Logic here, with another one of my sneaker reviews. This time around, I'll be featuring the Nike Kobe 8 System. This basketball shoe is designed to be lightweight, and well suited for guards. With that said, let's get right to it.
Materials - Most of the shoe is made of Engineered Mesh; a reinforced textile material that's built to be durable as well as breathable. This material allows enough heat to escape without having to put a lot of perforations. It also keeps its form well enough so it won't get torn apart when performing those quick cuts and lateral movements in-game.
Traction - The traction of the Kobe 8's works perfectly when used on hardwood. There's absolutely no slippage on these, even if the court's a little dusty. I can't say the same about its performance on outdoor courts though. They still grip the floor quite nicely on those rubberized outdoor courts but you'll experience some slipping when you start using these on dusty cement courts. Another thing to note is that the traction pattern on these shoes is a little shallow so they might wear out quicker than most shoes when used outdoors.
Cushion - These shoes are equipped with a full length Lunarlon foam insert. The Lunarlon foam provides low profile cushioning that gives you good court feel without sacrificing impact protection. This kind of cushioning setup is actually one of my personal favorites because it's able to protect your knees from impact without being too plushy. You might encounter some "sinking" issues after a really long while of use though. I've had these for a little over a year now and I'm starting to notice that the part under my heel and the ball of my foot sort of got pressed down. This might only be an issue for bigger and heavier people but I can't be sure because most of the people I know that have Kobe 8's are smaller, lighter guards. I don't feel that it affects the impact absorption that much; the shoe just ends up feeling a little looser on those specific parts where the Lunarlon sinks.
Support - If there was one aspect of the shoe that really surprised me (in a good way), this would be it. The Kobe 8 provides really good support for a shoe that's cut this low. The carbon fiber shank that's placed under the midfoot until the side of the foot arch wraps around those parts of your foot so that you won't feel any dead space in that area. The TPU heel counter also helps provide support. It's able to keep your heel in place so it won't lift off the bottom of the shoe. Heel lockdown could be an issue on some low-top basketball shoes but not on this one. It's especially good for when you push off the ball of your foot; the heel counter keeps your heel down so the shoe stays with your foot, not the floor.
Fit - The fit is also one of the highlights of the shoe (for me, at least) because it works well for all sorts of foot shapes. I personally have slightly wide feet with a high arch so some shoes don't fit well because they really squeeze the side of my feet. The Kobe 8 provides an adaptive kind of fit which comes from the Engineered Mesh that's used for the shoe upper and the the way the shoelaces are placed. The flexible mesh allows the shoe laces to pull the sides together to really make it wrap around your feet. The flexibility of the upper also makes it follow the contour of your foot so it gets rid of all that dead space around that would allow unwanted movement within the shoe.
Overall - The Nike Kobe 8 is a well fitting, adequately supportive shoe that's designed more for guards. I wouldn't recommend these if you plan to play on rough outdoor courts all the time due to durability issues with the shoe's outsole but they'll work flawlessly when used on hardwood.
So that's it for my review. Make sure you tune in for the next one. Thanks for reading! And feel free to leave your comments below.
Another week, another weekly bundle headed towards you guys. If you were thinking about Ether one or Hand of Fate, then you should probably pick this up, because it's well worth the value for just the two of these games. For tier one, people are going crazy over One Finger Death Punch. Not much has been heard about the second tier, but the BTA is rather high, so I can only assume that people are licking up the third tier of this bundle.
Anyways, here are the games!
*What I forgot to add: Historical loweest prices: Enemy Mind- $4.99, OFDP-$1.00, Two Brothers- $3.75, Master Reboot-$2.99, Stick it to the man!-$2.25, Ether One-$7.49
Link: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly
And so comes to a close, the top 50 games of Green Man Gaming. Arguably, there are better games out there, but as a discount site, they can only sell so much. But I think we can all agree that their list is a whole lot better than PC Gamer's top 100 games of all time list. So, here are the games included in the sale!
These games were very safe choices for the site, and are still pretty good games with lots of replayability. While I don't own a lot of them, I've still had the chance to play many of them via other methods. But, there are several games I wouldn't buy on this list just because there are usually better sales out there, and you just need to wait for them.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why this is in the top 50 games. I'd imagine it be better placed on the top 30 indie games. But this game has a really good story telling system, and is a puzzle adventure game that is relatively easy. The only problem with this game is that it's really short, and really easy.
GTA: Vice City Well, I'm pretty sure many of you have played this game, it's an open world RPG about making money, shooting people up, running missions and stealing the best car ever. It's definitely worth its price.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV The main difference between this and Civ V is that Civ V is less clunky, but this game is much more complex in the tools used for conquest. Religion is much more challenging, here, and is more useful than in V. It's still a nice pick up, if you want something different from Civ 5
Bioshock Well, I've never actually finished a Bioshock game... Bioshock one freaked me out a little too much, but I'm told that it's a fascinating post apocalyptic game. However, I'm told that it's better to just wait for the Bioshock bundles to come out, because they usually include all three games, and it's rather cheap.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Be wary that this is just the base game. It's an interesting open world RPG, but just wait for GOTY edition or Deluxe.
