the game being entirely invisible to the player is a terrible idea. Just put a little number in my profile that says “Care Mistakes: 0″ in there. Let me know this information without guessing.

2. The Glitches

Pictured: Something that will CRASH YOUR GAME if you try it on a physical copy.

Let me start with a disclaimer that most of the glitches I’m going to complain about were added into the game when Digimon World was localized and therefore aren’t the original intent of the developers. There are certain versions of Digimon World that are more stable than others (The English PAL version is the best version to play because of this) and, if you play this game via “certain methods”, there are patches to circumvent some of the bigger problems.

That being said! Boy! Isn’t it ironic that a game where I’m exploring the digital world is plagued with so many annoying, game-ruining glitches? Especially if I’m playing this game on a physical 20-year old copy like a dunce?

“Ohhhh...so Agumon thinks that they can block the Digimon game with their big fat Digimon-blocking head, do they?!”

The NTSC version of this game has a jukebox that will crash the game if you try to use it, keeping you from ever using a bonus feature meant to be a fun little reward for completing a certain dungeon, but that’s not as heinous as the Spanish, French, German, and Italian PAL versions of this game locking a good portion of the game to players because they forgot to make the Agumon in front of Ogremon’s Fortress an object you can interact with.

So that means, if you happened to get this game in one of four lucky countries, you can’t complete the Ogremon mission, you can’t recruit Whamon, you can’t recruit Shellmon, you can’t recruit anything tied to Shellmon’s bulletin board (which means no Vademon or Skullgreymon), and you can’t go to Factorial Town and recruit Giromon, Andromon, or Numemon. Ogremon is a key part of the Digimon World storyline and causes so many different things in the game to change, meaning that it should’ve been imperative to make sure this part of the game works!

But no. Instead this one little bastard Agumon keeps most players from finishing the game, because it starves players of those PAL regions of a bunch of Prosperity points, the main source of progression in this game. That means that Mt. Infinity and the final boss is just that much harder to unlock. It’s doable, but it’s more grueling process.

This really is a problem with the translators and really highlights a lack of general care with testing this game. Why this game was allowed to be shipped with such glaring bugs is anyone’s guess, especially in an era where you couldn’t release any patches over the Internet to fix retail versions.

3. The Monochromon’s Shop Minigame

Ohhhh....this one was so close to getting the top spot. When I first wrote this draft, this was the top spot.

Monochromon was only spared of my true ire on account of the fact that it really only exists for one part of the game (rather than being a constant problem like the Care Mistakes and the Glitches are) and you can easily cheese it by sleeping in front of the store so that you can save scum your way to victory. Like a true Digital Champion!

At one point in the game, you gotta help a entrepreneur dinosaur rhino man make a profit, because he was stupid and put his convenience store in the middle of a giant canyon next to a gaping chasm. So you play a little game of haggling, where you try to ruthlessly oversell a bunch of random items to customers until you make enough of a profit that this talking dinosaur tells you that you passed his secret test of character, abandons his store, and moves into File City.

There’s just one problem with this minigame - everything is decided by RNG.

“Get the hell out of my shop”

This minigame hates you. It wants nothing but to see you fail and to waste your time. The difference in profit margins of the three items (Meat sells for 50g, Portable Potties sell for 300g, and Medicine sells for 1000g) are so stark that, if you get too many customers asking for Meat, you might as well just reset the game and start over because it will be literally impossible to meet the requirement even if you busted the customer’s proverbial balls and squeezed every last bit out of their cutesy penguin faces.

Oh! It’s also RNG as to whether or not your customers will take your asking price or storm out of the store without buying anything!

It’s all the fun of working at retail! In a video game!

4. Three on One Battles

What you see before you is a battle system that is really fun when it’s one vs. one, manageable at two vs. one, and downright unbearable at three vs. one.

The battle system works for the most part. You don’t have full control of your Digimon (and yes, you only have one Digimon with you at one time, so you can never stack the numbers in your favor) so you shout commands at it, commands that the Digimon’s AI are pretty good at following, and hope for the best as you chuck healing items at it.

It’s not the best battle system, but it’s fun. And it definitely reinforces the whole “this is a pet you’re taking care of with its own thoughts and feelings” atmosphere that this game is going for.

However, nothing can protect your Digimon from enemy fire concentrated on them, especially if you did the thing that most players do and equipped your Digimon with the most powerful attacks that also happen to have slower cast times than the faster, weaker attacks.

What then happens is your Digimon’s Health is slowly whittled away as you are powerless to stop it, watching as your digital friend is straight up bullied by enemy Digimon as they keep falling to the ground over and over and over and over again.

The one saving grace is that Friendly Fire exists in this game so that oftentimes the enemy Digimon will damage each other in their mad dash to ruin your day, but that seems more like a band-aid than an actual fix to this system.

5. Fishing Seadramon

“Hi, kid. Let me guess - you also thought you had to talk to the Tankmon in Factorial Town in order to unlock me, huh.”

This one is a lot less of a pain than the other four and it’s only a little annoying but boy...getting Seadramon kinda sucks in this game.

It took me almost a goddamn hour to catch Seadramon. One hour of gameplay devoted to catching one fish. Just like real fishing!

I will say, besides Seadramon, the fishing minigame in this game is pretty competent. It’s just that Seadramon is very elusive, showing up at only two hours in a 24 hour day, and is a very finicky fish that won’t take your bait even if you literally placed it in front of his dumb fish face.

Don’t be fooled by this screenshot. The heart just means you have the right bait. The heart means that you didn’t actually get within range of hooking him.

IT’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!!

Seadramon is also subject to almost as many gaming myths as the Care Mistakes are, due to how elusive he is, but that’s less to do with poor communication (the game does at least explain multiple times in multiple places how to find him) and more to do with the fact that catching him is just such a goddamn chore to do that players of this game always assume they’re doing something wrong.

When in reality, Seadramon is just a picky little bitch.

Next time I discuss Digimon World, I’ll talk about things I liked, don’t worry. I just had to get all of this negativity out before discussing the full game proper.

[gaminggeeksstuff]

The PlayStation 5 Launch Event

Sony finally ended their extended period of silence about the next generation of their PlayStation consoles in a big way. On June 11th, they held a mega event that revealed tons of games and gave us our first look at the hardware we will sink hours of our life into. Here is everything they showed, and a bunch of reactions from around the internet. 

