Operation: Hellstorm - The Unparalleled FPS Arena Game (1st Launch - Content has been reworked)

A future-past first person shooter arena title like no other, aimed at bringing the best elements of classic 90's first person shooters and modern shooters all into one. An accomplishment of the last 20 years of gaming, aimed at nothing else other than addictive fun.

Metal Gear Rising - PC - So much Addictive Self Violation Never Existed Till Now.

Metal Gear Rising: ReVengeance. So many mind numbing decisions on this game that make it a pain to even think about or properly try to place into categories... My gripes with it are instant, constant, and they are frustrating indeed. So I will jump right into the bashing as I have rarely ever played a title that I waited for patiently for so many years that was as crap as this pile of junk! (Talking about the PC version here as always)

Buttons on the mouse that cannot be mapped, a variety of control options that cannot be controlled or changed, clumsy user interface, console port controls that make blade mode from being the strongest aspect of the game into the most annoying part of it, a grind fest that simply has you doing the same thing again and again... cinematic, voicecom interruption, get to point, kill enemies, rince and repeat with plenty more voicecomes along the way and changing the "get to point" objectives to "press the button" objectives.

Constant checkpoint interruptions, not just the score alone which gives a cool arcade feel to it, but stage limitations as well containing you into certain areas every few steps. The amount of these things is ridiculous, the score screen is so unrewarding as it is annoying, getting in your way to even moving properly disabling half of your controls, and instead of being an arcade like element reminiscent of the 90's, that feels like it pops up each time you achieve something, it becomes practically an overused annoying UI layout as if all the ridiculous voicecoms all over the place weren't enough.

The concept behind the game is so damn awesome, it still has hope for a
sequel to fix all things done wrong... So much gone wrong with such an
awesome concept in hand. They managed the impossible.

Combat itself? Combos work ok and pretty cool, auto aim ruins half of them, as does the still console like movement to it all the likes of "direction input attacking" instead of "mouse look" (even though this is among the most minor of things) yet my biggest gripe is that it all ends up being specific predefined repeatable combat mechanics as opposed to a fluent combat system.

A camera that has gone completely bonkers, the design of it so damn clumsy I felt frustrated the more I played the game. Poor execution of the best parts about the game (Blade Mode), making it ridiculously fun when it works right, ridiculously annoying since it barely ever works and barely ever controlled fluently as it ends up being an entire pile of messy mechanics and controls (fun factor being proof that the game could have been so much more).

An MMO Evaluation - Part 2

An MMO (mostly mmorpg) Evaluation, that is- "My 2 Bits on MMO's thus far." - part 2

I know that the article itself might seem very long, but the truth of the matter is that I am after all not talking about one game alone, but an entire game genre, it's history, my likes and dislikes on it, comparisons to other gaming genres during this time, as well as a small review on titles as well. Taking head on such a large topic cannot be done in just few words, unless the idea is to point out to only some things and keep posting new articles to cover different areas each time. To make one complete reference to it all in one go is indeed a lengthy journey.

Seems there might be hope after all.  Art from ESO (Elder Scrolls Online)

For Part 1 to the article click here.

Now, where to begin, or shall I say continue...

SWG: Star Wars Galaxies

My first introduction to mmo's was Star Wars Galaxies (SWG).
What followed after that first experience was a close reflection of the same thing. Low end graphics, cooldown crowded gameplay, target lock type combat and interface that although was not exactly turn-based, it was certainly closer to a turn-based form rather than real-time. My personal taste on all the above? Is disgust.

My stay in SWG was small, but long enough for me to see the basics. After 15 years of gaming I am a veteran and do not need more than few hours (much less) to understand where a game is going. Now my gaming years have ranked up to 25. The comment "later on the game gets better" is so overrated and overused. No, the game will never get better later, and it is about time people started to realise this. The content will get better, but not the game. It will have the same graphics, the same mechanics, the same animations, and the same gameplay.

The skill trees and the things you unlock are not the reward for playing an rpg for hours, they are reasons you like to play the rpg (meaning that having them from early on in the game is a good start to help you enjoy the game, waiting for 30 dings of leveling up to get to some skill or ability that will make the game fun does not suffice). You should enjoy building up a character, not building towards a character, hence constant rewards are the way to go and also the means to make you move up into the world which you are experiencing, making it more fun as well as more versatile. These extras are there to keep you going instead of boring you out, they are there to be enjoyed and not to be waited on. Content advancement apart from maps, story, enemies and loot, includes skills, traits, abilities etc, and if indeed the gameplay of a game is stale to begin with, making up for it after 20 hours of play with a cool skill or adventurous map is not an excuse and doesn't save the game. I can see screenshots if the most an MMO can give is better maps later on.

If a game is not fun for you within the first 15 mins, most chances are it will never be fun. "It gets better later" is not a phrase that convinces me, and I have put it to the test. Of course I always give the benefit of the doubt, and never try a new title for less than 30-60 mins. That is more than enough to know everything you need to know about a game, where it is headed, and what you can expect. Above all it is more than enough to know if you like it. I have forced myself to keep to those 30-60 mins for titles that I disliked within 15 mins. The result was the same after spending the extra time. Some titles I hit hours of play to try and get into them when I had more time and it still simply didn't work.

My introduction to the mmo genre, SWG, a game I actually enjoyed but only due to my Star Wars fandom.
Seeing Tatooine and the Binary Sunset, as well as laser pistols and lightsabers, was enough to give me smiles.

An MMO Evaluation - Part 1

An MMO (mostly mmorpg) Evalutation, that is- "My 2 Bits on MMO's thus far." - part 1

It's no surprise that someone that loves rpg's would turn in time to also like mmo's. Notice I used the word "like" instead of love, since to be honest with ourselves we all know that mmo's are not really doing a good job to encapsulate the true essence of rpg's, and they never have thus far.

After taking the time to experience them, begining the journey with first tastes from SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) a small while before WoW came out, I find myself putting together a collection of ideas and thoughts, likes and dislikes, on the mmo industry. Mostly dislikes so far but thankfully the last year has seen a small change in this bringing finally a taste of bliss in liking as well. Not nearly enough to justify such a long wait (of almost 10 years) of looking into mmo's to find the recipe that works, or perhaps simply the recipe I liked.

I am in many ways now wasted on the thought of mmo's for they have not delivered to the genre in the way that they should have all this time. Of course this is just my opinion, but isn't everything on gaming based on personal taste and opinion? Having that said, I am now at the point that even if I see something I like, it is dwindled down into a small flicker rather than a flare or flame the way it would have been had I not been involved with the mmo genre for so long.

I had much greater expectations back in the day and indeed I find no reason to hide the fact that I also had many ideas for how the genre should and could have been developed, as well as the directions it should have worked towards achieving. Almost 10 years later and FINALLY these ideas are coming to life! Some I admit came to being during these years, but they where the smaller and at times less important changes I felt should always be a part of mmo's. Even so, some of those ideas have still to be developed or made even today. Not to mention that today, personally, my expectations and ideas on the direction of mmorpg's... correction, my expectations and ideas on the state they should already be IN, are much larger and even more in number.