Portal 2 Okay, now this game is probably the only one I'd pick up on this list, just because there usually aren't any better deals for this game. Whenever I think about Portal, it's a perfect game. The physics engine, the game play, the puzzles, and the characters are all pretty much too perfect. Now Portal 2 is not perfect at all, it's better than that. It's imperfect, because every single part of the game is so human, it's just one of those games that leaves a lasting impression on you. Definitely worth a play through, and a pick up for this price.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is GOTY edition, but it doesn't include all of the DLC that deluxe edition would, so you should just wait for the deluxe edition sale (unless you don't want to wait... I think that's fine haha.)
The Orange Box is a bundle that includes Portal,Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1-2, and Team Fortress 2. If you buy this, you get more than what you payed for the Half-Life 2 alone. Half Life 2 is a pretty neat sci-fi FPS game that pretty much everyone has played. There's lots of hype behind this game, but primarily it's about fighting aliens and waiting for Half Life 3.
Anyways, those were the games contained in the top 50 games of GMG. Hope you enjoyed this set of games!
Here's the link for those of you that want to check it out on the site
Hey guys! Joshua here. Just posting my reactions on Microsoft announcing that Rise of the Tomb Raider as an Xbox One 'exclusive'.
I've seen a lot of videos and posts expressing their dismay about the announcement during Gamescom 2014 that Rise of the Tomb Raider is to be an Xbox One 'exclusive'. People were like: "But I saw the cover of the game during the Sony press conference?!" or "I pre-ordered this during E3 only to find out a few months later that it's gonna be on Xbox One only? Ridiculous.". To clear the air, Rise of the Tomb Raider WILL BE RELEASED on other platforms as well but there is yet to be an announcement about a timetable for the release on the PS4 an PC.
Now for my two cents. I personally believe that this was (and still is) a bad choice not only on the part of Microsoft but also Square Enix. Why? Because they cut out two of the bigger platforms (PC and PS4). I honestly don't know what they talked about or what ridiculous number Microsoft gave Square Enix to have them release it only on Holiday 2015 ONLY for Xbox One. I mean, if they're after sales of the Xbox One, just keep chugging on. Its not like they're gonna go out of business that quick. I mean they have Forza! A really awesome racing game that doesn't only feature amazing graphics and a wide array of cars but also the depth of detail they put into the cars and the environments and even the car meets and whatnot. They also have the 'First-to-console' indie titles which would also rack up sales.
I just watched the IGN video about their reactions on this as well. They say that there are a lot of people that own PCs and PS4s that have already cancelled their pre-orders of the game because of the sheer dismay of having to wait longer just to play the game.
Being a PC owner, I really am disappointed about their choice. The flame might die out once it's released and sales might not be as good.
Logic here, with the first edition of my new column entitled: Gaming on a Budget. This one's gonna be about the PC gaming platform. I'll run you through the pros and cons of Desktop and Laptop gaming to see which one's best suited for your needs.
Credits to JTech for this photo
Desktop: Pros: Cheaper (relatively) - What I mean by this is that you don't need to go all the way up to the higher end components to get your desktop PC to max out game settings while maintaining a good enough fps. You can usually make do with "entry level gaming" video cards such as the Nvidia GTX x60s (e.g. GTX 560, GTX 660, GTX 760) to run graphics intensive games (an example of which is Crysis 3).
The price to performance ratio is much better - This is related to desktop PCs being "relatively cheaper." Being able to run games that demand a lot of GPU and CPU power using mid-level components enable you to spend less money to get what you want out of your machine. Can easily be upgraded or modified - So what happens when a game I want comes out, but my current mid-level components can't handle them anymore? If you have the money, you'll be able to upgrade the parts that need upgrading without having to replace all your other parts. The components desktop PCs aren't bound together (like a laptop) so you won't have much problems swapping them out when your GPU fries or motherboard bottlenecks your rig's overall performance.
Lasts longer - Since you can swap out parts that really need to be replaced quite easily, you'll be able to keep the more robust parts of your PC (monitor, mouse, keyboard, PSU) much longer. This is actually a big advantage versus laptops because of the amount of money you can save by keeping most of your old desktop components while replacing those that can't keep up with your demands.
Cons: Bulky - This speaks for itself and is one of the biggest cons of gaming on a desktop; it's simply not transport friendly. You can't bring it around because it's just too big. You won't be able to game on the go or bring your own unit to a friend's house for LAN parties (if you still do those kinds of things nowadays). Not everyone knows how to put a desktop PC together - Not all stores have PC bundles/packages that suit the buyer's needs. More often than not, you're going to have to mix and match the parts yourself. This could be a little difficult for some who aren't experts on component compatibility; which motherboard is compatible with which GPU or if a 450W PSU could power your dual GTX Titan. Hopefully, you have that one friend who could help you out in times like these.
My very own gaming machine. Pardon my photography skills.
Laptop: Pros: Portable - If bulkiness is the biggest con of a desktop PC, that aspect's where the laptop truly shines. You can bring your laptop everywhere you go, and you'll never miss out on those scheduled online matches with your friends as long as you have a laptop by your side. (Of course, you'll need internet connection too) Assembly usually not required - Other than those custom made-to-order laptops, most others are already put together when you see them. This really helps those who have neither the time nor the expertise to put together a PC. You also save time by needing to only look at one complete machine as opposed having to canvass part by part when shopping for a desktop PC. It's plug and play - Since most laptops are pre-assembled, you won't have to worry about finding the right drivers or software to make each component work. Those things are most likely already installed into your machine when you get it. This helps you avoid problems like display failure due to a missing or wrong driver for your graphics adapter (among others).
