Each horror game these days like to go the classic route of scaring the player, The Killer. We all remember those cheesy 80's horror movies like Friday the 13th having Jason hacking at teenagers at a lake or Halloween keeping Michael Myers at the door with his mask on and knife at hand. We can fear these guys and most of the time, we tend to think of what might happen to you in such a situation. I mean, I wouldn't like to see a killer in my home, neither want them to go after me. So, I will tell you the rules to make a good one, since these days they aren't very popular. 

There are about 5 rules to make a Killer scary in a game or movie. Most people tend to ignore these rules since most take time and lots of effort to make it great. Hope you enjoy!

5. Killer Lore/Storytelling

Everyone has those weird places that look like a killer lives there and friends that make up rumors about them. They heard that he's killed 3 women on the same night or that they turn their victims into slaves by pouring acid in their skull. Anything like that can draw some lines of the Killer's character and who they are. But since most sound too ambitious, believing them sounds like believing in santa. Not knowing him is most of the battle with him and the question with whether or not the rumors are true can really put yourself in a curious situation.

4. Silent Approach

Most of the time, games and movies tend to make the killer have an orchestra on their back to make their encounter more of a terrifying and intense. I don't know about you, but that's a cheap scare. I know it's suppose to make him scarier, but doesn't that mean he isn't really scary? I mean, imagine meeting the Amnesia monster without music. He's not scary without that music he's nothing. The Movie Sinister and Condemned were both great examples of genuine scares without any music. Without the music, the viewer/player can't find a proper emotion in the scene/level. You aren't given any emotion with music, so you are confused on what to feel leading to fear of curiosity. You meet the Killer with hardly any music and the show-off can pay nicely for the audience and player. 

3. Silent Killer or Talking Killer

Do you remember in Bioshock where you were chased by Splicers? They say some weird things. Some are creep and others make you think about their life. This is a key thing for a Killer, they can be a talking weirdo, a loud mouthed, screaming maniac or a SIlent Worker. Each one can make good characteristics for a Killer. A screaming maniac can be like listening to your dad's angry voice. No one wants to talk to him in his angry voice and nobody wants to talk to someone screaming to the sight of your presence. This can also bring some Japanese horror elements, having a certain sound warn you of his presence. 

A talking weirdo can make you want to stray away from him. If you remember the DLC from Outlast, there was a patient that talked to himself saying he's waiting for the right man to kill to his imaginary friends. That can little scene was a short lived scare that I would have wished to see more of. This little characteristic can make a killer more terrifying that he should be, even without an orchestra to surprise me. 

A silent killer is very hard to perfect. You make someone like Jason or you can make a poor rendition of a Jason. If you remember the Plaster Splicers, they were frightening. They would appear anywhere in Fort Frolic, and each one would not make a sound. The only sound they made is when they crawled on the ceilings, with gravel and dust falling upon the ground. The one thing that disturbed most players were when they posed, waiting for you to approach them. Anytime you saw them, you either walked away from them as they posed, or you shot them in disgust. This is a good example since they have an added characteristic to their silent personality. With how difficult it is to make a silent killer, I suggest you add something more to them besides that they're silent.

2. #LifeGoals

Each killer has purpose and most aren't pleasant to hear. The scary thing about a killer is his reason why he kills. It's either the cliche joyful killing spree, the classic revenge, or because it's meaning of their existence. I mean, who doesn't have a meaning to their existence, am I right? If you found Pickman's Gallery in Fallout, you saw Mr. Pickman himself, who made all these horrifying paintings that he made with the raiders he killed and enjoyed every minute of it. He sees you have the same interest on killing Raiders and their kin and gives his signature knife in respect of you and appreciation. A goal of a Killer is always scarier than the Killer's actions. 

1. Unapproachable 

Killers never care about their appearance, and sometimes they're very sensitive about it, so a person like the patients from Outlast or the slum freaks from Condemned can be hard to approach without a few thoughts of defence or running. If you ever watched the show Samurai Champloo *SPOILERS* , there is an episode where a mad, one-armed, revenge lustful man that hires a prisoner that has killed a town full of people that called him a beast and beat him doing so. he wasn't a small dude either, he was a big, burly giant with abnormal strength. He could rip you apart if you mutter the word beast. People feared him in the show, trying to contain in prison. That fear is hardly used in movies or games. This kind of applies to rule 4 in this. Sometimes fear of the antagonist is with their looks instead of the knife in their hands. 

Anyways, I hope you liked this! This took a while to write and I hope it fits with the Halloween Spirit! Well, what do you hate about killers? I bet there's a lot that bother people. Again, I hope you liked this, Happy Halloween and 'til next time... 

Play More Games!

It has been a long time since the last Star War... No... I don't mean the pre-quels. When this new part of the long loved franchise was announced, we all almost cried. Seeing on Christmas was the most heart wrenching things we've seen since Avatar. Just seeing the words "Star Wars" scream at our face almost put us back when we were young, watching the first episode to come out, Episode 4: New Hope on that cheap 80's/70's TV. We wanted this and it made us happy. I surely loved it. I cried almost everytime me and my familia saw old Han and Leia. I just wanted to see it again after watching it. We waited for DVD release and finally got to see it again. What I saw... Was awful... Hello and welcome to this very late thought blog about The Forces Awakens. 

I know most you loved this movie and many would be offended to hear (Or read in this case) me talk about how bad it is. If you don't wanna hear talk about how bad this movie was, then you don't have to read. I don't mind you leaving. It's your choice. If you wanna hear what I have to say, then go ahead and go on and try to make a debate about if in the comments with me. I wouldn't mind the the little discussion. 

The Discussion 

Anyways, I saw it for the first time and loved it, but afterwards when we got the DVD release, I felt like I was watching a different movie! There is so much wrong with the movie that it is hard to tell of it was intended or not! I saw that there were more CGI in the movie than the Pre-Quels, that is so noticeable! I don't know about any of you, but I didn't see the practical effects that Abrams has promised. Those... Tentacle... Things were so poorly animated, I could see the lines holding Finn when he was caught by them. Most of the characters were awfully laid out that I don't know how Ray became the best female character in movies! The story is so bland and poorly set up that I was confused by some characters! 

Okay, I should stop... I need to put these in categories and flesh out why this movie made me hate it. Okay, let me start with the CGI and the lack of (promised) practical effects. I would like to say that most scenes were hard to say were practical. The Tie fighters looked more CGI'd than a model. I've seen the Extras, they used real models. I just don't know why they had to polish it with CGI. I would have loved it more without the CGI polish. Some of the background characters are understandable and well used, but most others like the ships, most of the creatures, and the ration dealer. 

The ships were poorly animated and you could see some obvious actions of editing when the camera surrounds them for some brief moments. The creatures were hardly polished as I could see. I hardly saw some, but most spoke louder than it's appearance. The Ration Dealer was the worst in my opinion. He was fully practical, but his mouth. They suit was hard to notice specific mouth movements. So they put a "small layer of CG on the poor actor in that suit. It was so obvious to spot and looked so out of place! I couldn't look at the character without seeing the CGI mouth lines. What sucked was that the actor inside was Simon Peg, one of my favorite British Actors. He got his little part in the movie with, in my opinion, the worst character without name. I bet he had a name. I mean, the background characters in Episode 4 had names, even Balls-Face Magee who got his arm chopped off by Obi had one.  

And the Tentacle monster thing was so bad. I could see that Abrams was just like, "Should we do this? You know what? Who cares, the fans would like it." I didn't like it even though it was Han and Chewy's reveal in the movie. I would consider that scene the worst out of all of them. It was not well performed, the animation was easy to see it was fake and the damn scene where Finn get picked up by one is so awfully hilarious.

The one thing I thought was wasteful about the movie was how many hidden famous actors and actresses were in the movie. I mean, I like how they were in there, but it's like trivia information for a game show. As I said, Simon Peg was in the movie, the  newest Bond was in the movie and many more. I don't know why the director decided to do that. Maybe for some extra "interesting" info for the fans? There were no hidden famous people in any of the movies, besides Lucas in some shots, but that doesn't count. I can see that they wanted to just be part of the movie, but if I was in that movie and I was a side character that you couldn't recognise, I would call that a wasted roll. It's like being the Tree in a school play. 

Now to the characters. I love to talk about this because expose people to the awful character design of the characters including Finn and Ray. I didn't like them. I just wanted to punch most of them. Han's snarky remarks are charming, but questionable. I would like to point out how Han tries out Chewy's Cross-Blaster. He said he loved that weapon. If you read the comics of Han before this movie was announced and before Disney almost f*cked the franchise over, he doesn't want to use this thing that chewy has because he amped it so much that only people like Chewy could use it. And he made the weapon break every so often so that if anyone who used it would have to take it apart and fix the thing or drop it. And he made it so that it was impossible to fix. There is even a scene where he has to use it on Luke, it launched him to the floor it was so powerful. 

Besides that, he seemed changed. He seemed more afraid than relentless. He wasn't afraid to see Leia or their son. He didn't feel or act like Han and (SPOILERS) his death was so wasteful and stupid to be included in the movie. Finn was one of the worsts of all the characters. He wanted to escape and venture into the universe! After he crash landed, he wanted to leave. Then he wants to go back on his adventure. Then he doesn't want to be apart of the rebellion and go live a lonely life. Then he wants to stay and fight for the rebellion-WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR CHARACTER FIN!!? You and Ray just make me confused why you are the best characters of the franchise now! Poe, you're not so great, but I can tolerate you. Your straight forward, but I question why you left Finn in the desert. Kind of a racist move Mr. Damir. 

