I did love the DOOM revival from 2016 because the game managed to be as fun to play as it was funny when necessary. It also defined its lead as a total demon-slaying nightmare that, yes, even some of the demons feared and you weren’t just killing them for fun and games. All that slaughter was your job because some rather stupid smart people had messed around and screwed things up by letting those demons into onto Mars (science!) and you were the person chosen to clean up the mess with how shall we say, EXTREME prejudice.
DOOM Eternal looks as if it’s also packing the same zippy no-cover fast-kill action as the last game (which was a welcome return to form from the first two DOOM games from the ’90’s), but as with the revival, I prefer to go in as cold as possible and be thrilled over knowing whee every enemy and secret is out of the gate. Kids, this is how gaming never gets old for me. The less I know, the better the game gets. On that note, I’ll probably ignore watching important spoilers from this moment on, as that new trailer sure teases a whole lot, doesn’t it?
So yeah, my backlog of games to get to is so huge that I’m finally getting around to playing Fallout 4. Actually, it was a few months back (okay, late last year!) when I picked up an inexpensive new/sealed copy and as you can see, the cover and insert are entirely in Spanish. The game and included poster are entirely in English and I believe the person I bought the game from sold it cheap because they thought the game wasn’t in a language they wanted to play it in.
Ah well, my gain on that front, but this made me realize that those ten years of Spanish lessons in school not being put to use have made me rusty as hell. Or, as the song says“I understand just a little – no comprende, it’s a riddle!” I should probably remedy that, as knowing another language is a great way to expand one’s horizons significantly. Yeah, I’ll probably look into getting the DLC at some point (I bought this something like a few weeks before the GOTY version with all the DLC went on sale, oops). but for now, this will do.
Of course, I’m still catching up with my actual reviews (11 to get done, but a few are in progress), so this will get put back into the play stack for the time being. I won’t even discuss Fallout 76, as I’m not ready for that one (and if it’s online only, I may take a pass or at least try it at my leisure as I can only play two or three online games maximum because they eat up so much time). Eh, we shall see.
I really liked RAGE a lot despite it hogging up a load of space on my PS3’s hard drive and having a few slow moments here and there. With the upcoming Spring 2018 release of RAGE 2 teaming up original developer id Software and veteran developer Avalanche Studios, it’s clear that Bethesda is going for a sort of new gold standard that combines id’s FPS expertise and Avalanche’s penchant for massive and massively entertaining open world games with that post apocalyptic vibe that’s guaranteed to sell a few million copies right out of the gate.
I’ll say no more on this unless Bethsoft is planning a press stop here in NYC post-E3 so I can get some hands-on time and write about the experience. That said, I’m thinking I’ll like this a lot more than I liked that first game.
I’ve been pretty quiet on Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus for a good reason. I’m ignoring the off-balance people with zero (or less) sense of actual history (not to mention actual videogame history) hating on Machine Games and publisher Bethesda Softworks (it’s all white noise to me, pun mostly intended) while also not poking around the internet for every bit of information because I like my games relatively unspoiled. One of the problems with modern game “journalism” is the need (that’s not needed) to ruin a game too early because some can’t not reveal spoilers or keep an embargo correctly.
Me, I want to go in ice cold with the windows open (brrrrr!) and be thrilled and surprised at what’s been cooked up. Nope, I’m not going to tell you that you should go out and grab yourself a copy of the game and a console or high-end PC to play this on (although you probably should if you have that disposable income and want to support the developer and publisher in this crazy year of too many solid games and not enough time to play them all). As always, it’s your move, folks.
Confession time, again: other than dabbling with a friend’s copy for about 20 minutes or so back when it was launched, I didn’t play the original The Evil Within. Between my ridiculous backlog and other busyness, I never got around to getting to that game and its assorted freakish frights. Well, here we are some time later and guess what? The Evil Within 2 didn’t wait for me to even think about playing the first game before it popped up to say “Hi!” and it looks as if I might need grab this at some point or it’ll come to get me. Help!
Of course, if I don’t get the game, no one will notice, right (he said, looking around and then checking all the closets and under furniture for something that might come get him at some point)?. And here I was, saving up my pennies for Wolfenstein: The New Colossus(which has “Timeliest Game of the Year!” flashing over it in bright neon lights for some reason). Oh, Bethesda, you keep it up with this stuff and I’ll need to start carving holes in my schedule like a pumpkin. Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way (and neither should you).
Well. As an Elder Scrolls purist, I’ve resisted the lure of paying for this online only experience for a few core reasons. But thanks to Bethsoft and Zenimax Online’s plans to reel more of us in, I’m going to finally put a few days in and see if I like what’s here. This free trial lasts until 11/20 and is open to PC, Mac and PS4 users. Even more tempting: until 11/29, the cost of the full game drops 67% to $9.89, so it seems this plan may work for both companies after all. Still, my backlog is massive and my time is limited, so I don’t expect to do much over this trial period other than create a character and kick a few tires. We shall see. You Xbox One users griping, fear not. Your very own free weekend is coming soon.