Cons: Usually more expensive than desktops specs-wise - Since laptops are just downsized versions of desktop PCs, the performance capabilities of the components also drastically decline. Thus, you're gonna have to climb higher on the tech tree (and reach deeper into your wallet) to get something that can handle those power hungry games. I don't think a GTX x60m card will give you performance at par to a GTX x60 desktop card. (That's obviously an unfair comparison, but I hope you get my point.)
Break one part, you break everything (for most laptops) - This is the biggest disadvantage (in my honest opinion) of having a laptop. If one of the components break or needs upgrading, chances are, you're gonna have to end up buying an entirely new laptop. This is because most laptops were never meant to be taken apart after they've been put together. You'll still be able to change basic components like the RAM and hard disk, but if it's your CPU, GPU, or motherboard that's giving you problems, then there's really nothing you can do but buy a new computer. Some custom built laptops don't have that same disadvantage but most other laptops do.
Well, that's all I have for today. Make sure you tune in for the next episode of Gaming on a Budget; where I'll be pitting a gaming desktop rig against a gaming laptop! Feel free to leave your comments below.
Hey guys! Karl here bringing you another spectacular bundle for today! I have no clue what is happening with this season, but there are great bundles after great bundles BACK TO BACK I'M RUNNING OUT OF MONEY TO SPEND. We all know sales are both a blessing and a curse, but I think I've relapsed in his habit! Help me! Haha, I don't really regret doing it, but buying games for me is like buying clothes for my sisters.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing - Complete Pack
1
$19.99
Deadlight
1
$14.99
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition
1
$19.99
Terraria
2
$9.99
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII Steam Edition
2
$29.99
Crusader Kings II + 3 DLC Unit Packs
2
$39.99 + DLC
Age of Empires Legacy Bundle
3
$54.99
The highlight of this bundle is the King of Fighters XIII Steam edition, according to many people raving about this bundle.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing - Complete Pack is a top down action real time game just like Diablo, Path of Exile and Torchlight. It's basically a game of you razing down hordes upon hordes of monsters. Basically, if you like those kinds of games, then this is perfect for you!
Deadlight is an interesting platformer that I have yet to have played. While I'm not a big platformer player, the game looks really gritty, and is based in a Zombie Apocalypse era. You might be thinking that it's a very overrated setting, because I'm thinking that too, but has there been a platformer like this? A quick glance at the reviews tells me that the game is well worth the bundle's price for it, the only catch is the shoddy controls.
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition is a rather interesting version of the Civilization games. It's very hard compared to Sid Meier's original series, because you have to make the units by yourself, and the tutorial is shit and won't teach you anything. I've tried playing this game, but just because it's so LONG, I've been told that it takes a few months to actually finish the campaign.
Terraria Personally I'm not a big fan of this game, but it's like a 2D minecraft. I think you should play this with friends, or really find some objective to work towards, but I really couldn't get into it. A lot of people like it though.
King Of Fighters XIII is one of those fighters that really deserve to be seen. It's rather balanced and the servers are really good, as expected for an arcade fighter. If you don't have enough cash to pick up the latest Street Fighter, then this is a nice alternative.
Crusader Kings II CAN I SAY AN EASIER MAP PAINTING SIMULATOR? HAHA. Compared to Europa Universalis, this game is much easier to learn, and the resources are more... obvious. Just think of a game that's about diplomacy, trade, kingdoms, religion, and overall what goes on in a country. It's a Paradox game. You can expect it to be REALLY GOOD, but REALLY HARD TOO.
Age of Empires Legacy Bundle basically has every Age of Empires available to you. If you're into historical RTS, or just RTS games in general, this entire series is just for you! It's one of the games that kickstarted the entire genre. Even today, the graphics are still acceptable by our standards. Well worth the investment IMO, but I only got Tier 2.
What did I get from this bundle? I bought the second tier, because I'm not a huge AoE fanboy. I specifically wanted Crusader Kings II. Anyways, hope I brought you a nice deal today! There are still games not unlocked yet in this bundle, so check us out again for updates.
This is Kei, with the second Table Top Comic. Sorry for the late introduction haha! So, the Table Top Comics section of the blog will be featuring.... well... comics. It'll feature casual comics to be more specific, so these things won't have any major story line or plot. We may create some kind of mini-series in the future though, to at least have some comics connect.
Posting schedules for these comics may be inconsistent - as you know, the time between this post and the last comic post is ridiculously long. I'm in the middle of schoolwork at the moment and probably won't be done til September. Once I'm through with those, you can expect to see more consistent updates from me and these comic series!
We've actually been thinking of making comics for quite some time, though we more or less solidified the thought over coffee. The name for these comic series was actually supposed to be The Coffee Table Comics, or Coffee Table or some other name that includes coffee, tables, and comics....
kus.. you know... we thought of it over coffee... which was... over a table.. heh.. hehe...
Sadly we found out all of them were taken after a quick Google search..
... .. them broken dreams... but at least we got Table into the title, right?