Ray? I would love to talk about her! She is one of the most messed up and jumbled up characters of the entire movie. First you understand every language for some reason-"But StarterPack," you say as you try to type away in the comments, "Theory say that she has the force and, like the force, she can understand almost all languages!" Let me point out something there: THEORY! I don't care for a theory about what you think is really happening. I find it incorrect until it's proven by producers or writers. And god damn, her personality is so crappy! You were about to get scrapped little droid? Well go to the village full of scavs and people desperate for Rations. That's a good idea! She is such a jumbled character that she scolding Finn for not wanting to be apart of the Rebellion, then wants to leave rebellion! Why? Why would you be such a hypocrite to a person you hardly know? She makes me question the feminists for making her the best character female lead. I mean, Leia can beat her within a heartbeat! She has gone through war, ruling a planet, and killed a legendary gang leader! What has she done? Get off a planet and get emotionally confused with her decisions. 

And don't get me started on Kylo! He looked awesome in the trailers. We could wait to see him. Hell, we even thought he could beat Darth Vader's iconic image. Turns out he was a whining little b*tch with little to impress! I mean, when a general tells him they lost the girl, he throws a fit and destroyed expensive equipment. I know this sounds like a house maid complaining, but seriously, how much do you think it was to build Starkiller Base? Imagine trying to cover what your apprentice has destroyed. I'm surprised that his master hasn't told him to stop! Seriously, how much do you think you wallet can spend, Snoke! What I found shocking was how they made fun of his character in SNL. I mean, they were on point with his character, I felt like I was watching a cannon spin-off. 

And a quick little talk, who thought Captain Phasma was cool? I thought she was cool, but they hardly got to use her. A female character that couldn't get the chance to take Ray's title. They used her as much as she could and on top of that, she's a famous British Actress! You've seen her as the knight... for something... In Game of Thrones (Sorry, it's been a while since I've watched the show). I would have to say she was a missed opportunity. 

The plot holes were worse than the rest of them. I hated how many there were! It felt like I was watching half a movie! I mean, there is many to name that even the Deleted Scenes have shown. I mean, do you remember that guy who said "Traitor!" and became a short meme? Well, the question was how did he know he was a traitor? He doesn't even show his face to any of his troops in the movie. "But StarterPack!" you begin again. "The director, JJ Abrams, said he was a friend that and stuff!" And that completely proves my point. That wasn't even included in the movie and the script for was scrapped and completely re-done for the beginning scene of the movie. How great was that? I mean, you kept the idea, but didn't show it off! It would have made a better plot for the movie and gave better character development for Finn and the "TRAITOR!" trooper. 

And what about that scene when Starkiller Base fires at a Rebel planet? Have you noticed how the camera zoomed in on a woman standing on a balcony? I can guess you already know what I'm going to say. That was suppose to be an important character for better plot, she was a senate that was friends with Leia. Her death was suppose to be more tragic than the planet itself. Why leave that in when you take plot out of the movie! Actual good plot that would have made me less aggressive on the movie. 

What I'd like to ask is how did that old man in the beginning have that map to Luke? And how did they obtain it? Was it with some kind of planet mapping while on one of Tattooine's Moons? I mean, there isn't even an answer! How!? And why did Luke leave? I know why he left and hid, but for a stupid reason. He left because his student was going havoc on his class of other Jedi. Why not end him like what Qui Gon did with Dooku? Well, that situation was a flip, but it's still relevant! Instead he was afraid of him and ran off for him to a lost planet that somehow the Rebellion can't find. And how R2 had the entire map was so crappy. It was a crappy conclusion and a strange way to say, "Mark Hamil's in the movie." And that entire scene was so awkward! Ray staring at Luke and Luke Staring back. No music and no emotion given. What am I suppose to feel right there? It's empty and hollow this scene! The feeling I'm suppose to feel is a surprised and intense happy feeling... I guess. It was hard to understand most of this scene and I just felt confused half the time as I watched it. 

Summary

I could see they were trying to catch the charm and greatness of Episode 4: A New Hope, but they did it too similarly. It was like saying, "Did I see this already?" while watching a new movie. You don't want you audience to do that, but I guess they managed. I mean, they did better than Avatar, another movie I would love to discuss, but later. 

I can see that the movie will have a sequel to this since Disney has them hooked on making more, and I hope they're better. I can't wait until Rogue One and I hope it can top this. Anyways, I hope you at least found this interesting. I know there will be lots of people going to get angry over my opinion. Again, hope you liked this and 'til next time... 

Play More Games!

There are some great horror games out there, but at this point, it's a risky thing to make one. You may make a good game that has little to be afraid of or a straight up bad game with little to play. These days, the horror aspect has been lost. Movies and games alike, the genre has been a bit dead. Not saying it is in a bad way, it's just that horror has been a laughable. Alien Isolation is a good example: you fear the Alien, but when you encounter him, you just hide and wait until it got away or out of the room. If you died, you can just respawn to the latest checkpoint with somewhat little lost progress. Hello and welcome to this little thought blog. 

There are a lot ways I could put this in words: I could be aggressive and say today's gaming rules have made horror bad or be peaceful about it and settle you down that gaming has changed drastically, but all that is too much work and controversy. I'm just going to put it plainly. The gaming society might actually agree with me on this one, but who knows, I might get it turned around. If you have a brave mind or know horror games pretty well, you can face through a game like Alien Isolation or Dead Space without a moment you screamed. It's kind of like a haunted house on Halloween, you go in and every scare has you saying "Ah!" instead of screaming it. The reason for this is because you know that they're not a threat to you. That guy with a chainsaw doesn't have a real revving chainsaw, they have a prop that makes the sound and the guy also works at your local Walmart. That's the same thing with Horror Games, there is nothing to fear anymore. You can say that there's a jumpscare waiting for you, but those are designed to scare you. They only startle you with a little moment of fear.

Gaming Genres have changed a lot and Horror has taken the biggest tole with it all. If you remember the games Resident Evil or Condemned, you might play it and fear progressing the game. That feeling is great in a game. You were scared to open a door, you were afraid to exit your inventory menu, you were afraid to play the game in general. The big reason why? Well it's simple and many people don't see it much, it was the difficult control schemes. Yes, that's the most feared thing in games.I've actually made a science project on this back in 6th grade. My hypothesis was that the lack of control would cause the test subjects to panic more than the subjects who had more control. Turns out I was correct. I made my dad and mom play Resident Evil HD Remaster with Original controls on. I made my sister and my friend play Alien Isolation on Normal difficulty. I counted every time they panicked and believe it or not, but my parents panicked and hesitated to play as the others passed through half the game managing not to die. I got a B on the project for creativity, but not using real science. Anyways, the correct horror game is one that limits the player's control whether it's with not protecting yourself, not being able to move, limited hiding spots or just having a strange button layout. We don't see this type of gameplay any more and it kind of shows in most horror games. 

Having less control in a powerful situation is terrifying to a human. We are made to obtain control in our environments and when we can't do that, it's horrifying. It's Madness, it's dangerous! Human Sacrifices, Cats and Dogs living together, mass hysteria! Seriously, if I found you making a project for a class college and it is due in the next few days and I just deleted the project from existence, what you do? Panic, because you had no control over it disappearing. If you were cooking for your family and I ate it all, you would panic in anger because you had no control over me eating it all before dinner. That's the true fear in the human mind and it's not utilized in most horror centric games. A good example is Evil Within. A game not praised by many, but still a good example. It had good enemy art design and some great promise for it's gameplay, but it gave too much control to the player for him to enjoy. Met a giant enemy? Welp, just quickly turn and run around. You can dodge him, it's okay! Oh, a new boss? well, just duck and dodge most of his hits, you can manage his blows! Oh, you need ammo? It's okay, this boss fight has ammo lying everywhere on the floor! The game gives the player too much of a hand with his problems, it's too much sometimes. The game had some great enemies to fight, but the game's control scheme didn't help with the gameplay itself. It held your hand too often and the enemies were child's play compared to the developer's other game, Resident Evil. 

This is how I feel about most horror games, they hold you had too much like your mom in a haunted house. "It's okay, Chris Redfield, the Zombie won't hurt you as long as you have a Dagger by your side. Here, have one of mine." That kind of disgusts me when a game does that. Sometimes predictable. Oh, all this ammo here? I bet there's a boss behind this door! Whoa! A Flamethrower? I bet this will help with the Alien! I can't rack on predictability, i can be exciting sometimes. But in a horror, excitement is hard to find, unless it's near the end of the game. It was fun when you were a kid,I mean you were a kid that didn't know what he was doing, but it's annoying when your older. I'm 17 and I don't like when my mom talks to me like a baby. 

Most games have tried making the game more horrifying by having the player not have protection, but they tend to go off the rails even there. A game such as Amnesia, the game that is overly used on Youtube and other social media and drainer of our lantern oil, is one of those types of games. Although it gave us a new mechanic to play with, the game only gave us one monster. I mean, you can count the River Monster level, but she doesn't follow you after that. The monster as we know as The Amnesia Monster, has the objective to chase you. That's fun and all, but that gets old quick. You meet him more by using the new Sanity meter and filling it up to max, but even then it's laughable. 

I loved the developer's newer game, SOMA, but it follows the same formula. It had a great story, but it felt like Amnesia set in the far future. And how the game utilized sound over music to set the player in a certain emotion. I mean, I said this one of my old blogs. Music is a key feature in a horror movie or game. It can settle the view/player in a panicked mood or a relaxed state. Sound? Well, that's the equivalent of a person screaming in your ear. If I screamed in your ear, you would be slightly angry and scared. I mean, you can argue that it's sometimes music cause the jumpscare, but it has to be done properly or it just sounds like noise. A jumpscare string is just one note played with other instruments playing the same note, basically noise. 