PlayStation 5

Let us begin where Sony ended the event. We finally got our first look at the PlayStation 5 and found out that there will be two different models you can purchase this holiday season, one with a disc drive, and an all-digital version without one. Unfortunately, we still have no idea when the console releases or for how much, but it is good to finally see the box itself. Sony went a bold route in its design of the console. It has many curves to it, and even though it does not look like it would be sturdy on its side, you can lay it down. The console is the largest Sony console yet if you compare the disc drives to everything else, like in the image below. Unfortunately, I cannot find the originator of this image. We should note that this is an estimation, but expect it to take up quite a bit of space in your gaming area.

Alongside the two console models, we also got a first look at a wireless headset, a new media remote, a DualSense controller charging station, and a new camera. Of these new accessories, it will be interesting to see what impact the camera has on the PlayStation 4’s virtual reality headset. Unfortunately, no details were given.

Memes And Reactions

As is expected with the reveal of the new PS5 console, the internet had its fun and made a variety of memes.

While there have been plenty of jokes about the design of the new console, the overall consensus seems to be that people are excited about the future of gaming.

Upcoming Games

While people were excited to see the new PS5 finally, the massive amount of games Sony showed were the stars of the show. There was a large variety of genres here and a little bit of everything for everyone. Here are all the games shown at the event. Of the following games, those in BOLD are PlayStation exclusives, while UNDERLINED are console launch exclusives.

- Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales - Horizon Forbidden West - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Demon’s Souls - Sackboy A Big Adventure - Returnal - Gran Turismo 7 - Project Athia - Resident Evil Village - Pragmata - Stray - Grand Theft Auto V Expanded and Enhanced - Destruction Allstars - Kena: Bridge of Spirits - Goodbye Volcano High - Oddworld: Soulstorm - Ghostwire: Tokyo - Deathloop - Jett: The Farshore - Godfall - Solar Ash - Hitman 3 - Astro’s Playroom - Little Devil Inside - NBA 2K21 - Bugsnax Not only is that a massive list of games coming, but a large majority of them will also only be playable on PlayStation consoles (at least at launch).

Reactions

There was no shortage of reactions to the overall PS5 event. Fans and industry personnel from all over took to Twitter to show their thoughts on what is coming.

Read more reviews here and remember Club Pengiun Hero as your source of gaming information.

[musingsofonehuman]

Shall we talk Xbox? Unless you wanna talk about Ubisoft but I’d rather not, I already feel ill as it is.

So, Xbox had their Xbox Games Showcase yesterday, an hour long video showing off all manner of video games for their Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass, overall, I would say it was very good, a nice plethora of games, some we already knew about and others we didn’t, plus it’s nice to know games will be getting updated to use the new hardware. I do have one big criticism though, more gameplay was needed.

We saw in the Sony showcase that gameplay helps with understanding the game, with being able to make a judgment on whether this is a game you’ll enjoy, and we hardly saw any in the Xbox showcase, yes there was a nice chunk of Halo Infinite gameplay, but apart from that, it was all scattered between cutscenes and cinematics. I get wanting to use cinematic trailers when you’re announcing games, probably because the game is not in a state where it’s ready to be shown yet, but after that, you need to be using gameplay trailers at the minimum, preferably chunks of gameplay, even just a minute or two, just to get a feel for the game. I think back to Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a two minute trailer, a few cinematics, but a solid chunk of gameplay that I could digest, that helped understand the game so much more than a flashy trailer, developers need to be more confident in showing off their games, just show them, and if it gets a negative reaction, learn from it, use that feedback and make the game better, that’s what feedback is for.

But like I was saying, it was really good, but nothing never really stood out for me, there was no game that I saw as a must have, I’ve never been a Halo fan and while Forza, Everwild and Tetris Effect looked really good, nothing grabbed my attention, and I think that was deliberate.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Xbox is purposefully making mediocre games, that developers are making games that are meh, of course developers are going to put their all into it to try and make the best game possible. However, you have to remember the strategy that Xbox is now going for, you have to remember one key thing throughout all this, Xbox Game Pass (XGP). For those that don’t know, XGP is basically their version of Netflix, for a payment each month, you can get access to a range of games that you download and play, currently there’s over 100 games on the service, available across Xbox consoles and Windows PCs, there’s an Ultimate version where you get XGP for console and PC as well as Xbox Live Gold, their online service.

For Xbox, XGP is a big deal right now, it currently has over 10 million subscribers, and has become a huge revenue source for Xbox, and they’re pushing it hard for the next generation, all first party games will be available on XGP on day one, and all the games shown in the showcase will be available on XGP on day one or free to play. XGP has revitalised Xbox and set them on a whole different path from Sony, whereas Sony are pushing to make the PS5 the next big thing, Xbox have decided to take another route, yes they’re still making consoles, and powerful ones by the sound of it, but instead of making people come to Xbox, they’re taking Xbox to the people. One of their big initiatives over the past few years has been xCloud, their streaming service, and in September, XGP Ultimate members are gonna be able to use xCloud as part of their subscription.

That’s the point, over the past number of years, we’ve seen a transition away from buying physical games, to downloading digitally, and this is the next step, streaming them over the internet, Xbox doesn’t need to tie its games to a platform when they can be streamed to a phone or tablet. You don’t have to buy the big box to play all the next gen games, simply pay the subscription fee, grab your phone and away you go, it makes gaming affordable for so many people, a past time that has always been quite expensive is now just a subscription fee away. Mind you, it is worth keeping in mind that the technology may not be ready for use yet, we’ve seen Google Stadia come and fall flat on its arse, whose to say xCloud won’t go the same way.

All of that brings me back to the Showcase. Was it a deliberate choice to show mediocre games? No, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the games are mediocre or not, if the games are meh, because they’re all on XGP, you can just try it, it doesn’t cost anything extra, and that’s the key point. It doesn’t have to be mind grabbing because it doesn’t cost anything to try, again, Netflix, you watch a decent movie, it was ok, but you don’t feel ripped off because you didn’t pay extra, it’s part of the service, so long as you’re paying for the service, they don’t care what you watch, what you play, it’s about getting you onto the service and keeping you there. That’s why we’re seeing all these different types of games from Xbox Game Studios, games like Bleeding Edge, Grounded, because they don’t need to be sold at a premium, they’ve already got an audience, the people who have XGP. Bang! It pops up, you download it and try it, don’t like it? Uninstall it, you haven’t spent anything. I have XGP and I tried Gears 5 when it came out, never played Gears before, not a shooter fan, but I was pleasantly surprised, not interested in the multiplayer, but the single player was enjoyable.