Anyways, stay tuned for more comics to come! If you like it, share it! If you don't.... k.. bai now
So, my phone woke me up at 3 AM to tell me that there's a new sale on Humble Bundle! And this time, it features rhythm based games! I'm not too sure about the first tier of games, but BIT.TRIP Runner 2 is the highlight of the sale for me, it's a rhythm based runner game (You try to get as far as possible). Electronic Super Joy is also an amazing platformer with a great soundtrack. I haven't heard anything about Kick Beat though. Beating the average is well worth this bundle!
Kick beat looks like a very good game, based off of its steam page, it's a rhythm based fighting game where you can make your own fights with your own music! However, the reviews seem really bad for some bad syncing issues, but other than that, it looks perfectly fine. But people are saying that it's too random.
It's interesting how every single company is trying to churn out a MOBA. Crytek is the latest one to try this, by releasing Arena of Fate, a 5v5 Multiplayer Online Battle Arena featuring different folk tale characters in game play similar to that of League of Legends and Dota 2. During Gamescom 2014, they released the full trailer for the game with Red Riding Hood explaining the game, and the objectives.
While the MOBA genre may all look the same, each game always tries to innovate the genre by being a step higher than each other. So the important question here is, what does Arena of Fate bring to the table that Dota 2, League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, and other MOBAs don't? According to the trailer, the game lasts a maximum of 20 minutes, and is based on objectives or scoring. You can either win by outscoring, or by having more points at 20 minutes. Other than that, everything looks very standard.
Will this game be able to run with the giants, namely Dota 2, and League of Legends? Only time will tell, but the game itself is very interesting because of the points system. I'm surely going to try it out once it comes out.
Hey guys! Joshua here. Since some of you don't have the time to watch the whole thing and some are just lazy to watch, I'm here to give you an overview of what happened during the Microsoft Press Conference in Gamescom 2014.
For those who want to watch it, I have the Youtube vid above. I'll also be putting the time stamps if you also wanna watch certain segments. Some additional info will be written and linked as well. Let's get to it!
0:00:52 - A trailer for the Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This info comes from the GameStop product details. It says:
"For the first time ever, The Master Chief's entire story is on one console. Featuring a re-mastered Halo 2: Anniversary, along with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, new digital series, Halo: Nightfall, and access to the Halo 5: Guardians Beta, this is the definitive Halo experience.*
The Complete Master Chief Story - Honoring the iconic hero and his epic journey, The Master Chief's entire story is brought together as The Master Chief Collection. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4 are all included with Xbox One visual fidelity, 60fps, a total of 45 campaign missions plus more than 100 multiplayer (including the original Halo Combat Evolved maps) and Spartan Ops maps. Along with new prologue and epilogue cut scenes foreshadowing Halo 5: Guardians, this is the collection Halo fans have been waiting for, all on Xbox One.*
Halo 2: Anniversary - Celebrating the 10 year Anniversary, the iconic fan favorite returns. Featuring a fully re-mastered campaign with "Classic Mode" allowing you to instantly switch between the re-mastered game and the original game from 2004. Uncover new Halo 5: Guardians story elements in hidden terminal videos and utilize all new skulls to experience the campaign in a whole new way. Including 23 original multiplayer maps just as fans remember them, plus 6 completely re-imagined maps. Play the game that defined online multiplayer on consoles and get ready for the next Halo chapter.
Master Menu - Seamlessly navigate The Master Chief's story using the all-new Master Menu. Play all four completely unlocked campaigns, beginning to end, or jump around as you choose. Enjoy cross title themed campaign playlists created by the games' designers for new fun and challenging experiences. Easily find and play your favorite multiplayer game types from over 100 multiplayer and Spartan Ops maps. It's everything Halo, on your terms, simplified.
New Halo: Nightfall Live Action Digital Series - A strange and treacherous world exposes elite UNSC operatives to a much deeper danger in this live action series from 343 Industries and Scott Free Productions. Executive-produced by Ridley Scott and Scott Free TV President, David Zucker and directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan ("Battlestar Galactica" "Pillars of the Earth," "Heroes"), Halo: Nightfall is an exciting new story for Halo fans and fresh audiences alike.
Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta - Be among the first to experience a new generation of Halo multiplayer in the Halo 5: Guardians Beta. Gear up for the Guardians beta by unlocking exclusive content in The Master Chief Collection and Halo: Nightfall. These exclusive items will carry over into Halo 5: Guardians."
For more info on the product: here is the link to the Halo: The Master Chief Collection page by GameStop.
0:02:15 - The Halo 5: Guardians theatrical trailer. Nothing much to it. It also showcases the contents of The Master Chief Collection. At the end of the trailer, it also says that you would gain early access to Halo: Nightfall (the live-action web series) and access to Halo 5: Guardians Beta. I'm not entirely sure about whether or not you would get to play the beta but I guess you would be able to. The release of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection is on November 11, 2014.
0:03:04 - This is, basically, a showcase of some of the titles coming out on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Some of these are Xbox One exclusives, some are multi-platform but get early access on Xbox, and some are exclusive to both Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Some of these titles included in the video are:
*Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, Project Spark, UFC, (this is one really long-ass title...) *Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper EX Alpha Edition, Fifa 15, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lego's Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Ori and the Blind Forest, Dance Central: Spotlight (Kinect required), Madden NFL 15, The Evil Within, *Quantum Break, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield: Hardline, Tom Clancy's: The Division, *Fable Legends, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Evolve, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Crackdown, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
*Xbox One Exclusive
And possibly a lot more. These are just a few of the games that are to come out.