Another thing I'd like to point out is when nothing happens to the player in the game. Layers of Fear, another Youtuber Classic, is a good example since it doesn't do anything to the player. Yes, I know you can get killed, but it sets you on a different path, having it be a scripted event with no punishment other than going on a different path. I don't like these type of horror games. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this game, Layers of Fear is on my suggested list. Other than that, the game lacks real horror. It gives you scars, but what is there to fear besides a small jumpscare. I call these horror games a Haunted House Horror. It's a good name since you have nothing to fear, the monster can't harm you and the game leads you on a straight path. It's basically a showcase game. I wouldn't even call it a game myself. I mean, all you do is walk down a single path laid out for you. Sometimes these games can give you a memorable scare, but the only fun you get out of it is the scripted scares, like a haunted house. 

It's just that a horror game is suppose to make you feel accomplished. You are suppose to feel happy defeating the monster, you are suppose to feel relieved to escape the monster's clutches, you are suppose to feel like the horror is over. That is the point of a horror game and I miss that a lot in a game. 

Well, I hope you somewhat enjoyed this long, LONG blog of mine. It was fun to write and it was a hassle to finish. I'll be finished with my CWC entry later and I'm going to write a Top 10 soon. Anyways, I hope you got my point or understand it and 'til next time... 

Play More Games!

There are a lot of games out there that are beloved by many, and most can be redesigned to look better in today's standards. We all get excited to play that game again, or that we can't wait to experience the nostalgia. When you buy it, that all is ruined. Hello and welcome to this Community Writing Challenge. 

Okay, I've seen many people out there rant about remasters be awful, but if you look at it in a gamer's point of view, you would look at these thing in disgust as well. From the greatest games played by many, to the game that marked us, but wasn't noticed for it was, we've seen these kinds of games be remastered to death or never. It can exciting, but I would rather you keep that excitement in before you play it. If you have ever played a remaster, you expect nothing else, but a graphics upgrade, but somehow the devs have to add an extra feature to the game that won't be playtested and that's the one thing I'd like to mainly talk about. 

As a fan of countless games, there are some great games liable to remaster. As a dev, you need excess money to create more games with more time on your hands or just have it. Remastering a game (if you haven't noticed) is a money pit for devs and producers, and it's easy to implement. All you need to do is up the graphics and maybe solve something the fans had a problem with. Sometimes that's bad to change something in the game. Yes, fixing a glitch isn't much of a bug-fest doing so, but adding new features in a game is home for bugs. Because the change is so small, playtesting it isn't mandatory for the testers. This makes me mad sometimes. It such a big thing to me if a remaster gives us new glitches or a new problem to face. I know most of you are thinking, "Wow! This guy likes to b**ch!." No. I'm not b**ching, I'm simply stating a judgement that the company needs. I've messed with game engines, I've tried game development on my computer once and bugs are hard to keep at a small rate! And since the game will be bought by many judging eyes, the game will have less value overtime because of the game's glitches and many bugs.

It's kind of like a rare and priceless painting, one smudge of dirt or wine on it devalues the painting. You spill your cup of coffee on it, it's worth hundreds of dollars less now. That's kind of how it's like with games, but with bugs and glitches. A great example of this is Skyrim's Special Edition. They added new graphics to the game, but where did they get the graphics upgrade? Mod Authors. They used the buggiest thing in the known gaming universe to make this a remaster. In my part of playing?

Well, it's the buggiest thing since the game's launch in November of 2011. I've seen corpse standing in place saying "Hello!" when you walk up to them, Mammoths flying in the air just for standing there or running into a giant and people dying without reason. New glitches and more new problems for the player to face. I don't know why they didn't playtest this game while using mods, the thing that leaves games vulnerable to crashes, corrupted files and so many bugs. I know this is a Bethesda a game and they are know for these types of things, but this is worse than what we have seen so far. 

Sometimes the bugs in a game can changes something in a game without the devs knowing. An example for this would be the Bioshock Collection. If you play Infinite, there are animation glitches with Elizabeth or the background characters. The one that let me know the game wasn't playtested was when I saw a lady in the beach scene not have her left eye and a guy that had his eyes rolling to the back of his head! But the one that made me almost cry was when the Coin Flip animation was bugged. The coin just spun in the air between the player and her. That epic moment ruined because the devs thought the game would be alright. 

Another thing that most remasters don't do well on that gets most people mad is when there isn't much graphical improvement or a downgrade. This sometimes makes us think the Devs don't care about the fans or our money, but mocks us with this! I mean, have you see The Joker in Return to Arkham? He looks like a clown! The game looked so dark and gothic, but this makes it look bright and smooth. What happened to the awesomeness that we knew, devs? 

And It bothers me when a devs decides to make a game compatible to new gen consoles without any graphics upgrade and calls it a remaster. I mean, you can try to wow your buys and fans with the new graphics engine you developed, but that would extend the release date and you rather have the money by November or before Christmas. 

The only good ones so far were Dishonored, Tomb Raider, Dead Rising, and Dead Island. They've stepped up a but from what they used to be. There might be a few glitches and bugs here and there, but they're minor and can easily be fixed with mods or the devs. They were fun and had no extra change to them. These games would be a good example for Remasters since this year has been the year of broken games. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this CWC. I have been thinking about writing this awhile back, but put it in my list of trashed blogs because I couldn't put together a good read for this. Again, I hope you somewhat like this and 'til next time...

Play More Games! 

This has been a game I've been waiting for a long time. As you may know, Dishonored is the game that has been my childhood and the creation of my virtual hero. As time went by, I finally got this game. What I got? Well, I love it. Hello Wandering Traveler and welcome to this thoughtful review!

Because this is one of my long awaited game and part of one of my favorite games, I won't hesitate to put some strong judgement on it. The first thing I want to talk about is the story in this game. It's... Great so far. I love it. It's well written and interesting to say the least. The only thing I don't like is how it started. Spoilers ahead everyone. 

As I can tell, most of you might have chosen to play as Emily Kaldwin. Well, what they did to Corvo afterwards was a downer. I didn't like it. You chose Emily and the next second, Corvo is turned to stone by Delilah, the sister of Jessamine Kaldwin. The guards turn on you and your knocked out and you begin the game. Why take away Corvo. I know he's the motivation for the player to complete the game, but I rather it be the antagonist to be the reason. I mean, you can have something else other than Corvo to be the player's motivation to complete the game. Why not put the original characters like Calista, Piero or Samuel be held in specific places in the game for the player to go and save them. And to put on top of that, I would have liked a lot better if Delilah hindered Corvo, taken all his powers and strength. And when you start a mission, there are optional quests for you to do to help Corvo back on his feet after seeing him bedridden, not being able to move or speak without screaming in pain. That would have been cool and would have felt like helping an old friend with his life. Besides that, I love the story in this game. 

Emilies Powers are cool, but challenging to use. It requires some skill for you to properly blast through a building full of guards with powers. Mesmerise starts you off with the ability to distract two guards. You can upgrade to have a longer range to draw a guard or distract more people or hounds. I haven't tried on Bloodflies, though (Try it out!). Shadow Walk is very fun and easy to master, but you can still be noticed in this form. You have to go past the guards fast before they notice you, because they tend to follow where you go. The power last for a short while, but it's long enough to kill or take out guards if needed. Domino was already explained in the trailers, but they haven't told you that you start with the ability to link only two people. You can upgrade this ability to domino more and is effective to choke out hard-to-touch guards. Be careful if they're near Walls of Light, though. Dappleganger is great as well. It starts as distraction for guards to leave their posts and be upgraded to teleport in risky places or upgrade it to attack with you. It's effective the most in The Good Doctor mission. Long Reach is a bit buggy. The only buggy thing in the game that I have a problem with. The location of which I want to go sometimes doesn't appear to where I want it. You want to go here, but the power tells you "No!" and goes below it. The only thing I don't like is how you can't upgrade it to have a longer reach. Why can't I? I am in a pickle and I need a longer ranged Long Reach! Besides that, the powers are great and each one has some value to both playthrough choices. 

The look of the game has drastically changed, but not too much. I actually like it. It's realistic, but still cartoonish. The guards look amazing and each character has some depth to their NPC models. The teeth just look gorgeous! I know that's weird, but most game devs don't put attention on the lips and teeth! It looks like a movie on 4K! The lighting is great as well since it reflects off of each surface and body really well. You can tell what's sunlight and what's electrical light. And the game has more lore to it than there should be. I know that sounds bad, but I love it! 

And I just love the design to the Bloodflies! They look so dangerous and creepy! The sound they make when they're in a swarm is so spine-tingling and when they surround you or feast on a corpse makes your skin crawl! Their design is just so perfect as a bug and their nests are so cool. I don't know much about them, but I believe they are an evolved version of the rat plague from the first game. I mean, it kind of explains the flies coming out of the Weepers mouths. 

The strategy to go around them is awesome as well: you can either burn their nests as they fly towards the light, killing themselves or use Shadow Walk or Dappleganger to go around them. You can throw a corpse at them, but it just spawns more or them. 

The stats in this game are more diverse than the last one. I mean, in the last one all you had to do was not kill anyone to get a low chaos. This one, there are different ways to get a bad stat to make you bad. There is a mixture of Assault, Nonlethal, Shadow and Lethal to determine your decisions in the game. You choke out too many people and you stats goes to the assault title and near lethal. Don't be seen and take out three people and get a straight Nonlethal stat. It's a good little change in the game and an indication of more ending than the Good or Bad endings. 

With all that said, the game has a funny thing that the guards say almost all the time. You are walking to a guard, ready to choke him out before he says, "Man, I gotta pee..." You slowly back away to not risk urine dripping onto your clothes. Besides that, the game has some things I usually hate solved. Lipsync is great. They don't look they're mumbling gibberish. And the conversations they create in-game is actually believable. It's reused dialogue, but they fit well with the conversation that they have. The only thing I don't like so far is the voice actor for The Outsider. He does a good job, it's just that his voice doesn't fit with the character.