I think back to a gamesindustry.biz article I read, and a quote from Tim Schafer talking about how he felt like he now had the freedom to try all different types of projects, and the reason he can do that is because there’s already an established audience, so it doesn’t matter if the games aren’t of the highest quality, because you haven’t paid for the game outright, therefore developers can make niche games that most likely wouldn’t sell on their own, but they will as part of a subscription. Sony on the other hand has to make out-of-the-park hitters as they’re still selling their games at a premium, so they have to justify the price of the game by making them standout blockbusters.

"It does make me think about some of the crazy game ideas we've had, and some of them you're just like... I can never pitch this to any publisher. I would never get this signed. But I am now opening up that folder of documents again, and going 'oh I really love this idea, I bet I could do that now'."

To that end, there was also something else I noticed about the Xbox Showcase, some of their long standing IPs seemed to be getting refreshed in a way, think about it. It wasn’t Halo 6, Forza Motorsport 8, or Fable 4, instead it was Halo Infinite, Forza Motorsport and Fable. It seemed like games were getting refreshed and rebooted for a new era, for a new generation, but not console generation. I think Xbox IPs are getting refreshed for the transition to xCloud. For Xbox, the next generation is not just about the Xbox Series X for them, but it’s also about their streaming service, it’s all about XGP, getting people to sign up to XGP, and perhaps, by refreshing their current IP, they may be able to bring in a new audience of players. This is all just pure thought, but it was interesting to see some of their biggest IP not getting numbered sequels, I do wonder if the next Gears game will be Gears 6 or if it will be called something else, just a thought to consider.

I suppose all of this is why I viewed the Xbox Games Showcase as very good and not mind blowing, because the games don’t need to be mind blowing, they’re not selling the games, they’re trying to sell XGP, and yet, we’ve all watched these conferences for years, waiting for some game to come across and steal the headlines, Xbox doesn’t need to do that anymore, they just need to give you a reason to subscribe to XGP. If anything, the Xbox Games Showcase is a misleading title, it should have been called the Xbox Game Pass Showcase, showcasing all the games you can try on Xbox Game Pass. They’ve mentioned they’re doing another showcase later this year, so it’s gonna be interesting to see how that one unfurls. In the meantime though, let’s talk about Ubis-hurls out of window-.........on second thought, let’s not.

[thetoyhub-blog]

All about Playstation 5

PS5 price

Like its release date, the PS5's price is shrouded in mystery. So far, all we have to go on is that the PS4 cost $400 when it first came out — a price that undercut the competing Xbox One by $100. Sony may not pull the same trick again, though, as Microsoft is in a better position to undercut its competitor this time around.

PS5 release date

According to a recent leak, the exact PS5 launch date might be November 20. A prolific source on Twitter claimed that the DualSense controller, by itself, was slated to come out on November 20, and cost $60. It stands to reason that the controller would come out on the same day as the console itself, in order to facilitate multiplayer games.

PS5 controller

In April 2020, Sony officially took the wraps of DualSense: a radically redesigned PlayStation controller that will accompany the PS5. While DualSense has a familiar button layout and brings back the touchpad from the DualShock 4, its two-toned black-and-white design looks nothing like any PlayStation controller before it.

As Sony confirmed before, DualSense will have haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, which will provide realistic, tactile rumble to simulate the feel of, say, driving through mud or firing a bow and arrow. The controller's Share button has been replaced by a new Create button, which Sony says will provide even more ways to capture and share your favorite gameplay moments.

PS5 games

One of the biggest games announced at the PS5 June 11 event was Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which will launch alongside the PS5. This game will let you take control of Miles Morales as a newer, younger, less experienced Spider-Man, with all of Peter Parker's powers and then some. We've seen very little of the game in action so far, but expect to learn more about it between now and its release date: holiday 2020.

Horizon II: Forbidden West is also another key PS5 title, following up on the 2017 hit Horizon: Zero Dawn. Other exclusives highlights include Gran Turismo 7 and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. On the third-party front, you can look forward to big titles such as Godfall, Resident Evil Village and NBA 2K21

PS5 specs

CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz

GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz, RDNA 2 architecture

RAM: 16GB GDDR6

Storage: Custom 825 GB SSD

Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot

Optical drive: 4K Blu-ray drive

Mark Cerny, a lead systems architect at Sony, hosted a talk on March 18 that walked users through some of the salient points of the PS5’s hardware. In particular, he discussed the PS5’s SSD configuration and 3D audio capabilities. We also learned about the system’s CPU, GPU and RAM structure.

The SSD is the PS5's secret weapon, at least according to the Epic Games developers. The PS5 targets a load rate of 5.5 GB/s. In theory, that’s almost 10 times faster than the PS4. To be cost-effective, however, the PS5’s default hard drive will be only 825 GB, rather than a full 1 TB.

PS5 backwards compatibility

The PS5 will be backwards compatible with most — but perhaps not all — PS4 games. Unlike the PS3, which essentially incorporated a PS2’s guts into early models, the PS5 will run older games via regularized software algorithms. In theory, this means that almost every PS4 game will be compatible with the PS5 right from the get-go. At launch, most of the PS4's 100 most popular games will be playable.

Read More: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ps5-price-pre-order-release-date-controller

[minecraftcorrectmode]

Xara: Can I kill Romeo?

Jack: No.

Xara: I can make it look like an accident.

Jack:

Jack, interested: How?

Jesse: Jack!

Jack: All right, no.

[invenblocker]

Ratchet & Clank in Smash

I originally wanted to make a video about this, but PS3 is a bitch that uses HDCP to deny my capture card, so I can’t really record any footage to show off the source for the moves.

Moveset

General

Ratchet & Clank are a lightweight fighter with slightly above average movement speed, decent jump height and excellent aerial drift as well as a decently speedy fast fall.

Ratchet & Clank have one midair jump.

While Ratchet & Clank have a high dash speed, their dash startup is a bit on the slow end. Ratchet & Clank slides a bit when they stop. Because the dash is Ratchet deploying his hoverboots, if the duo dashes off a platform, they will also temporarily fall slower.

When holding down the jump button and moving downwards, Clank will deploy the helipack, drastically lowering the pair’s falls speed and slightly lowering aerial drift. The duo cannot fastfall while using the heli-pack in this manner.

Ratchet & Clank can wall jump.

Neutrals

Jab: Ratchet swings the omniwrench in front of him. This move can be inputted up to three times in a row for the classic three swing omniwrench combo (three horisontal hits in front of him).