Another incentive to play if you’re over 18 and have a valid passport is this awesome contest with some great travel prizes. granted, you don’t have to play in order to enter. But I’m sure that gesture would be appreciated.
Fallout Shelter has launched today for PC, bringing the action to larger screens and an even wider audience. The PC version of the game offers the full Fallout Shelter experience that fans have come to love on mobile, complete with all of the updates added over the last year – Pets, Crafting, Scrapping and Junk, additional rooms, Fallout 4 characters, and special Dweller customization options – as well as all of the new content in Update 1.6.
Dang it, Bethesda! I was avoiding Fallout Shelter because I don’t usually cover mobile games and even though I’m a HUGE fan of the series, this wasn’t on something I play regularly, so I didn’t feel bad about missing out. Well, zingity-zing. It’s now on PC and FREE as a bird. Crap. *Sigh*… off to create an account, download and try to very NOT play this until I get some room in the backlog. If you have the time, can one or more of you also get this, try it out and let me know what I’m missing? Hey, perhaps that will inspire me to work faster or something.
Those of you with Android and iOS versions, yeah – you got a great update as well:
QUESTS AND NEW COMBAT SYSTEM
Across more than 5 billion game sessions, Overseers have sent more than 715 million Dwellers into the Wasteland to explore, battle enemies, gather resources and items, and discover new recipes for crafting weapons and armor. In Update 1.6, players now have more substantive Quests to conquer and can take control of their Dwellers while they travel to abandoned buildings and decrepit Vaults, as well as locations familiar to Fallout 4 fans like the Red Rocket Fuel Stop and the Super Duper Mart. Players can assemble a group of Dwellers to take on challenges outside of the Vault, uncover legendary loot, and face off against new enemies like Radscorpions, Ghouls and powerful bosses.
While in the new Quests, Overseers can use the new combat system to gain control over Dwellers in a fight, allowing players to select opponents and direct attacks and even play a quick mini-game for a critical hit. Impatient Overseers who would like to instantly return Dwellers after a quest or complete Barbershop customizations or crafting, can now use a refreshing Nuka-Cola Quantum.
Update 1.6 can be downloaded by visiting the App Store or the Google Play store.
So, yeah. DOOM comes out on May 13th and this 4th game can also be seen as a modern reboot of the seminal FPS franchise as well as a love letter by id Software to itself. While the official game trailer itself is quite NSFW, the very talented Claycat (or Lee Hardcastle) has whipped up a hilariously cartoon gory (and not for the kiddies) claymation version of one of the early trailers that’s a must-watch.
Er… Hey, that’s NOT blood, kids… it’s um, jelly! Take a look:
Yep, awesome, innit? Here’s the yuckier (content-wise) official trailer:
DOOM hits retail and digital on May 13, 2016. As the song says, “go to hell and see how you like it!”
Ha and double ha. Releasing DOOM on Friday the 13th (5/13/2016, to be precise) is a PR masterstroke created courtesy of the calendar naturally falling on that date and players worldwide hoping the final product is indeed ready for its garishly gory close up on day reserved for superstition and bad luck galore for those who believe in such stuff.
From the video below the jump (it’s kinda NSFW with all that mostly demon blood and bits splooshing all about), it’s clear to this writer that the game recalls the original’s unrepentant and dark tone, amped-up modern visuals side.
Remember, folks: you’re NOT buying DOOM because you want happy-happy rainbows and flower-draped unicorns prancing about with flitty faeries giggling psychotically as rosewater (gently) sprays into your face from your PC’s speakers. You’re buying DOOM because you know what you’re getting into: One space marine on Mars stuck in a ravaged space base racking up a rather impressive and insane body count comprised of demons who’ve entered the place through a recently activated portal to hell.
Yikes, but hey – simpler is best in a game like this, particularly is it’s trying to get the feel of the original games right. “Nailed it!” is what Bethsoft and id want to hear (or “BFG’ed it!” or “Chainsawed it!” if you want to get into the proper game groove lingo stuff) from fans this May and if that trailer is any indication, they’ll be hearing that and more.
It’s probably common knowledge already that game bundles and bundle sites are the best means of getting recent to older titles without waiting around for seasonal deals or hanging around all day on a site hoping for a flash sale to pop up. Bundle Stars continues to give gamers looking for deals aching backlogs and Steam-ed up wallets thanks to a nice selection of deals. This week has seen a wealth of AAA bundle deals like the one above and more great hits in the limited Bundle Fest series that concludes tomorrow. All the week’s Bundle Fest deals end in six days, so you’ll need to act quickly.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cry in the corner because I’m probably going to add more games to my backlog. Hey, everyone needs a hobby, right? Mine seems to be adding games to my already bursting at the seams library.
Ha and double ha. Releasing 
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 