Overall, this game deserves a 9.5/10! The game is great, it's fun and has so much personality to it. But that's all my opinion. From what I've seen, the game has gotten poor reception from Steam, but doing well on IGN. What do you guys think? Those of you who own it on PC, please tell me if the game plays well on there. Well, I hope you enjoyed this review and 'til next time... 

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We all love a good twist in game. When the villain was actually your best friend or that all the problems you dealt was to help the bad guys, but when it's too awesome or confusing, it makes you say what the f**k? Hello and welcome to this top 10 games with WTF moments. 

10. The Zelda Timeline

The Zelda series is great, but what's up with the mixes in time? I mean, this one had Adult Link and the next had Kid Link? What's up with that? The fans made theories and tried to make sense of it all. There has been some greater than others and some that just made no sense. We kept making our own predictions which game was first and which was last until Miyamoto gave us something to work with. That something was the Zelda Timeline. Apparently there are three different time lines of which showed Link fail to stop Ganon, was a kid or an adult. Sounds simple to any causal fan, but the mega fans out there find these things weird and unable to memorize. Each game came out of order which puts some of the new games either early in the timeline or in the middle right next to the NES game. What makes this more confusing is how the placement for Ocarina of Time always changes since Link is both a kid and an adult. And who knows what Breath of the Wild is going to do with it! it might even make a new timeline since Link can be a Girl in that one. 

9. Fallout 3 End Game

People loved this Fallout sequel. It has been a favorite among fans of the franchise, but the one thing that made anyone who played this, fans to new players alike, hated how it ended. It wasn't anything about the ending it was that it ended. The credits rolled as we thought we would continue the game afterwards, but the outcome of this was sacrifice yourself or your friends. It's very heart-wrenching, but most of us completed the game at level 7, not experiencing anything else, but the main storyline. Most players demanded refund while others just replayed the game over again. This was a minor WTF moment, but when Bethesda got the reception, the decided to charge their players to have an alternate ending. What the hell, Bethesda?

8. Mass Effect 3's Ending

We all want to forget this fateful day, but there is no way to avoid it because of its legendary ending. You did you best to keep all of your favorite characters alive and you are glad you did. It was hard work and it's an achievement for most. When you played through the game's campaign and noticed the legendary Shepard's good luck fade, all your hard work went down the drain. You had three choices, but all of them had your favorite characters die in different ways. This angered the fans and people wanted to riot at the company's door step. We could see that the devs were angry that we didn't like it, but they caved in to make a DLC to have a better ending. Yes, another story changer DLC to buy. I believe it was 20 bucks to buy, but the fact that they wanted us to buy the ending instead have it as an update was a big WTF on Bioware's part. 

7. The Cow Levels

This is more of a funny thing than a spiteful statement on devs. People have heard rumors of a secret level in Diablo 2. The way to access it was impossible people said and then a dev gave the players the instructions to get to that level. They ended the announcement with a... Cow mooing? Well, it was a strange thing to find that there was a level full of Cows that said Moo instead of make the sound. This made fans raise one eyebrow in confusing as the devs laughed at what they gave the players. 

Then they said the same with the newest Diablo 3. Players found the ghost the cow king or whatever and was sent to a magical candy land full of things that want to hug you to death. Unicorns and Fairies alike, this was all a joke to those who called the game a bright fantasy story. 

*****SPOILER WARNING FOR LAST OF US*****

6. Joel's Choice

I hope many of you played The Last of Us and already know this part of the game. I mean, it's such a great part of the game. You and Ellie, after going through almost everything you can encounter in the world, find the Fireflies, but in a strange way. They knock you out and bring you and Ellie to their hideout. They have you in a hospital bed and tell you that Ellie is sacrificing herself to find a cure. They leave you their with a guard to make sure you don't try and save her. Of course, you kill this guard and try to find Ellie before she dies. 

What makes this part of the game so memorable is how you're attacking the good guys. You fought cannibals, raiders and even corrupted military soldiers, but the people trying to find a cure for this fungal disease? That's just a moment no game has tried to do, besides Spec Ops. And the game isn't doing it for you, you are doing this. You are forced to do this to complete the game. You leave with Ellie, killing the Queen of the Fireflies and lie to Ellie's face that they didn't find a cure. This left most players speechless while the other strong hearted players just screamed "What!?" at the top of their lungs. I mean, wow Naughty Dog. Wow. 

*****MORE SPOILERS FOR SPEC OPS*****

5. The Twist of Spec Ops

This is a great game and a twisted one at that. The game has you make strange choices and do some risky things. The game shows you kill hundreds of civilians, kill one of two men hanging below a bridge, shoot out in a town full of innocent civilians and listen to what sounds like a mad general in command. This game gives you hints that the man your taking orders from is making you the blame for what he making you cause. So, after ignoring some awful orders, you find him in his hideout HQ and find that's he has been dead for weeks. You start to go mad as you see your commander in a mirror trying to say you were the one giving the orders. This imaginary friends starts to mock you and tempts you to shoot him, as the game gives you a choice: shoot yourself and commit to your sins or fire at the imaginary commander in defiance against him. Either way, you still live to suffer your own misdeeds. What the f**k... What the f**k indeed. 

4. Metal Gear' Turned into a Dead Horse

We all hate Konami and we all already established that. Kojima's last while working with them was a great disappointment to most fans, but we still loved it. The game has about 3 chapters in the game, but with the last one not being finished. The end of the game made it even more tragic since there was no more to play and left on an unfinished cliffhanger. If you got the collector's edition of the game, you received a DVD that contains the final chapter ending. This was meant to be a collector's item, but most see it as a mockery of Konami. What lets us know that Konami hates the fans and Kojima is how they made Pochinko Machine theming Metal Gear and how they're releasing a game that will make the game more dead than it already is. Seriously, Konami? A Zombie survival game with fan favorite character to be in the game? Horse much do you have to beat a horse to get these ideas?

3. See What it's Like to have Your Eyes Crushed

In God of War, you play as a gruesome Demigod named Kratos who got the title God of War among the Gods of Olympus. Those gods on the highest mountain to peek the clouds are mad at you. Why? Your causing havoc on Earth by having every Roman scream your name in battle. They try to kill you for someone else to take the title of God of War. So, you try to take revenge on them by killing each god, one by one. As go along the line, you fight a god. I forget which, but it's a one of the gods. You get to him as Kratos grabs his skull and attempts to squash his eyes in his skull. What makes this a WTF moment is how the game lets you see it in his eyes. This moment, in my opinion, was the most gruesome of them all. I almost turned it off as my dad watched saying "What the Hell!?" 

2. Would You Kindly

You all knew this was going to be on this list! This is one the best WTF moments out there and has continued to be since. I mean, you heard the saying since you met Atlas. How could you not hear it? And when you noticed, it blew your mind. A brainwash trigger word that had you do whatever the person who said it wanted. You were being told what to do as you walked on a narrow path to the goal you were heading to. A game that made you question why you're doing what you're doing in a game. An eye opener indeed and a total WTF moment. 

1. Be Baptised and Come Out a New Man in Columbia!

Bioshock gave us some awesome moments, but the one that mas everyone screaming for is the one in Infinite. We played the game and saw a generic shooter with little to say is a magical wonderland. Once you've gone to Elizabeth's mother's grave, the game changed. Other worldly ghosts and seeing other alternate worlds. You start to go back to Rapture under the sea and see other alternate versions of yourself. Your actions created new worlds and multiple versions of yourself failing to save Elizabeth. You soon walk to this religious lake that baptising those who want it and you're up next. You see versions of Elizabeth where you failed to succeed. They tell you to be baptised and Booker accepts. They drawn you and they all disappear as the credits roll. This left most speechless while others questioned their life. 

Well, that's the list! I hope you liked this little blog. It was hard to write and most of it had to be researched. For some reason, I couldn't find out which god got killed that way. Any God of War fans out there who know? Well, 'til then...

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I don't like Pokemon. Sorry, I just don't. It's been a great game, I will say for how long it's been around, but, in my opinion, this is series that just needs to die. Before you go and mash on your keyboards saying how it's not, it's only my opinion. Hello and welcome to this o'so (going) to be hated Community Writing Challenge. 

Disclaimer: Know that my opinions aren't true. I do not mean to make anyone hate me, so please take this with a grain of salt. 

If you ask me, the game has been great for what it was back in the 90's. It gave kids a great piece of childhood, but now? The game has been weird. I mean, some pokemon are cool, but now they're running out of ideas. The last time I looked I saw a pokemon with a long tongue named Liki Liki or something like that. Why? As I went further down the rabbit hole, I found an Ice cream Cone Pokemon. I wish I knew his name, but it was the funniest thing ever. And I found a Keychain Pokemon. What are you doing designers!? Are you making fun of your own product? Seriously, tell us! Are you running out of ideas on Pokemon

. 

As I read more on Pokemon Fandom, I found that some actually agree with me. The new generation or something has been the worst! I don't know, it was on many websites, but if you guys agree, tell me. I want to know if this is true. Anyways, a lot of people say that they prefer the first generation, as they call it, than the newer ones. I see that a lot lately though in any game. They rather play the older generations of gaming than the newers ones, so I won't say that they can justify

. 

Another thing I don't like about the game is that it seems to be a product of money grabbing. I can't say much about the games, since I kind of enjoyed some of them, but the game has such a large fandom across the world that anyone would buy a spin-off or a sequel. I can see that some heart has been put in the game, but all I see in the developers in dollar signs in their eyes. From what I can see now, is that Nintendo is in a hard spot. They aren't release as many games as they should and they are relying on eShop sales like Valve is with Steam, so making a Pokemon game seem's like a trick on my part. Not like a Sean Murray trick, but more like an older brother trick.