Ftilt: Walloper: Ratchet hits in front of him with the Walloper. This moves Ratchet & Clank forwards with a large circular hitbox in front of them. Decent launch (kills at 80% at ledge?), but only deals about the same damage as a single hit from the jab combo.

Dtilt: Comet Strike: Ratchet throws the Omniwrench in front of him and it boomerangs back to him. The move can be reflected but not pocketed, inhaled, swallowed or anything else that permanently or temporarily removes a projectile. Anything that would destroy a projectile will instead force it to return. It tracks back to Ratchet & Clank perfectly regardless of how they move (which is bad news for them if it’s reflected). Jab, dtilt, utilt, dair, uair and utaunt are unavailable until the wrench returns to Ratchet.

Utilt: Ratchet makes an arching swing with the Omniwrench above his head. While not really referencing any specific moves in the source material, it is a fairly standard utilt.

FSmash: Negotiator: Ratchet pulls out the negotiator and fires it once the button is released. This fires a single projectile with the appearance of two rockets. The projectile flies straight forward unaffected by gravity and explodes on impact. If the move is charged, the projectiles will travel faster.

DSmash: Ground Pound: Clank charges up the thruster pack. When the move is released, the duo will shoot into the air very briefly and then immediately crash back down and create a shock wave.

USmash: Plasma Whip: Ratchet pulls out the Plasma whip and when the move is released, whirls it above his head.

Aerials

Nair: Pyrocitor: Ratchet spins around firing the Pyrocitor causing flames to erupt around him (note, much shorter range than the actual in game pyrocitor)

Fair: Concussion Gun: Ratchet fires the Concussion Gun in front of him. This move has a large cone shaped hitbox, but has very diminishing damage and knockback with distance, requiring Ratchet to be really up close to get an effective hit off.

Dair: Hyper Strike: Ratchet & Clank very briefly stop their momentum as Ratchet raises the Omniwrench above his head, then swings it down as the duo come crashing down with the wrench in front of them. People hit by the wrench are meteored down with the pair. When Ratchet & Clank hit the ground, a shockwave is emitted from the wrench dealing further damage and launching those caught up in it upwards and in the direction Ratchet & Clank are facing.

Bair: Holo Knuckle: Clank punches backwards with the Holo Knuckle. The move has a somewhat large square hitbox, but deals little damage and launch.

Uair: Ratchet makes a horizontal spin of the Omniwrench above his head.

Specials

Neutral-B: Combuster: Ratchet fires the Combuster. While the button is held, Ratchet will keep firing. The gun fires at about the same rate as Joker’s gun, but fires projectiles that move at a somewhat slow, but still decently fast speed. The projectiles can be aimed freely by tilting the stick, and gun dodges can be performed by flicking (smash inputting) it. Each projectile deals about 8% on hit, but not very much launch or hitstun (although neither will decrease with distance).

Side-B: Tesla Coil: Ratchet fires the Tesla Coil, shooting out a slow moving projectile. While a direct hit from the projectile does deal meaty damage and launch (slightly weaker than a fully charged Samus neutral-B, although the much slower movement speed makes it easier to avoid), the projectile will deal slight damage to enemies close to it as it travels, although only a direct hit will have any knockback.

Down-B: Holoshield: Ratchet throws out a small gravity affected projectile. The throw can be angled. The projectile is completely harmless dealing neither damage, launch or knockback. When it hits the ground, it will create a vertical shield wall. Anyone can walk through this shield wall unharmed, however all projectiles not shot by Ratchet will be unable to go through it. When a projectile is stopped by the shield, it will deal its damage to the shield. The shield has 100 HP but loses 10 HP each second (meaning it can at most be out for 10 seconds).

Up-B: Swingshot: Ratchet shoots out the swingshot, making for a tether recovery. This cannot be used to command grab, unlike Joker’s tether.

Other

Grab: Either a standard grab or a swingshot assisted one. When Ratchet successfully grabs an opponent, Clank jumps off his back and stands on his shoulder.

Pummel: Clank punches the opponent Ratchet is holding.

All Throws: Ratchet sucks up the opponent with the suck cannon and immediately shoots them in the desired direction.

Dash Attack: Razor Claws: Ratchet dives forward with the Razor Claws in front of him.

Ledge getup: Blowtorch Briefcase: Clank fires the Blowtorch brief case over Ratchet’s shoulder as he climbs up.

Final Smash: Time Bomb and R.Y.N.O: Clank throws out a time bomb exploding on impact or after traveling for a set amount of time. If anyone is caught within it, a cutscene starts in which Ratchet pulls out the R.Y.N.O. and rains hell upon their unfortunate victims.

Cosmetic

Utaunt: Ratchet throws his wrench from one hand to the other, then up in the air and catches it again.

STaunt: Ratchet collects a rare bolt.

DTaunt: Ratchet Looks at his shoe, scrapes it on the ground a bit and then first hits the side of it with the Omniwrench before scraping it with it.

Victory theme: Dreadzone, Challenge Complete

Victory Animations

Ratchet kneels down and holds out his palm and Clank jumps up to high five it.

Ratchet yawns in the background while Clank makes a snide comment followed up with his trademark laugh.

Ratchet calls one of his allies and reports that he’s done.

Outfits

1. The default outfit from Tools of Destruction

2. The outfit from the 2002 video game

3. The Electrosteel Armor from Going Commando

4. The Aegis Mark V Armor from Up Your Arsenal

5. The Holoflux Armor from a Crack in Time

6. The Protosuit from the 2016 video game

7. The Nether Armor from Into the Nexus

8. Ratchet wears his Marauder Armor from Deadlocked with Clank wearing his tuxedo from Secret Agent Clank.

The appearance of the rare bolt collected by Ratchet varies with costume.

The appearance of the Swingshot and Omniwrench varies with costume.

The ship used in the intro animation varies with costume.

Who Ratchet addresses in his call varies with costume.

The appearance of the R.Y.N.O. varies with costume, being replaced with the Arbiter in costume 8.

Classic Mode: Going Commando

Snake on Shadow Moses Island

Samus on Brinstar

Chrom and Robin in Arena Ferox

Megaman on Dr. Wily’s Castle

Fox and Falco on Lylat

Pit and Dark Pit on Skyworld

Bonus Stage

Galleom

Stage: Dreadzone Arena

A central platform made of six adjecent connected segments floating on top of lava. The lava extends all of the way to the side blast zones and will damage and launch you upwards on contact, this launch is fixed independently of damage and weight.