0:12:39 - Another trailer for Assassin's Creed: Unity. The game releases on October 28, 2014
0:19:07 - Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, now starts to pitch Fifa 15. He brings up exclusives such as Legends that you can play on the game mode Ultimate Team ONLY on Xbox (Xbox 360 and Xbox One). He also showcases an Xbox One bundle exclusive to European customers starting September 25, 2014. Pre-orders are now open.
The bundle includes an Xbox One Console, controller, and a digital copy of Fifa 15.
0:20:30 - Fifa 15 General Manager David Rutter introduces Manchester United and Denmark legend Peter Schmeichel. Schmeichel and Rutter then discuss a dream team they'd like to build for the Ultimate Team mode. They also include exclusive for Xbox players such as Peter Shmeichel himself, Sir Bobby Moore, the Laudrup brothers, and many more. Fifa 15 will go on sale September 23, 2014 according to their website.
0:25:51 - A video starts showcasing some of the independent games that are in ID@Xbox. The games shown in the video were:
Blues and Bullets, Cuphead, Dungeon of the Endless, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2, Funk of Titans, Gost of a Tale, Goat Simulator, Gunscape, Massive Chalice, Inside, Knight Squad, Lovers in a Dangerous, Spacetime, #IDARB, No Time to Explain, Plague Inc.: Evolved, Rivals of Aether, Smite, SlashDash, Space Engineers, Spectra, Pneuma: Breath of Life, Threes!, The Escapists, Volgarr the Viking, SpeedRunners, Superhot.
Those were just some of the titles coming to Xbox on ID@Xbox. There are more coming out. Their main pitch is the "First-to-Console". Which means that ID@Xbox would distribute some of the titles first before the other consoles.
Here are some of the trailers they have for some of the games that are First-to-Console on Xbox: 0:28:24 - First-to-Console on Xbox One trailer for Space Engineers 0:29:42 - First-to-Console on Xbox One trailer for Superhot 0:31:04 - First-to-Console on Xbox One trailer for The Escapists 0:32:29 - First-to-Console on Xbox One trailer for Smite 0:34:07 - First-to-Console on Xbox One trailer for Below
I have included links to the games with the First-to-Console trailers for more info.
0:37:54 - Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare single player gameplay on a map they call "Collapse". It's set in San Francisco, California. This is most likely some in-game footage from one of the campaign missions. At first it features some vehicle combat but it then transitions to first-person shooting on the 0:40:14 mark. The single player combat footage features:
Exo suit skills such as dashing from side to side and jumping, smart grenades, the HUD is some sort of hologram on the gun, car doors used as shields, and a bunch of other stuff.
The HUD displayed on the gun includes current bullets in mag, grenades, and special grenades.
0:44:54 - Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox) says that Xbox would gain access to add-on content of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare first before any other console. He also pitches the bundle for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
The bundle includes a 1 Terabyte hard drive inside the console, Custom designed Xbox One Controller and Console, Digital copy of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare along with Day Zero which includes additional digital content. Pre-orders have been open since August 14, 2014. The game itself officially releases on November 4, 2014 worldwide.
0:46:21 - Phil Robb (Co-founder and Creative Director of Turtle Rock Studios) takes over and introduces Evolve. A 4 vs 1 player versus player game that features 4 hunters and 1 monster (yep, the monster can be controlled by a player).
0:47:14 - They then show some footage of a game that also shows the evolution of the monster, some gameplay mechanics like shielding, etc. The game goes into open beta only for Xbox One on January 2015 an releases worldwide on February 10, 2015. For all the DLC to come, Xbox once again gets access first before any other console. For more info on Evolve, click HERE
From this point on, they start showcasing Xbox "exclusive" games.
0:50:40 - Darrell Gallagher (Head of Product Development and Studios of Crystal Dynamics) introduces Rise of the Tomb Raider. He says that Rise of the Tomb Raider will come out Holiday 2015 "exclusively" on Xbox. I wondered what they actually meant. Then I searched around google and stumbled upon an article on Kotaku which says that what they mean is that it will come out FIRST on Xbox (both 360 and One) but it would also be distributed to other platforms later on. Just think of it like Xbox owners get to play it first then other console owners get to play it after a set period. At first I also thought to myself: "Oh my gosh. If they're gonna hog the game, that has got to suck for their PR.". Welp, that's marketing for ya.
0:53:09 - Sam Lake (Creative Director of Remedy Entertainment) presents Quantum Break. This game is a true Xbox One exclusive. It will only be released for the Xbox One.
0:53:32 - They have a live demo for the gameplay of Quantum break. Their main hook is having the ability to move through moments wherein time moves. Its pretty lengthy to explain so for more on this, click HERE to check out details being published by Remedy Entertainment on their site.
1:03:05 - The trailer for Fable Legends. Another Xbox One exclusive. Like Quantum Break, this one is only to be released for the Xbox One. The trailer shows some characters in combat and the like. It also shows that you can play a villainous character. Beta for Fable Legends opens October 16, 2014. For more info about this, click THIS link to check out their main site.