All I can say is that the game has had it's run and it has been the greatest game back then, but it's not as good as it was. They are clearly running out of ideas for the sequels and they seem to be just doing all this for the money. I just think the game should just end. No more after this one. If Sun and Moon are to redeem itself from all those awful joke pokemon, just leave it at that game. No more. I know you fans out there don't want it, but you're going to regret wanting that. 

Anyways, I hope you at least enjoyed this. I know many of you are going to hate me for saying these things about the game, and I will be surprised to see this get admission at the next Blog Herd article. And just to say, Sun and Moon looks good. I might get it. My DS is a bit broken, but I think I can manage with the thing it I get it. Again, I hope at least liked this and 'til next time...

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Games are my excuse of readying something. I never liked to read much, but playing something felt like I was reading a story and I loved it. There are many game of which I love and some of which had the best story. I made sure I explored and understood most of them, but sometimes, I'd like to change some things in them. Hello Wandering Traveler and welcome to this Community Writing Challenge!

Bioshock 2: Good Ending

I think I'm one of the many people who loved Bioshock 2 more than the original. The game was dynamic, while gameplay was great and well improved. The story was so great, it built the tension to meet Sophia Lamb. How were we going to end it? With a mind blowing truth by the antagonist? Or a somber death awaiting conclusion? What we got was something I didn't want. You see Sophia Lamb in her escape pod as you try to fill it with sea water. As you do this, it still blasts off into the surface as you grab on following her. You daughter, Eleanor, either saves sophie or kills her (Depending how you played). The escape pod submerges out of the water as you climb to the top for air. You're slowly dying, fading as your daughter holds your hand and has you join her, in her eyes. Sounds touching, but not a satisfying one. It left you with this feeling that you didn't accomplish anything. 

It would have been a lot better if you and your daughter was to find a close island or found the coast of New York and gave you a proper burial as the Little Sisters you saved mourned as you daughter did. Having the feeling that you saved your daughter and those Little Sisters. It's not as touching as the Bioshock 1 Good Ending, but it's something better than the original.

Tiber Septim's Death

Tiber Septim being voiced by Patrick Stewart, but he was a short lived moment. He was so well voiced and a great character. I would have loved to see that they made the storyline a longer more fleshed out one. Instead of running from an Assassin Attack, why not run from an enemy invasion? You protect him from whatever threat there is and gain his trust as you fight along the side of his watch. As you escape, you become friends with Tiber and become the head of the watch as you get to know who Tiber is and how he feels about being the King and Ruler of Tamriel. Then, once you have virtual feelings for him, the assassins kill him in front of you. You claim revenge as the gates of oblivion rise from the earth. 

It would be worth the time of Mr. Stewart and a great way to use him. Without that happening, I still enjoyed Oblivion and is still one of my favorite games out there today. 

Inside

Inside is a great game with a large amount of symbolism. A bit of a spoiler, but the end of the game was a strange and unfulfilling one. It gave us a blob of arms and legs screaming or moaning as you rolled into walls, people and doors. You make your way to a trap as the humans look down upon you in that hole they put you in. As it seems like the game is to an end, you see the blog swimming as you pull off panels to reveal an escape route. You eventually escape, but you seem to fall off a hill as you smack on the ground at a coast. I don't really know what to say about it and I wish I could have an explanation to what this blob is why are these people are turned into zombie slaves. I would have had it better if you got revenge on those that trapped you and at least die with some courage that can be written in the history books.

Fallout 4's Institute Storyline

I was a bit mixed while following the words of Father in the Institute Storyline. I mean, I got vibes of him lying to me, using me to kill their enemies and take the land as they advance into the wastes. I thought I did something right, but seeing the Brotherhood die, the people who helped you in Fallout 3. I wasn't sure what to feel after this. I felt empty after that, but basically nothing. I would have loved it if you could make a truce with the Brotherhood or at least try to prove that the Institute isn't an enemy. I think that would have been a more satisfying ending to the main storyline. 

Well, those are all of them! I have lots, but there are too many to count and too much work and research to do so. Especially if I have school to do. I hope you somewhat enjoyed this and 'til next time...

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Let's Go on an Adventure!

Well, it's been a long time since I last played a Final Fantasy game, but the only one I can say I enjoyed as a kid was when my dad bought me a SNES along with Final Fantasy III. God, it was a Christmas present. I remember that. Hello and welcome to this Community Writing Challenge. 

When my familia was poor and a Christmas filled with presents was a dream on our minds, my dad usually shopped at Thrift Stores and Garage Sales. He bought things like an Original Xbox with some games for about 5 bucks and drawing kits for my sister for about a dollar. This was before my dad found out we could download games for free, so he usually shopped as my mom would try to provide money for the familia. 

It was near Christmas day, there were only about 2 presents under the tree. One for me and one for my sis. My dad and mom rushed to shop. We asked them where they were going, but wanted to keep it a secret as they left. From what my dad told me, my mom kept trying to get him to go to Target or Walmart, but he kept saying to her that it was too expensive. He went to a thrift store called God's Helping Hand. Mom didn't like the place since the place was known for that one hobo that liked to hang out by the entrance named Joe. They went inside, avoiding Joe, and split up to find something. It might look like late Christmas shopping, but my dad, to this day, says it was payday.  My mom found dolls my sis might like, my dad say a few GI Joe knock-offs and a broken Nerf Gun. He couldn't find much, but some broken toys. He looked at the tech section of the store and found games for a dead console, until one of the employees placed a SNES on the display case. 

He went up to the guy and asked him how much it was. $150 was the price, but my dad didn't have the money to pay for it. His first thought was to give up, but then he saw him place a few games down: Super Mario World, Earthbound, Street Fighter II, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III. He saw those games and knew I might like these. He knew the guy and knew he liked to barter. "120," my dad said. He looked at my dad and smiled. "130," he said to oppose his offer. "125," he wanted it badly. A person came by and asked the price of the SNES. Another battle came to ensue. He offered 135, more than what he offered. My dad scrambled to find a better offer. He looked around the store and saw a couch that's been there since my dad moved to the city back in 1987. "100 and that couch there." The guy waiting for a better offer was wide-eyed when he said that. He looked at the other guy wanting the SNES and said,"You better offer, buddy?" He looked worried and scared to lose this SNES and almost couldn't give up. He did and my dad took the SNES and the games with it. He got the couch, gave it  to a family member that owned a recycling center and got $100 dollars out of the couch. Basically got the SNES for free! He came home with things to wrap as well as my mom. 

My dad came in the house with a large box to hide the thing and went to their room laughing. I was a bit excited to see what they got us, but at the same time worried they didn't spend everything they had. Not knowing what they got we waited sadly for Christmas to open those two presents and whatever they got us. When Christmas day arrived, we expected our parents to be mildly happy for this morning, but they woke us up with the excitement of a toddler. 

We opened our presents and found some great things! My sis got a Jewelry Box and a some sets of earrings and necklaces. I got Call of Duty 2 and, of course, the SNES along with the games. I was surprised they would be able to get us such great things. My sister didn't like what got since she thought it was more than what she got. It was funny since I got guilty it was mine, I called it ours instead of mine. 

Having this SNES was cool. It felt like collection. I had the Original Xbox, the Genesis, the 360 and the SNES. I think that's how I got into collecting. Anyways, to the point of the blog. The games I got were great. I didn't know which to play first: Mario, Earthbound or Final Fantasy. I played all of them, but, as a kid, they never stuck with me. Earthbound was too complicated for me, Mario bored me half way in the game, but Final Fantasy was the only that made me feel happy to continue the game. 

It surprises me that I don't remember the game much, but I just loved the game. I remember it being fun, having so many likable characters, and great story. Only if I could remember what the story was. I remember playing the game on Sick Days as I would switch from playing on the Genesis to the SNES. I remember playing the game when it was Summer Break when my sis was asleep. God, it was something part of my childhood. 

Sadly, owner of the house or the community of houses in our neighborhood refused to pay for house damages. Some house had bad roofs, others had holes in walls hidden from the renter, but ours was the worst out of all of them. We had a house full of Black Mold. As a poor family, we couldn't move. We tried to find plans, but because of what we had, most hotels wouldn't accept us. We had to keep ours dogs outside so they don't get sick. As soon as our dog go Parvo, a disease that is like Ebola to them and can be caused by Black Mold, we had to press charges. As soon as the owner heard that his community was thinking that, he evicted most of us.

Got the notice and we had to leave within 3 days. We couldn't find a house, but one that was cheap. We didn't have the money to afford  it at the moment, so we had to sell things. Sadly, my dad had to sell my SNES along with a few of my things. We got well over the amount to rent the house, so we moved our things to the new house. My family was angry, so in return for the owner, we wrecked the house. Broke windows, put holes in walls, we even broke down doors. We didn't need much since the walls would fold in on itself just by leaning on it. It was fun and at least we could see the owner get sued for what he had done to us and the community. The houses are now torn down and gone, so the memory of the place is well gone. 

I wish I could have kept the SNES and the games. I mean, I had a choice: sell the Genesis or the SNES. I knew which was obvious since I had more games on there than the SNES. And it was a childhood memory for my dad. I love Final Fantasy III, but the rest never really interested me like this one did. I hope to feel differently with 15. Well, I hope you enjoyed this! This was great to write and I'm working on a Christmas Movie Review on Krampus, so get ready for that piece of crap. Again, I hope you liked this and 'til next time... 

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As a fan, we like to scream for the things we love. Football fans scream when a goal is being touchdowned and a Soccer fan screams when the ball is being kicked in the goal. Either angry like or just in happiness fans just scream. But what about us? The gaming fans? What do we scream about? Well, there is many things to scream about in gaming. I mean, what did most of us do when Last of Us Part II was announced? Hello and welcome to this six best moments to scream in gaming. 