Segment 2 and 5 will occassionally start to flare up for two seconds, after which they shoot flames upwards, making them and the space above them hazardous.

Hit the lava three times in a row without touching ground and you will sink, losing your stock.

The lava extends all the way to the side blast zones.

Two floating platforms that occasionally rock a bit after which they flip upside down. Their underside is a hazard, so when upside down, this hazard makes them inaccessible. Each platform is as wide as one segment and they float on the borders between platforms 1 and 2 and between platforms 5 and 6.

The crowd can be heard cheering whenever a strong attack is landed, the stronger the hit, the louder the cheer.

When an assist trophy is summoned, the commentator can be heard introducing its entry and shouting out its name.

When stage hazards are turned off, the lava is gone turning the central platform into a giant floating platform. Segment 2 and 5 will no longer shoot flames, and the floating platforms have been turned into standard semisolids.

Spirits

Ratchet (Fighter Spirit)

Clank (Fighter Spirit)

Alister Azimuth

Captain Qwark

Captain Slag

Chairman Drek

Cronk & Zephyr

Dr. Nefarious

Lord Vorselon

Percival Tachyon

Rusty Pete

Sasha Phyronix

Talwyn Apogee

Mr. Zurkon

Potential Items

Suck Cannon: The suck cannon can suck in opponents, items and projectiles and shoot them out shortly after. Projectiles will be considered reflected by the user and items will be considered thrown by the user (meaning that if you for instance pick up a pokéball, it will release a Pokémon on your side) and consumable items are consumed upon being sucked in.

Alpha Disruptor: A giant laser that has to be charged before firing. Can be angled slightly up or down during the charging period.

Assist Trophy: Mr. Zurkon

Will hover around the summoner instead of moving freely.

Automatically shoots strong fast moving projectiles at enemies who get too close to the user.

After shooting a series of projectiles, makes a barage finisher shooting a larger projectile with great launch.

Can be KO’ed, but doing so is difficult as he moves a bit irratically, plus the user can move out of the way of attacks and take Zurkon with them.

[muenchkevin]

PlayStation announces Black Friday sale with discounts on recent PS5 releases

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced its plans for Black Friday 2021and they include PlayStation Store discounts on some fairly recent releases for PS4 and PS5. 

In an official PlayStation Blog post, Chris Howe, the Group Manager for Content Lifecycle Marketing at SIE confirmed that PlayStation’s Black Friday deals will begin on November 19 at midnight local time, with “great deals” and “deep discounts” to be expected on “a variety of titles on the PlayStation Store”.

This is followed by a long list of all the titles that PlayStation players can expect to see discounted on the PlayStation Store when the sale begins. There are some pretty attention-grabbing recent releases for both PS4 and PS5 in the list, including Deathloop, Far Cry 6 and FIFA 22. PS5 exclusives Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal are even in there, too. 

Best PS5 games: the PlayStation 5 games you need to play

The best cheap PS5 game deals and prices for Black Friday

I should have waited for these great early Black Friday board game deals

Aside from recent releases, there are some other great games in there that you might have missed when they were first released but should definitely experience at some point. Titles like Hitman 3, Demon’s Souls, Dishonored 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2 really stand out. And, hey, if you’re a fan of The Sims 4 on console then it’s a good time to pick up some expansion packs as there are plenty of them up for grabs—13 in total. 

Of course, while it’s exciting to see it confirmed that such recent releases are going to be discounted in a mere matter of hours, the post doesn’t actually confirm exact prices for the games. Instead, it says that “all discounts will be revealed on PlayStation Store tomorrow”, so right now it’s a case of keeping your fingers crossed and hoping that the games you have your heart set on will get the deepest discounts. The sale will last until November 29, 23.59pm local time, so there’s a fairly decent window of time in which you can consider your purchases.

PlayStation Direct will also have deals to look out for, with a promise that these will include “the DualSense wireless controller + NBA 2K21 Jumpstart Bundle” as well as “numerous PS5 and PS4 titles”. Away from games, the blog post mentions a 20% discount on apparel, accessories, collectables and more at the PlayStation Gear Store. Getting that discount is just a matter of using the code "BLACKFRIDAY20" at the checkout. 

Opinion: A good time if you've been holding out 

Black Friday is generally a pretty good time to pick up games that you’ve had your eye on for a while or games that you don't want to take a chance on unless you're getting money off them. It’s not everyone that can pick up every game as soon as it’s released, whether due to constraints on time or money. If you have been holding out for a title, Black Friday is generally the time to go for it as, on top of finally getting a game you want, often you’re also getting the added bonus of a small (or maybe even large) discount. 

It’s not just games that are good to pick up on Black Friday, either. For PlayStation owners especially, it’s a great time to renew your PlayStation Plus membership. The blog post does state that there’ll be “deals on PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now memberships” so it could be a pretty good time to pick up a 12 month membership and not have to worry about it again until next Black Friday, when you can usually be pretty sure you’ll get it for a decent bit of money off again. 

At TechRadar we’re tracking the best Black Friday deals so keep checking the site for the latest. Aside from the games, for those who are still seeking the elusive PS5 console, we’re also tracking PS5 Black Friday deals and even the best PS5 SSD deals for when you do finally get your hands on one and want to fill it up with all your discounted titles. 

New PS5 games: upcoming PlayStation 5 game release dates

source https://www.techradar.com/news/playstation-announces-black-friday-sale-with-discounts-on-recent-ps5-releases/ from Blogger https://ift.tt/3qPZGYT Source Link PlayStation announces Black Friday sale with discounts on recent PS5 releases

[megamanx1994]

Xenoforce II Chapter 12

(Before we get into the story I just wanna make an update. I will not be posting 2 story posts per day now. No longer will you have to wait to see what happens in the next chapter in a story! Enjoy)