1:05:40 - The trailer for the brand new exclusive game for Xbox called Sreamride. It's a game that has you building roller coasters with the amount of screams to score it. It's basically a more sadistic version of Roller Coaster Tycoon. This game is reported to come out Spring 2015.
1:07:51 - Forza introduces new cars for Forza Motorsport 5 and the newer ones. They introduce cars such as the Renault Spark, Rolls Royce Wraith, and a few more cars for free.
1:10:58 - They then show a Forza Horizon 2 trailer explaining that this is the most social driving game ever made. They have features such as real-time tracking of online friends on the map, open world driving, "no wait" lobbies for games, creation of auto clubs whether they be competitive or non-competitive, car meets to show off your creations, online road trips for those who just want to enjoy the scenery, and online free roam (basically, free roam). The game releases on September 30, 2014. For more info on Forza Horizon 2, check out their site HERE.
1:16:39 - Thomas Mahler, Game Director of Moon Studios, present gameplay of Ori and the Blind Forest. A very beautiful platformer game. The game releases exclusively on Xbox One and PC during the Holiday 2014. For more info about the game, check their main site HERE
1:20:11 - The trailer for Sunset Overdrive. Another game exclusive only to Xbox One. The game releases on October 28 for North America and October 31 for Europe. They also showed another bundle.
The bundle includes a white Xbox One console and controller, the digital copy of Sunset Overdrive along with in-game items like weapons and costumes exclusive only to the bundle. For more on the game, check their site out HERE
By 1:23:03, all they talk about is Halo. The new Halo Channel for the Xbox One and more demos of the Halo 2 remastered graphics and the like. There isn't much to add onto what they've said about the Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians.
Just an overview of their bundles
And an overview of the games coming out on Xbox One (not all of these are exclusive to Xbox One)
So there you have it. The overview of the Gamescom 2014 Microsoft Press Conference. I hope it helped some of you! I'll be putting up the EA Press Conference from Gamescom next.
Evening guys! Karl here with the continuation of the GMG top 50 games sale. If you don't know by now, the top 50 games sale is an ongoing sale wherein different parts of the sale go on sale for a limited amount of time, so if you missed any of the other sales, then it kind of sucks to be you right now.
Anyways, for the next few days, these games will be on sale!
In my own opinion, this sale has quite a few gems that are worth grabbing.
Fallout 3 is an amazing game storywise, and it very moddable. While New Vegas may have been more loved than this game in its series, it still captures the post apocalyptic vibe pretty well. It's one of your typical RPG's that has missions and quests for you to accomplish that don't affect the main story, but they affect other subplots that you'll go through. While this isn't the GOTY edition, it may be a good idea to just wait for GOTY.
Dishonored: GOTY is an absolute gem to buy at this price. It's a first person stealth action game where you play as the bodyguard of a certain empress; however, you are framed for her murder and now you have to save the princess who was kidnapped in the process. You could either play this as a stealth game, or you could go GUN IN HAND AND CHARGE MODE, it's a great game because of the amount of decisions available in itself. It's open world, but not too open. And the graphics? nothing short of HD.
Rome: Total War A classic war simulation game. I don't really need to explain it, but big wars, lots of people, lots of travelling around, and lots of killing. It's super awesome for this price, and it's aged pretty well in the Total War series.
Grand Theft Auto I've never actually played this series, aside from going to my friend's houses and racing to see how many stars we can get, but I guess this is a super cool nostalgia trip for everyone.
Company of Heroes Okay, this is an RTS game that is VERY historically accurate. It is by no means easy, because you really have to think about where to move, what missions to take first, and making sure your numbers don't get trumped by the Axis. I would say this is a definite pick up for anyone that's into the World Wars, or RTS games. Also, there are actual tanks that you can take down with infantry by laying down mines on roads, so it really isn't one of those bullshit get top tier units and roll over the opponent.
Mass Effect 2 I can't really comment on this, but I hear that the universe is very expansive and detailed that many people have fallen in love with this series.
Thief: The Dark Project (Gold) I've never actually played this game, so I can't comment on this one either.
Anyways, that's all for today! Again, have fun gaming!
PS
Use code:
Z4364W-7MR5WA-N5BCOO for an additional 20% off when you spend at least 7 USD/EUR/GBP. This code can't be combined with GMG credit.
Let me post a quick update regarding GMG's ongoing sale series highlighting staff picked games to fill their list of the "50 Games You Must Play Before You Die". However, GMG only puts up 10 games up at a time for sale, with each set lasting 3-4 days. So, if you see a game you're interested in, be sure to decide quickly!
I was not able to make a post about the past two sets (#50-41 and #40-31), but I'll try to give you guys a look at the current set (#30-31).
Apparently, different regions have different lists. For example, this post on reddit has Dragon Age: Origins on #23 and Crysis Maximum Edition on #21, while the list I see does not even have a #23 and #21 is occupied by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. Be sure to double check the list that you see on the page.
Personally, I have not played any game here except Magicka so I cannot really say anything about the rest. Magicka however, is a fantastic little game where you play as a wizard using magic to blast his way through various areas to stop an evil wizard. Magicka lets you control 8 elements, allowing you to combine and/or stack them to concoct very interesting and oftentimes destructive spells for use. It didn't take long to master hammering the keyboard in sequence to set up funny plays to mess with enemies on screen. Also, almost all NPCs in the game are interact-able (destructible) which makes for hilarious collateral damage when you use AoE spells or aim the spells wrong. Do note that the sale price of $2.49 for Magicka is only for the base game, and its multitudes of DLC is available for purchase separately.