6. Gamecube Reveal

Nintendo fans everywhere just loved what was going to come. As soon as they announced the Gamecube, people wanted jump up and down like little kids. And the reveal of the graphics and what the console was capable of was even better. The rumors of a Serious Zelda was finally coming true and almost everyone in the conference room got up out of their chairs and screamed. At least Nintendo sticked to their words of a Serious Zelda after the Wii's launch. Yeah... There was another reason to scream...

5. The No Man's Sky Debacle

As an overhyped game and an overly talked about game, people expected too much from the game and the repeated death threats that the developers got for delaying it and delaying it again and again. People screamed and cheered for the game's release both happily and angrily. After the game's long awaited release, people were met with a different game. But you already know that. People turned to anger and the game got generally mixed reviews. Developer, Sean Murray (the man who made the promises) changed his look entirely just to go around town to not get beaten by the raging fans. There was more than screaming there, if you look at it. 

4. Fallout 4 Release

Fans for ages waited for this game to come out since the hinted messages given to us in Morse Code, and the site giving us a count down on the game's release or reveal. When we heard the game wasn't coming out at all, fans were angry to see that the site was a prank and the Morse Code being a teaser for the canceled game. After 7 years since the release, we were greeted with the game during an E3 panel. We couldn't wait to get our hands the game since the release was only months away. Although the game got mixed reviews from many fans, the game has still been a loved by fans. 

3. Rest in Peace, Dom

Dom is a great character in the Gears of War series and people to this day still miss him. In Gears of War 3, you see Dom suffering from losing his Wife, Maria. Even being reminded wit that in the game's cinematic prologue was heartbreaking. We weren't expecting him to die in the game, but in an epic sacrifice. Seeing him drive and screaming Maria's name made us scream "No!" with Marcus.

2. Half-Life 3 Canceled

This is an overly talked-about things, so I'll make this as short as possible. The beloved game, Half-Life, ended in a dramatic cliffhanger and has been a fan awaited event to see what happened to Gordon and Alyx after the Combine as almost killed the Resistance Homebase. The last thing you hear in the game is a radio chat that was going to help the infamous duo. 

The game was announced to release in 2012, then got delayed to be released in 2015 and then was later canceled do to the selfish greed that is Steam. Because of Steam, the chances of them producing a game is very slim, so the long awaited and begged for game, Half-Life 3 or Half-life 2, Episode 2, is so far gone. At least they're working on VR Games am I right? Yeah, barely anyone plays that genre of games, so what's the point?

1. Show Time!

Smash Bros. was a great and still is played no matter what. I mean, who wouldn't like a Nintendo mash-up filled with their favorite characters from their favorite franchise. When the game was rumored to have a sequel, people were requesting characters from Nintendo's Consoles. Cloud was requested, Wario, King Dedede, almost everyone from the entire roster, but the one that got the eye of both Kojima and Nintendo was Snake. The trailer was released at that year's E3 and as the video seemed like it ended, that classic Call Sound you hear from Metal Gear made everyone stop and look in silence. Snake appeared and everyone cheered as he snuck in battle.

That's the list! Where any of these moments worth screaming? I was never there at the time, nor was I born for some of them, but I can imagine screaming my lungs out.  What other moment made almost the entire population scream? I would actually love to know... There are so many, that I might have glossed over, so please tell me, and 'til next time...

Play More Games!

I lay bored on the couch as my parents and sister go out to Christmas shop. Mine was all done and wrapped. Don't know why they had to go so late. I look at the TV as my favorite anime plays on DVD; Cowboy Bebop. I've almost seen this about twenty times over already. The last episode. Guy holds girl. Guy taunts at protagonist. Guy gets what coming to him. Favorite episode and a sad end to this great masterpiece, but I want to experience something. Something exciting. 

I feel a tug on my shirt. A man in green armor shrugs at me. Aggressive, angry and bloodthirsty, he wanted me to feed him. I've fed him too many times. I said no and he walked away angry, slamming each foot on the floor. 

Another disturbance, but this time it was a gentle tap. "C'mon, Guardian," he says as his red, robotic eyes glow. I saw him in me, but, like always, I saw nothing to do with me. "I finished all your quests, my friend," I politely say to him as he nods and beams to his ship.

What was there to do? I couldn't find anything. I yet again find another tug on my shoulder. A man under his hood and a mask on his face shows me a new adventure I could take. He held his arm out as I saw a strange mark on it. I sensed something strange, but I wanted to know what was strange about it. He spoke no words and had nothing important to say. "Are you for me?" I said as he nodded in response. "This would my second time being you." He pulled off his mask and pulled down his hood to reveal an old face which has seen it all. 

"I know," he quietly whispered. A second time on in the rain I thought. A new adventure was to be revealed on his face. But I don't remember being with him on his adventures. He wasn't present, just a girl named Emily was by my side. "Shall I remember the old days," I said, "or should I come to a new adventure with you, old friend?" He looked at me with the same face; quiet and serious. 

"It's your choice," with so little to say, he walked outside. I followed as I walked into a graveyard. Tombstones cover the fields. Gloomy, but, at the same time, peaceful. I walked farther as my friend disappears into a thick fog rolling in. I ran towards him to not lose the sight of him. The fog rolled over as the friend was nowhere to be found. Names on the tombstones began to sound familiar. Crash Bandicoot, Joel, Noble 6, names I remember too well. I walked past each one, each one with different designs. A box was Crash's tomb. Joel's was of him and his angel. His said Guarding His Angel. I looked around as I saw all my heroes. All of those who I experienced everything with. 

I walked farther, admiring the stones and the ones under them. I looked ahead of me. A tombstone along with two others, but this one caught my eye. A crow atop of it, it was a bust of my friend. Serious face, but young, his stones eyes looked into my soul. Beside him was two others: a bust of helmet-horned warrior and Wastelander. On their tombs was written, "Each Man is the Bard of his Own Experience' - Cormac McCatrhy." I knelt on the dirt floor as I watched the stone busts. Their names weren't written, but their story-told names were engraved on the stone, "The Lone Wanderer, The Dovahkiin,  and The Dishonored." 

When Heroes Die...

In my opinion, Skyward Sword is one of the worst Zelda games out there. "What about Zelda II: Adventures of Link?" is what you might be asking. No. I actually like that game. It's well designed and overall a great game... If you have a walkthough. Now, I know what you might be saying, "StarterPack, Zelda is always great, they never fail!" Well, even the greats fail and it's awful to see it happen. Hello and welcome to this thoughtful though blog. 

Okay, I played the game a long time ago and hardly remember anything about it, until I found it with my Wii last night. God, it was like seeing your best friend you haven't seen in while for the first time in years, but worse! The boring flying, the bland colors, BOMB BOWLING!!!! 

Now, I know those are bad memories, I should at least give it a shot, right? I started the game back up and found that my last save was that lava board where it utilized Bomb Bowling and then I see why I stopped playing it. And on top of that, how the motion controls were. Moved so stupid and janky, oh, I just couldn't take a second of it. 

Afterwards, I had to bare the game halfway in. It felt like I was playing the game for years when in reality it was only 2 hours! The main problem with the game is the setting. I mean, most of the worlds in Zelda are great and magical, but this one feels very empty. Flying is one of the worst things to do in the game. It's very bland, boring and time consuming. And the colors in the sky are so off putting! You think that the clouds would look white and wonderful and you can't wait to fly through them, but they are just skin-brown and distant. There is hardly any music in the sky and if there is, I bet it would still be boring. And the enemies in the sky is so repetitive. I know I said it before, but it's still boring! I wish they could put some more generic variety of enemies or some special enemies that are difficult for the player that have you fear to see them or encounter them. And why not have them grab the player and try throwing him off the bird? Make the flying aspect more exciting? 

I mean, if you look at it, flying is one of the most beautiful and frightening things about life and what they did about that in that game was none of that. I would appreciate it more if the game followed some of those great aspects. And beyond that is the controls. God, the controls are abysmal! They are janky, messed up and, most of all, unbearable. The game is like Twilight Princess, but without the game's great charm: Motion control based. Twilight Princess made Motion controls great to use and fun to play with, but Skyward Sword just made that and combined it with sensitive controls, motion capture malfunctions and too easy of a game to match how bad the controls are. I mean, the first boss is a giant cyclops-tentacle-hair thing with an obvious weak spot. I know, Gohma is the same, but at least he was difficult! It took me a few times to fight him to actually get use to how he plays. 

The first boss in Skyward Sword is just slow and too easy. I mean, a first boss is suppose to be an impression for the others to come! This just made me sigh in disappointment for what else is to come.

And to add it up, let's talk about Link and Zelda. Now, to be honest, they aren't the best representation of the two, but I kind of like them. Zelda's kind of cute in the game and she is the only indication in the game that says she is in love with Link. And Link? Well, he's a dweeb. A clumsy little f*ck-up that is also the chosen one. Some may argue that this is a bad character for the hero of the game, but it's good in my opinion. I mean, I hate those characters in comedies, they aren't very funny nor a good character, but this is a good message for the kids! It's saying that you don't have to be awesome to be the chosen one or the leader of a group. You just have to hold yourself through all odds. This is the only praise I will give of this game

And with that, the animation is good, I guess. I mean, it follows the game's great artstyle, but it can be hard to look at at times. Because the game's on the Wii, the game can be choppy with some characters. Keys look so... Weird... And the worst enemy to face in the game is the Octorocks. The hiding beast that just won't stop hiding! The ultimate time consumer! And the worst thing about the game is poor enemy design. Most of them can attack out of sight or just attack you without warning! I just wanna ask, why these things again? I mean, I can get Ocarina of Time since the game was of the golden age of gaming and moving a screen was not a thought then, but when the game came out not too long ago, it's just too hard to take. 