Chapter 13: Upgrade time (Disclaimer! I own nothing of Xenoblade or Ratchet or Clank!!) There was a celebration for our paintball team winning the championship. A cake was made in my honor for leading the team to victory. Ej poured a drink all over me. “Great job dude!” he said. “Thanks,” I said. Denise noticed that my electric batons had a bit of an upgrade. “Where did you get those new batons?” she asked. “Nowhere special,” I said, “Just a little place called Future Industries!” “But that’s all the way in Republic City,” said Denise. “There’s more industries in other areas on the Earth thanks to Asami Sato,” I said. (To the 4th wall) True fact. “Where’s Ratchet?” asked Bryan. “Grim’s having him repair some cars,” I said, “But its ok.” I suddenly had a vision. A car was about to hit the building and hit Denise. Acting quickly I pushed her out of the way. “What the hell was that?” she asked. It was him. Mumkhar. He was traveling via a mechon. “Michael Morrison,” he said, “And the rat pack.” “What do you want?” I asked. One of the mechon tentacles grabbed me and brought me near him. “I want you to find your friend Xenoblade, and tell him to meet me at the abandoned warehouse tomorrow at 5,” said Mumkhar, “And tell him to come alone.” He looked at Maddi, Denise, Ej and Bryan. “Or this will be the last day you see your friends as humans,” he said. “If you lay one finger on them….” I said. “You’ll do what?” asked Mumkhar. He threw me at a wall and I hit my head and was unconscious. Through a few blinks I saw my friends being taken away. I heard a voice calling my name. “Michael!” she said. I woke up and saw Micah. “Michael what happned?” she asked. “Mumkhar…. My friends…. Ambush….” I said. I gained back consciousness and explained the whole situation to her. We ran off to the garage where Anela was. “Mumkhar’s back!” I said, “And he’s got the rest of the team hostage.” “What’s his play?” asked Anela. “Something about evolution through mechons,” I said, “He wants to force humans into machines to build a new world order.” “Whatever that means it can’t be good,” said Micah, “We gotta stop him!” “Good thing the suit’s ready,” she said. She pressed a button and a capsule came out. From within it was my new Xeno-suit. It had a green and orange color instead of blue and orange. “Nice!” I said. It had an upgraded monado and the digital headband. “I think you’ll like this headband a lot better,” said Anela. I tried it out and the effects looked more real than usual. “What kind of power source did you use for this?” I asked. “Well I don’t mean to brag, but I got that bionis crystal from Professor Elvin Gadd himself.” “Wait…. You got that thing from Elvin Gadd?” I asked. She nodded. “WHAT?!” I asked, “How, when, who?!” “Professor E,” said Anela. “WHAT?!” I asked, “How, when?!” “At the science fair,” said Anela. “WHAT?!” I asked, “How?!” “It was in the gift bag,” said Anela. “WHAT?!” I asked. “Michael I think you know what!!!” she said. “Ok, enough jab,” I said, “Its time to suit up.” I started to suit up and get my suit on. “Also you’ll need these,” said Anela, “Since mechons are machines, it’ll take some EMP powered bullets to shut them down.” She gave Micah a shotgun emp gun, and gave me a rifle and 2 pistols. “Now we’re playing with power,” I said, “Now to pick up some more candidates.” I rushed over to Grimroth’s Autoshop to get Ratchet, Clank, and Cara. I was about to open the door but Cara already got it. She had a similar hairstyle to a cartoon character. “Kari, from Digimon Adventure!” I said. She just looked at me with a bored expression. “Christ, you’re old,” she responded. I did a fake laugh. “Fake laugh, hiding real pain,” I said, “Go get Cricket and Crank.” “You guys going to get some donuts?” asked Cara Lynn. “No, you know that metal head that was terrorizing Los Angeles?” I asked, “He’s got my friends, and I need you guy’s help to save them.” “Michael, is that you?” asked Grim. “Yeah, I need to borrow your employees for a while,” I said, “We’re on a mission to save the world!” “Michael, let’s move!” said Micah, “Its mechon scrambling time!” “I’m gonna wait outside,” I said, “It’s a big place, and its strange seeing only you guys. Its almost as if…. The author couldn’t afford another Ratchet and Clank character.” We were later in a ship that Ratchet built. “How fast did you say this would get us to the abandoned warehouse?” I asked. “10 minutes,” said Ratchet, “I may not look it, but I can build a ship in a matter of minutes.” “Nice,” I said. “Guys, I don’t mean to interrupt your nerd talk, but it looks like we got company,” said Micah. I looked down and saw Mechons barricading the doors. (To the 4th wall) Time to put this suit to good use. I jumped down from the plane. Ratchet landed it next to me. The mechons looked at me. “State your prime objective,” said one of them. “4 kids here to kick the ass of a Fredrick Mumkhar,” I said. “Intruder alert,” said the other one, “Prepare to fight.” “Wow, you guys seem tough but I’m saving myself for Mumkhar,” I said, “That’s why I brought them.”  “Alright let’s kick some tail,” said Ratchet. The mechon pushed Ratchet away. “This might take a while!” he said. “I mean that’s why I brought her?” I said. I turned to Cara who was doing some instagram of tweet. “Knock em dead girl,” I said. She did a move similar to Pikachu’s volt tackle and knocked one of the mechons out cold. (To the 4th wall) I so pity the guy who pressured her into a Pokémon battle. “Michael let’s move!” said Micah, “Its metal scramblin’ time!” I followed her inside. Meanwhile Mumkhar was on a mechon planning a trap. Some kids were on a balcony ride and saw him. “Super cool!” said someone. Mumkhar commanded a mechon to fire a missle at a control and the ride started to fall. Mumkhar caught it and took the kids hostage. Some mechons were coming near us. “WAIT!!!” I said, “You may be wondering what’s with the ghetto costume. Well that’s so bad guys can’t see how I do my tricks.” They just looked at me. “Now if you’ll excuse me I gotta go save my friends,” I said. I was about to take a step but one of them attacked me. “Ok, I can see you won’t let me through without a fight,” I said. (To the 4th wall). Any of you seen Deadpool? Spoiler alert! “Let’s see how many bullets it takes to take these assholes down,” I said. I jumped up and shot a bullet at a mechon and it was shut down. I then did a flip and shot two bullets at two mechons. “Holy shit!” said Micah. I switched to the machine gun mode and shot multiple bullets at a mechon shutting it down. One of them was speeding around me. “Shit,” I said, “22, 23. Crap! Bad Xenoblade.” I saw one near me. “24,” I said as I shot the mechon, “Good Xenoblade.” 4 of them came near me. “25, 26, 27, 28!” I said as I shot them down. I shot one of them an extra time. “29,” I said, “STUPID! But worth it.” The speedy mechon came at me again. I jumped up and shot it and it shut down. “30,” I said. We all freed the humans from the machine. (To the 4th wall) I’m feeling good today. “I’ll help Ratchet and Cara,” said Micah, “You go save the others!” “Got it,” I said. I got on my skateboard and raced to the top of the abandoned warehouse. “Xenoblade!” said Mumkhar. He had my friends in a cage on one side and the innocent children on another side. “This is why only a fool would decide to be a hero, because you never know when a supervillain would force them to make a sadistic choice,” said Mumkhar, “Let die your closest friends, or suffer the little children?” People were watching. “And look,” said Mumkhar, “A lot of people are here to witness the true person you really are! So make your choice and see how the world sees you.” “Don’t do this Mumkhar!” I said. “We are who we choose to be,” said Mumkhar, “Now choose!” He dropped them both. I was left with a choice. Who was I gonna save? Both of them of course! I jumped on my skateboard and caught the cage and threw it to the top of the building, then I caught the carrier and brought it down gently so the kids could get out safe and sound. The crowd cheered for me. I went back up to confront Mumkhar. “Well that was fun and all, but your little charade ends now,” I said. “You really think you can take me on and save the world?” asked Mumkhar. “I may have had a few setbacks here and then,” I said, “But now I’m here to put an end to the bad guys scheme and give Los Angeles a bright future!” The crowd was starting to worry. “What the….” I said. “SETBACKS?!” shouted someone. It was a stranger in a mask. He chased after me but I was able to hold my own for a while. He then used some kind of telepath power to stop me in place and bring me near him. “Were my wife and son, ‘setbacks’?” he asked. He removed his mask. “Professor Freeman?” I asked , “I…. Your wife and son, I saved….” “NO!” he said, “You were too busy that you didn’t notice them in the crossfire. My family is gone because of you!!!” He pressed a button unleashing mechons from all around the city. People were starting to run away. “What are you doing?” I asked. “You took everything from me when you left my family to die,” said Professor Freeman, “So now I’m gonna return the favor and take everything from you!” Mechons were coming near my friends. “No, don’t do this!” I said. “You’re going to watch everybody you care about be destroyed,” said Freeman pulling me closer, “Then its your turn.” “Professor!” said someone. It was Kitty. “Don’t do this!” she said. “Kitty…” said Professor Freeman. “This isn’t you,” said Kitty, “Is this what your family would’ve wanted?” “They’re dead because of him!” said Professor Freeman. “Xenoblade may make mistakes, but they’re to learn from,” said Kitty. “I’m sorry Kitty but this has to be done,” said Professor Freeman. Kitty got in the way. “I’m not gonna let you do it!” “Very well,” said Professor Freeman, “I’ll have to kill you both!” He was about to attack when someone froze him in his tracks. It was Micah. “Ice of you to drop by,” said Denise. “Ha,” said Micah, “Never heard that one before.” I used my monado to cut them free. “Now all we have to do is find out where and how Mumkhar is controlling all of these things,” said Maddi. “Guys, try the floating island,” said Micah, “How are we gonna get up there?” “Why not take a lift?” asked someone. It was Principal Gibson in a giant ship. “Turns out that article in Paranormal activity happened to be true,” he said, “Took a lot of scientists to get this out of the water. Its dusty but I think it’ll get the job done.” “Gibson you badass mutha fucker,” said Bryan. “Ooooohhh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” asked Principal Gibson.