Thanks for reading, and if you pick up any games be sure to pass the word around!
Spending sleepless nights, doing your homework, studying for
the exam, writing papers or even just catching up on watching your series is a
common phenomenon among students. All-nighter's (or puyat) is a term often
associated when a person (usually a student) has crammed all of his or her work
in to the night right before the deadlines and has resolved himself for the
storm that is coming. It does not literally mean that you stay up all night,
chances are you will fall asleep before you finish all of your work, but it
usually ends up with the person staying up till the wonderful hours of post
midnight. As hard as it is, its unavoidable. We as Filipinos will leave our
work for later, until it piles up and you bully your brain to stay awake for
one night (more for some) of mayhem. And, like Spartans that march to
inevitable doom, we have to arm ourselves. Our weapon of choice? Coffee.
Coffee is that wonderful brown-black stuff you drink when
you want to finish that 10 page paper you just started an hour ago. It contains
caffeine which looks very much like Adenosine. Adenosine is a by product of
almost all of your bodies activities and results with you feeling like the bed
is the utopia that dreams were made of. Caffeine blocks Adenosine by taking its
place on the neuroreceptor for Adenosine. This results to your body not feeling
drowsy.
This little concoction of Krispy Kreme is for me and my
fellow “Sweet Tooths” out there. It is rather pricy, but it has a nice blend of
creaminess and enough coffee for you to taste with enough sugar to support the
caffeine to keep you up longer (sometimes longer than intended).
Iced coffee is a pricy purchase and not everyone has the
cash to shell out for it. When you're fresh out of cash and your body starts
looking for your caffeine fix, you can resort to those canned iced coffee from
convenience stores or you could make your own iced coffee. All you need is a
packet of 3-in-1 coffee (choose your brand well), some hot water and an ice
tray. Only place enough hot water to dissolve the contents of the packet, add
tepid water and finally add ice on top. Taste varies with the brand and type
that you buy, but the general caffeine fix should be enough for you to force
out those last few paragraphs.
Its 3 am in the morning, you have been working non-stop for
the past 8 hours now for a paper that was given out a month ago. You reach
beside your laptop for your mug, containing that sweet, cold, bitter beverage.
Only a few more words left and you will be finished. You drink the last drops
of your coffee and stare blankly at your finished work. You know its sub-par
and it is quite obviously rushed, but you don't care. Looking at your empty mug
you smile, you make an internal promise that next time you are starting
earlier. You later find yourself in bed, your eyes wide open, the caffeine
still running in your system. You tell yourself that you'll be a better student
from now on, that you will no longer pull an all-nighter, but deep down you
know. This won't be the last.
Sincerely,
GuilerMi
* * * * * *
Posted on GuilerMi's behalf due to difficulties in his schedules
While the name itself seems like it trivializes the whole idea of depression, I can say that it doesn't. I think that this game is a much needed tool to help people understand this stigmatized and misunderstood condition that affects all people, rich, poor and healthy. There is no telling who it may affect, but it is important to try to understand what is happening to the person suffering from it.
This game, Depression Quest, was just recently released on steam, and is currently free for everyone to play and download on the steam client. It takes on the form of of someone living with depression in their daily lives. You are given a series of every day life events and you have to attempt to manage your illness, relationships, job, and possible treatment. It aims to show other people that suffer form depression that they are not alone in their feelings, and showing other people who may not truly understand what depression is, how much weight it burdens a person suffering from it with.
From the title itself, it is definitely not a happy game, and according to the first review by Randomosity, it really hits home for the people suffering from depression. I booted up the game, knowing this, and the atmosphere just set everything up for a deep and personal reading with the game. After each reading, we were presented with questions that all have some sort of consequence in regards to your player's health, along with choices that determine your mood. In short, it's really an interactive story that aims to immerse you in the subject matter itself.
You can see that indie developer Zoe Quinn really sent out a message that this subject is important to everyone, because anyone can be suffering from it whether we know it or not. Even Robin Williams, a famous comedian who had just recently passed away, suffered from this, and may have taken his own life due to this disease wasn't immune to the monster called depression. The amount of devotion to make this game simulate actual depression may have been painful to look back at, but it may have also provided some comfort that other people will know what they're going through.
Multiple reviews have warned people suffering from depression to not play this game, because it may take you back to a time you would never want to remember again, which is fine, because this game isn't for everyone, but even when I played this game, it really hit close to home. I think that the biggest thing in this game is that it's so human, you almost forget that it is a game.
Warning: There is a lot of text in this game, so be prepared for a lot of reading, and there is no save feature, so you're going to have to finish that game in a single seating. ALSO TRIGGER WARNING ALERT: To those who are suffering from depression, or previously suffered from it, this game depicts very dark moments that you may not want to read.
So, I want all of you to try out this game, in order to really understand what depression is.
Good early morning guys! It's like 1 AM here and lucky for you guys, I'm dedicated to looking for different sweet deals to give to you guys! So for this week, we have a special Steam Sale for everyone! It's Steam's Japanese Indie Festival, in celebration of the week of Summer Comiket! If you don't know already, the Summer Comiket is one of Japan's major expos regarding comics, mangas, and indie games. So here are the games tabulated!