Well, the entire game is just bad. I can't take it and it's the only one I haven't finished or want to. There is hardly anything to appreciate about the game and is the worst Zelda I've ever played, but that's just my opinion. From the look at it, this is one of the most beloved and as far as I know, I don't know anyone who dislikes the game as much as I do. What do you guys think about the game? I need to know if there are people that have the same thoughts about the game! Well, I hope you enjoyed and as usual...

Play More Games!

If you didn't know, I'm 17 in sophomore year of High School and through the one year of me experiencing High School, I found something out I should have seen so long ago. Well, it's mostly the school's union's fault, but you get the point. Hello and welcome to this concerned thought blog. 

Let's go back when I was in the 6th grade, middle school. I was about 12 or 14, between the two, and I wanted to learn spanish. I can't talk to my Abuelita nor can I talk to my cousins without trying to get my dad to translate for me, so the school thought it would be nice to put some new classes: Spanish, Match Education (bigger words for math tutoring), and English +. Each one was for those with the good grades. Good thing I was one of them. I got into class for about a week and learned the basics of Spanish, the letters, the sounds they make and how to pronounce a letter or word. The teacher was great and she's not even a Mexican! She learned it all in college! Weird thing that she was a Social Studies teacher. 

I loved that class and I felt almost closer to speaking to my familia, but, of course, the school saw that I failed a test. A test to see if I could do 8th grade math. So I was put in Math Education. The class was built of morons and people who didn't care about their lives. I was put in a class that was for those who failed and would never recover from their failure. The teacher would sit in her desk watching videos or talking to her daughter about the last Twilight Movie she watched. Then I noticed almost all the white kids were being replaced in the class as well for failing the test as well. My sister stayed there the longest with a total of two or three days. As I could see almost the entire class in Spanish was made of Spanish-Speakers. I don't know the use of creating a spanish class if the people in it can speak spanish. I know there are people that don't know how to write in the language, but can speak it, but if the class was built to teacher everyone Kindergarden level of spanish grammar, then why have the spanish speaker waste their time going to that class? 

As I grew, I went to High School and my first Spanish class was with a Salvadorian teacher. Some of my familia are Salvadorian, so I thought I would enjoy meeting her. As soon as I went to the class, everyone who went in were either a senior or a junior. I thought nothing of it until I saw her face as she sat behind her desk. Bored out of her mind, just waiting for the day to end and doesn't care for her job. 

I could feel the same vibe as everyone else: bored. I sat at a desk and waited until the final bell rang. Almost everyone was either waiting out the time outside or just ditched class. With her boring voice, she announced that she was going to give everyone a test to see what we need to learn in the class. We took the test and somehow I passed barely. a 70.5% on the test. I still remember the stamp she put on the test. 

As the weeks past for the teachers to explain their rules, she sat behind her desk as everyone did what they wanted in class. When it came for her to teach, she gave us a stapled pile of paper with the title "Pobre Ana." She told we were going to read it and summarize it in Spanish. She hasn't even taught a word yet and she decided to have us do this all in Spanish? For rest of the year we got things like this and gave us hardly any work. And when she did give us work it was mostly writing our vocabulary 5 times and use it in a sentence. Most us were graded harshly for our little knowledge of Spanish, while the Spanish-Speakers were the only one getting the good grades. 

I basically failed the class with a D-. I thought I would be able to take the class again, but with a different teacher. I tried to speak about this with the councilor, but he was booked for the entire school year because of students having the same idea early. So I was put in Spanish 2 for some reason. I was pared with the most unprofessional, most unorganized, most unreliable teacher yet. 

He said his familia came from Spain while he was born in Guatemala.  I thought he was going to be cool, but I was so wrong. After the few weeks he told us his rules, he gave us something new, a website called Vista. The very name makes me shiver in disgust. He gave us too much work on paper and gave the same thing on paper on Vista and told us,"It was extra practice." Most of us didn't say a word, but some told him he gave us too much. He gave us more work the next day and on. We kept going on with the debate that he was giving us too much and too little to learn. 

It's was the Spanish final yesterday and it was an Essay, ask questions in Spanish and a simple test. I haven't checked, but I think I failed each one. Most of us on the test had to resort to Google Translator to do most of the work in the final. I met with the councilor and tried to change my spanish next semester, but he said all spanish classes are full and if I wanted, I had to my teacher' consent to go to a Native Speaker class. Again... An unlucky chance on doing something that would benefit my life.

My sister is trying her best to learn and is getting an A in the class without learning anything. Shouldn't that be a sign? Should that mean something, School or... Government? You guys already made College Students look stupid on the news already. Why make the majority of the country look the same? 

I don't know. I bet I sound politically incorrect, but I just hate how school is. What do you guys think? Do I have some good points or am I just nagging? Well, I hope you enjoyed this little nag and as always...

Play More Games!

Lights flicker in the room, on and off every second, Xavier, sitting on a metal chair along with a table with another chair on the other side. He looks around in thought, thinking of what to think about to pass the time. His writing, his drawings, his machines at work, these crossed his mind to see which mattered the most to him to think the most about. First, the schematics for a luggage bot was scattered in his mind, thinking how it work in higher or lower gravity areas, how it would functions, if it would need solar or electrical power. This flashed through his mind as the thoughts of his writing compelled him. Characters, stories, world, how they would work for each other. It didn't take for this to flash by, then images of his machines and art came. Remembering each angle, each curve, remembering how to draw them. 

His thoughts stirred him. he began to forget the flickering lights and the tables and then the world. He stared blankly into the wall as a glassy look began to form on his face. His thoughts were disturbed by light slapping his face, blinding his eyes. He looked towards the light as a feminine figure was in a doorway. The number flashed in his head, 63. So abrupt, so vivid, the number was burned in his head as the figure walked in with the door closed behind her. 

It was someone different. Someone he didn't know, someone masked, and wasn't instructed to meet. "Where's Jell?" he said as the woman took a seat. 

"At the hospital," the static of her voice out of the helmet was loud and sharp in Xavier's ears. 

"Is she okay?" 

"She's fine," she didn't move a muscle as Xavier scrambled to find comfort in the metal chair. "Do you know why you're here?" 

"They told me... Questioning?" They paused in awkward silence. Xavier looked at her as she didn't move. She stayed in her seat as she finally moved her hand on the table, only to tap her fingers on it. 

"Four fingers?" Xavier said. "You're not human?" 

"How do you feel about death?" She didn't answer him. 

"Okay, into the nitty-gritty," he said quickly. "If you're trying to see if I'm afraid of it, I'm not. I've embraced the damn concept and I accept it."

"Even if it happens early?" this hit Xavier. 

"What?" he jittered. "What do you mean?" 

"What if it happens early? If you die before the natural age?" this opened Xavier. 

"Well, I've... I..." he paused. Her tapping stopped. "I don't know if the federation has it in file, but I've attempted suicide multiple times. I don't really care if I die. I mean, what's the point of caring if most of my family are gone and the person I have is an abandoning sister and a selfish dad?"

"You files says that on your finals missions, you lost a member due to inactive leadership," her unseen eyes looked into Xavier, "Is this true?" 

"God damn federation, reminding everyone about everything. Yes it's true and I've lost some very dear to me. Now can we go to the next subject?" Her arm went under the table, laying on her knee. 

"Very well," she said. "How would you feel to kill a man?" 

"What?" He shouted. "First you remind me about my loss and you want to know if I can kill without question? What is this really abo-" she interrupted him. 

"To see what position would you fit in." 

"Then just give me Juggernaut!" 

"That clearly doesn't fit you and shall we continue on with the questioning or should we waste our time with this argument?" She stares at Xavier. A wide visor, but her eyes still pierced though his soul like a mother. "Now how do you feel about killing?" 

"You sent me on a mission where we had to get intel, there was eventually bloodshed." 

"That wasn't part of the mission, yet you did so?" 

"There was no other way. There were more guards than what we were informed with. It seemed like we were expected. What beef do you guys have against them anyways? They were just Heliums guarding their planet." 

"We were suspicious of the planet. Too many guards in one place and they were enemies to the Federation. They were going to do something sooner or later."

"But they knew who we were. Won't they see us as a threat to them and try to wage war on us?" 

"That was dealt with by..." she paused, forgetting what happened to the Admiral. 

"By... Who?" 

"Nobody. We'll continue this tomorrow. Walk to the guard in front of the door and have him walk you to your quarters." Xavier got up as she just sat there looking towards the floor. Inside her mind was nothing but her and the admiral in her hands as a hole hole through his cheek bled out the other side. 

The door opened, a small sign of relief for her to remove her mask, but instead she was heard with a General shouting out of Xavier's mouth along with the guards saluting. "At ease," a familiar voice. Comforting to the ears. "Sister, I need to talk to you... Privately." 

"Talya?" She turned to her as she wore the general uniform. She looked perfect for the suit. It almost suit her personality. 

"Yes, Ash. Rookie, you are dismissed. Now take that helm off and let's talk." she took it off, air pressure projecting out of the back of the masked helm as she pulled it off. The door closed as a small tear and a frown appeared on her unmasked face. "What's wrong, Ashley?" She looked into her eyes for a subtle moment to see the person she held dear to her heart, he only family member. She hugs her, embracing her, feeling the warmth of her body. Only one tear she had to shed for she had to forget that tragic moment. "Whoa. What's wrong?" She pulls her head gently to reveal her saddened expression. "Oh, baby. It's okay. I know that was a tragic moment. I know." She shushed her calmly and stroked her hair like what a mother would do to her child. That's what she was to her, a mother to comfort her. "I know you are going through something, but you're apart of something big, Shey. You need put yourself together, okay?" 