[annychristine831]

5 Best PS4 First-Party Exclusives Ranked

Playing games on a gaming console is one of the best ways to enhance your gaming experience. A gaming console allows you to play games in a hassle-free manner along with much better graphics and visuals as compared to other gaming platforms. You can play your favorite games on a gaming console with the help of a gaming controller, which is a far better option than a keyboard and mouse. PS4 has offered several fantastic exclusive games. Sony has done a great job by introducing its various exclusive games for PS4’s library from both third-parties and first-party. In this article, we have listed some of the best PS4 first-party exclusives.

The Last Guardian

Fumito Ueda’s third game, The Last Guardian, is one of the first-party exclusive games you can play on PlayStation 4. It is an excellent game with a fascinating story, which revolves around the relationship between a young boy and a creature. In this game, the player is a young boy who befriends a half-bird, half-mammal creature named Trico. However, this game has some annoying issues with the controls, but you must still experience it on your PS4 gaming console.

Concrete Genie

Concrete Genie is a beautiful game for your PS4. The game comes with a great message about showing kindness toward others. The story of this game centers around a young boy Ash, who lives in Danska, which is a small town. Ash is continuously harassed by the bullies of the town. He is on a journey to recover the torn pages of his sketchbook and finds a magical paintbrush during his journey. Concrete Genie is a very creative game that allows players to paint stunning murals and solve puzzles all over the town. As the game progresses, it also introduces a combat system, but creation is the best part of this game.

Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush 2 is an excellent and exclusive game for PlayStation 4. It is a sequel to the game Gravity Rush, which is a very inventive game and allows the players to mess with gravity. Gravity Rush 2 comes with more improved and advanced gameplay. The main characters of the game are Kat, Raven, and Syd. They get pulled into a distant dimension. This game is very different from the original Gravity Rush and comes with a fantastic upgrade. Gravity Rush 2 offers you a tremendous gravity-based gaming experience. This game packs stunning graphics and art styles.

Ratchet & Clank

Ratchet & Clank is considered one of the impressive and best games you can play on your PlayStation 4. This game retells the plot of the first game and also tells about some of the new characters, worlds, and segments. Ratchet & Clank uses most of the gameplay elements from the series to make your gaming experience more wonderful. It is a must-play game for you if you have a PS4 at your home.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the most exciting games you can play on your PS4 today. It shows a unique post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has changed into ancient civilizations. One of Horizon’s best parts is that you can fight with various robotic creatures, which are deadly and wild. This game provides you the best combat-gaming experience. Aloy is the main character in this game and can use various arrows and equipment. The game also includes an interesting backstory that makes it more enjoyable and exciting. If you are a gaming fan, Horizon: Zero Dawn is the highly recommended game for you.

After discussing some of the best PS4 first-party exclusive games for PS4, we have concluded that various exclusive games have been introduced by Sony. But, being a gaming fan, you should choose one of the best exclusive games that matches your choice.

Source: 5 Best PS4 First-Party Exclusives Ranked

[ramajmedia]

Spyro Reignited Trilogy PC Review: Gems and Dragons | Screen Rant

Spyro Reignited Trilogy releases on Nintendo Switch and PC, but will people who have never played the series before enjoy it? Short answer: yes.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a solid reminder of some of the best gameplay the 3D platforming genre has ever offered. A memory-perfect restoration of the original three Spyro games, this remastered compendium released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in November (read our review!) of last year but only just came out on PC and the Nintendo Switch last week. Although that extra development time has not led to any extra features or drastic gameplay changes from their mainstream console counterparts, at least Spyro cheats from Xbox and PS4 still work the same, and players who have not yet experienced these games since their original incarnations will find their return to the Dragon Kingdom to be both beautiful and challenging.