To be honest, I'm a little peeved at the timing of this sale, because I bought 100% Orange Juice at full price, but it's still a sale nonetheless, and all of them are available for sale on Steam until August 19. So here are the games that I can suggest from personal experience:
Cherry Tree Comedy Club This is a cute little game that features a high school girl trying to recruit her friend, and some other people into joining a stand up comedy club. While it's not exactly one of the longest games, it's definitely enjoyable. You could say that this is a dating sim without the dating, but you're trying to befriend other characters in order to coerce them into your club. Definitely worth trying out at the very least.
99 SpiritsTo be honest, I don't really recommend this game. The controls are iffy, and the fighting is... really bad. It's a game about a girl trying to defeat a monster that took her parents away from her. In order to get to that monster, she has to battle every day appliances. It's a word game... I don't really know how to describe it.
100% Orange Juice Is a really great game. And if you don't get the name, it's called 100% RNG Chance. Really, this game is so RNG based it's completely balanced because of how everything enver goes in your favor. I'd call this a Mario Party that will not fail to piss you off or make you happy. I highly recommend it. You can either buy it on steam, or get it for 50 cents on the Groupee's build a bundle. I HIGHLY recommend this game.
One Way Heroics I love this game. I reviewed it before, but it's certainly worth the cash. It has lots of replayability and you're a hero that's trying to defeat a demon lord. Really, this game is a must try, or even a must buy. I've bought this game twice and I've given my extra copy to a friend. If you didn't know, it's also available on the Humble Bundle Weekly sale for a dollar (You'll also get 2 other games)
Vanguard Princess To be honest, I'm not really into fighters, but I'm told that if you're a fan of the BlazBlue series, you're going to like this. I own this game because it was part of a pack, but I never really understood how to play it.
World End ECONOMiCA episode.01 This is a game I'm going to pick up, solely because it was made by the creators of Spice and Wolf. The art is pretty nice and the soundtrack is amazing. It's a visual novel, so it's heavily story based. Hopefully it's worth the purchase.
Anyways, I'll be off for now. There are so many sales, yet so little money. Hope you guys buy wisely!
UPDATE: I just purchased La-Mulana because apparently it's a smart game that you have to keep a pen and paper with you and it'll also make you feel stupid. I've been told that if a tablet tells you to not read it twice, don't read it twice. Interesting premise, I'll make a review of this when I can.
Hey guys! Karl again here with another fantastic game sale up your door from Green Man Gaming! Unfortunately, along with this post, we found out that the games only go on sale 10 at a time, so if you were hoping to grab sale numbers 41-50, then I'm sorry to say that it's too late.
Anyways, these the games available for the next few days are all part of the Top 50 Games Sale!
Looking at this specific set of games, they are all full of nostalgia, specifically Civ 3, Portal and Left 4 Dead; however, I would only pick up Portal out of those three, because it seems like the only game that retained it's steam sale value. The rest of the games are fan favorites such as Batman, Civ V, Half Life, Deus Ex and Age of Mythology. And if you haven't noticed already, this specific set of sales caters towards the whole idea of the nostalgia trip.
Batman Arkham City GOTY While I'm not a huge comic fan, nor do I really play super hero games, I've been told that this game is well worth the time invested in it. It's been said to be one of the greatest story telling games that would make you fall in love with Batman and his universe. If you've played Batman Arkham Asylum, you need to play this installment as well.
Portal You know, having an AI tell you what to do, and make apathetic remarks to you is pretty awesome. This game is a first person puzzle game, and I've played through this game a good 10 times, and it's always enjoyable to play. The end music is nice, and it really makes you wonder about what is really going on. Because really, you just have an AI bullying you throughout the game while you're trying not to die. But hey, at least you'll get some cake out of this right?
Total War: Shogun 2 While it doesn't include the DLC for this game, it's a Total War game, what do you think it's about? You're going around a map doing missions and quests, all while building your army and engaging in wars with other people! If you like big action scenes and watching characters beat each other to a pulp, then this game is just the game for you.
Civilization 5 Complete Okay guys, this is my favorite game out of this set, and as far as I know, it is at it's historically lowest price ever! I mean, at this price, it's A STEAL. I would recommend anyone who's a fan of the Civ series to pick this up like right now. If you've never played the game before, I'll give you a short version of the game: Pick world leader, start from farming communities then raid now nukes on everyone. It sound pretty awesome doesn't it? And did I mention, IT INCLUDES ALL OF THE DLC!
I can't really comment on all of the games, seeing as I haven't played them all, but I hope you all save some money thanks to this article! And if you want to save even more money, don't forget to use the voucher O7CNAE-Z1Y29P-QZAJ1I for an additional 20% off your purchase!
Traction - The traction of the Kobe 8's works perfectly when used on hardwood. There's absolutely no slippage on these, even if the court's a little dusty. I can't say the same about its performance on outdoor courts though. They still grip the floor quite nicely on those rubberized outdoor courts but you'll experience some slipping when you start using these on dusty cement courts. Another thing to note is that the traction pattern on these shoes is a little shallow so they might wear out quicker than most shoes when used outdoors.