Originally created by Insomniac Games and published by Sony in 1998, Spyro was created to help Sony's PlayStation attempt to wrestle the attention of younger players away from the Nintendo 64. Compared favorably at the time to Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro was praised for its presentation and animations, although some critics reported the game had a relatively low difficulty curve due to players being able to reach the end of the game without completing all the worlds. Insomniac went on to produce two sequels in the following years, Ripto’s Rage and Year of the Dragon, both of which are featured in this remastered compilation, before beginning work on their popular Ratchet & Clank series and later moving on to the FPS genre with Resistance.

Related: 30 Things Only Gaming Experts Know About Spyro The Dragon

Playing all three games under one unified heads-up-display and title screen, the evolution of Spyro’s gameplay mechanics and story becomes increasingly apparent. In the very first game, Spyro the Dragon, the titular main character is tasked with rescuing dozens of his fellow dragons which have been encased in stone throughout the game’s many worlds. These worlds, which act as levels, are each filled with a certain number of collectible gems and frozen dragons for Spyro to find, and are connected to each other through larger hub areas. He is accompanied by Sparx the dragonfly, who indicates the player's health by his color. Spyro's moveset is minimal but precise, allowing a dash attack, a flame breath, and the ability to jump and glide. Certain levels allow him to properly fly for a limited amount of time, and speed decals on the ground can send Spyro into a battering ram-style rush. He cannot swim, and will drown instantly upon contact with water.

This is the most apparent change when beginning Spyro 2: Riptor’s Rage so immediately after playing the first game. The ability to dive under the water, something that would have been both unthinkable and entirely detrimental to the original’s level design, here becomes an entirely new way to traverse an area which, surprisingly, does not feel immediately sluggish and frustrating like water levels generally can. The addition of other non-playable characters is also a striking change. In Spyro the Dragon, dialog and plot progression was given to the player in the tiniest of chunks, delivered briefly by the dragons Spyro rescued before they disappeared into nothingness. The sequel, on the other hand, is much more character and story-driven, seeing Spyro being drawn into another world’s conflict with a dragon-hating villain and a ragtag group of anthropomorphic characters after attempting to go on a vacation immediately following the events of the first game.

Riptor’s Rage also changes the way in which the levels in the game are experienced. While the original Spyro gated off progression by forcing a number of gems or rescued dragons to be collected, the sequel adds in additional collectibles like Green Orbs and Artifacts, with each of them acting as different ways to progress through certain checkpoints. Gems are still distributed throughout each level, but now the game always shows the player’s total Gem count at the top of the screen instead of simply showing the number of Gems collected in that particular world. Although helpful in the situation that a player may need to pay, say, 700 Gems in order to progress past a certain point and it’s nice to know they have enough, it’s far more often that a player is wondering how many Gems are left to collect in any given world and now they must pause the game and check their total count there repeatedly, as opposed to simply pausing once and then glancing at the corner of the screen every now and then.

New moves and powerups are also introduced in Riptor’s Rage. Spyro can now climb ladders, allowing him to reach greater heights from which to glide from, and he can also pick up objects in his mouth to use as spittable projectiles. Powerups such as flight and speed are more frequently distributed and are now tied to enemy deaths, with each enemy defeated in a level adding to a certain in-game counter and powerup locations in that level only activating once a certain number of enemies have been eradicated. Another new move, the hover, allows Spyro to hop briefly after gliding in order to reach the edge of even longer distances. Combining all of these moves leads to a variety of creative puzzles Spyro must complete in order to discover all the Orbs, Artifacts, and Gems in each world.

Related: 30 Things Only Gaming Experts Know About Spyro The Dragon

Many of these changes are carried over into the game’s third entry, Year of the Dragon. The wacky characters introduced in Riptor’s Rage also return, now joined by newcomers who not only act as plot-delivery NPCs but instead offer their own unique forms of gameplay mechanics and challenges. While Spyro himself retains all the swimming, climbing, and hovering techniques learned in his previous adventures, in Year of the Dragon he is accompanied by playable accomplices such as a kangaroo named Sheila and a rocket-powered penguin named Sergeant Byrd, all of which are accompanied by select levels that utilize their particular skills. These segments serve to break up the usual gameplay players may have gotten used to by now and are somewhat simple in their execution but otherwise enjoyable.

Year of the Dragon ditches the Green Orb collectibles and Artifacts from its previous title and returns to the original game’s questline of rescuing named dragons, although this time they are in egg form. With no Green Orbs and no Artifacts, the third entry feels much more like classic Spyro, albeit with the thankful inclusion of not dying upon contact with water. In addition to the now-retro flying challenges, Year of the Dragon also nearly oozes nostalgia for the time it was originally created by featuring many snarky too-cool-for-school character expressions and mini-games that may be inane for a dragon but are on point for early-2000's marketing, such as skateboarding.

As far as the PC version of Spyro Reignited Trilogy goes, the game runs great most of the time. There are some ridiculously long loading screens during the first title, although they still aren’t as long as the loading screens in Wreckfest's PS4 release, and thankfully are considerably shorter in the subsequent sequels. All three games in the remaster feature some frame-rate hiccups at inconsequential sections, usually during the main title loading screens and the entering and leaving level animations, but otherwise play smoothly. Issues such as pop-up and janky animations, both popular complaints of early PlayStation games, are virtually non-existent here. The music, which can be switched between modern and retro versions at any time, is fantastic.

Replaying titles that felt good twenty years ago is an interesting experiment in the power of nostalgia. Everyone praises Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64 as one of the greatest shooters of all time, but to go back and play it now is an exercise in both patience and frustration. With a few graphical and camera control improvements, as well as an ability to make Sparx the dragonfly hunt for missing gems, developer Toys for Bob has perfectly captured the memory of what the Spyro series was without having to drastically change anything integral from the original games, a feat which speaks to the quality of those first few titles. For anyone with a Nintendo Switch or PC who only knows Spyro from Skylanders, this remastered trilogy is the perfect time to experience three of the best 3D platforming games that ever graced the PS1. Just try not to pull any hair out during the mine cart minigame in Riptor's Rage, and remember completing EVERY Orb mission isn't exactly necessary to proceed.

Next: Spyro: Reignited Trilogy - Every Cheat Code in the Game

Spyro Reginited Trilogy is out now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and the Nintendo Switch. This review is based on the PC version where a code was provided.

source https://screenrant.com/spyro-reignited-trilogy-pc-review-2/