"I understand." she rubbed her eyes gently, only one tear she thought. Just one tear. 

"The council wants to see you."

"What's it for?" 

"They told me it was classified."

"But you're the third highest rank in the federation!" 

"I know, that's why I ran here. Now go, before they yell at me." She put on her helmet, comforting to her skin, something hide her face to those around her. "Don't get your tail in a knot, Sister!" she said as she looked at her tail for second. Tattered, broken, a small mistake. Something that her and her sister use to kid about. She saluted to her as she ran to the council room. A rush flowed through her head along with other things. Confusing things. Mixed emotions. The only way for her to describe it. 

***

The council of Scribes. The Council of Knights. The branches of the Heltic Federation. The people who fought in great wars, people who survived the worst of battles. Those who knew the ways of combat more than the rest of the world was all that made up the Council of Knights. Those who have solved problems. People who have stopped wars. Beings who made peace were all that made the Council of Scribes and Ashley had to meet with all of them. 

She walked in slowly and calm, he arms to her side, he toes faces north of her. She didn't want to be the next laughing stock of all the Federation. She faced them as the lights dimmed, the councilors setting home in their chairs. Intimidating she thought. The most intimidating audience she had ever seen. 

A hard voice of a Knight Councilor sounded, "Admiral Silas Joseph Hoster, your lover's father, was shot and was almost lost during a press meeting." Images began to flash in her head. The circle of red growing on the floor, the hole that dripped out the back of his skull.

Another councilor spoke, this time gentle,"We almost lost him. His heart still beats, but the assassin was not found the only thing we found of his was the rifle he threw away." 

An aged voice took the speech, "No fingerprints, no organic material printed on the weapon, nothing for us to have as a lead to find who did this."

A loud and projected voice wet to finish their speech, "But the one thing we found was the same name engraved on the weapon we found on the scorched planet, Noigel. " The weapon was placed in front of Ashley, both of them. A barrel of a weapon and the rifle, both sharing the same engraved name, in the same writing. "Our Intel Gatherers have found no company, no shop, only the families. There were hundreds with the same family name, but only three bared the name with weapon production in their hands."

"We ask of you, find these three people and investigate their homes and plans."

***

"You dare insult me with such accusation!? I tell you that I have no business with petty thieves nor those who live in the slums." The fat lard spoke as the buttons on his coat began to stretch with his anger. His mooshed face began to be a bright shade of red. 

"We're sorry, but by law of the Federation and the Planet's plans of Alliance state that-" 

"I do not care! Get out of my mansion, you purple freak!" They were pushed out as the door slammed closed. 

"Wow, he just had to look at the tail and had to just discriminate from there." Rebeka said as her hands were reluctant to pull out her pistol. 

"Don't worry about him, I called authorities to come and arrest him." Josh began to stare at his wrist activiater. Pushing buttons and doing as much as he could to help with it. 

"That's my recruit, Joshua!" Talya's voice made Ashley smile inside her mask. 

"Let's just go out and find the final one. With him being the only lead, let's hope we find the Admiral's killer. " Slight anger sounded in her voice. Thoughts of beating the "fat f*ck" lingered in her mind. They went to each of their Falcons to fly to a close planet, Ordeel. A planet filled with rich men and the slaves they own, a perfect planet for the corrupt. 

They began to be near the planet, a green mist with little water. Crops and sexual reproduction was the financial gain of the planet. Only those who survive is the planet's moto. They go to the location on the planet, a beautiful white mansion, with wooden doors and a gate made to fit the planet's color. They landed in the yard, big enough for four Falcons to land. 

A man in a tux came to Ashley and asked, "Pardon me, but why are you here?"

"We are here, ordered by the Heltic Federation, to see Samuel Noigel."

"Oh, then right this way, ma'am." he walked them to the front door. Beautiful design were engraved on the door. A lion was on the top right, drenched in fire as a scorpion was beneath it laying on a rock. On the left was a Man pouring water into the heavens as a centaur with a bow and arrow aimed to the skies. The kind man cracked open the door calling his master. He turned to the team and said, "He will be right with you," and walked inside.

"Men from the federation you say, Alf? Let me see," the owner echoed as bright light began to shine out the crack of the door. A gentle pull of the door as the owner showed his face to the team. A robotic face. Geared lips, hollow cheeks and glowing eyes bearing the number, 6 and 3. 

A tavern. Small, but still had more than it could carry. Men around the county came here just to set their arms down and take a nice drink of Armoanian Ale. I came to as my time was done in my job. Guarding sounds easy, but not when you have to stand constantly in the same place, not allowed to move and suppose to keep a straight face. I came just so I don't have to feel the pain of my legs along with my buddies. We ordered ale from the beautiful maiden and the Joraal wench. Francis seemed to enjoy the wench's tail. Wouldn't stop teasing her by grabbing it whenever she passed by us. I did my usual laugh as Krieg just insulted her and Francis' liking in the wench. 

We had fun and haven't seemed to be the only having around here. Men screamed as they celebrated their winnings or battles, as the wenches sit in their laps or dance with them. The band played in the cheering of the men. It was a classic one: Moonlight King. I can never remember the lyrics. Sweet and just enjoyable. It was about a king giving his son the most he'd ever wanted. He gotten everything and felt as if he need constant holes to fill his needs, until he saw a beautiful lady on the moon. He tries his best to reach her, but he couldn't. She was only a spirit and he could only reach her in the afterlife. It all ends with the prince killing himself uniting with the moonlight goddess. A lovely song and a cheerful one. I listened as my friends talked to each other about the women in the tavern. 

I looked closely at the women, the men getting drunk, the band, my eyes were everywhere in the room. Only if my ears could do the same. I saw a shadow shift on the wall coming from a window in the Tavern. It was a another entering the fun. He walked in, pushing the door and walked towards an empty table in a corner. He looked familiar. Wore the emblem of the king on his shoulder. I've never seen his face, but I had the feeling I knew him. I pointed him out to the others in my table and watched as the men and the band took most of the attention. 

He was hooded, shadowed face, we tried to see something of his face, a scar, a birthmark, a mole, anything. He sat there as a Joraal came to serve him. He seemed to be kind to the wench, she smiled as she talked to him, we couldn't tell if they were friends or if he was flirting. He held a finger up as the wench nodded and reached into her cleavage and pulled out a letter. She handed him the letter, a small glisan, blinding almost, sealed the letter. It was red, but that was all we could see. 

He took a look at us. The shadowed face starred into our eyes. We quickly looked away, but I was the one that kept staring. The torch's fire grew larger as some of his face was shown. For a small instant, I could see his milky eye and large scar on his right cheek. A mean look, I looked away to catch my drink. I needed more Armoanian Ale to forget this. 

I took a swig of my mug, I smacked my lips and wiped away what was left of the ale. The doors sounded, another visitor. It was another wench, Khaja Skum. She walked in with a robe over her, and a hood covering her face. Everyone in the tavern stopped to look at her. The men stopped drinking and smiling, the wenches stopped dancing and laughing, the band ceased their melady, just to look at her, the Khaja in man's clothing. 

She bared a crossbow on her back, bolts on her thigh, and a sword on beside it. Long sword, made of Keltic Silver. That's the king's silver. People were hesitant to talk to her or make witty remark of her presence, but one was dumb enough to do it. "DId you steal that bolt launcher, Khaja?" one of the men said. She made one look at him and walked away. The man and his companions laughed at her as she strolled to the man in the corner. They took off their hoods, their faces were revealed, and talked. I could tell the face of the wench, she was a bounty hunter. I believe her name was Mz'Andla. I couldn't hear them, but I could lip-read. 

"Do you know a man named Tuesday?" the man asked.

"Does he wear a red coat?" It was code.

"Yes, yes he does." The man gave her the letter with the red seal and showed her a mark on his hand. She showed hers and took the letter. I couldn't make it out, but that was all they said and did. She got up from her chair and headed towards the door. Me and my friends looked at each other wondering what was going on with them. Krieg looked at her with a mean look on his face, staring her down as she was nearing the door. "Going out to steal again, Khaja Wench?" he said as she held the door's handle. 

A grim frown on her, she stared at him as Krieg smiled knowing she was won over. "You're kind are so poor. Why don't you people go and get owned by one of the rich'ns?" She gave a glowing looking at him, bright blue eyes with the sharp needle in the center. 

"I don't have time for this." She turned to the door and attempts to grab the handle again. Krieg, in anger, grabs her arm in turn to get back. In a quick moment, a swift blow to his head, knocking him to the floor. The tavern was quiet now. The band stopped playing as the wenches ran away and the men with them stood tall with their hands near their blades. "English guards wanting nothing, but trouble with their people. Stand down and be glad I don't utilize my crossbow." 

She left the tavern as everyone watched. I stayed seated in my chair as Francis tries to help Krieg up. Many thoughts went through my head as this happened. The one that caught my attention was what would the king think of this?

FOoLIsH

With 2017 beginning tomorrow I figured it would be a good idea to look to the future and see what I am most excited for in the coming year. There are so many games we already know about, but even more that have yet to be announced. Armed with the knowledge of what we DO know is coming, here is what I am extremely excited for in 2017.

GRAVITY RUSH 2

As a massive Sony fan and a big fan of the original Gravity Rush the beginning of the year is looking amazing. We will be treated to a sequel for a game I anticipated never playing again because the Vita simply did not do well enough for me to expect it or even hope for it. Against all odds, however, Gravity Rush 2 is making its way to PS4. The demo came out last week and boy did I enjoy it. As good as the original looked on the Vita, the awe inspiring world on the PS4 looks like a work of art in motion. The gameplay is also very smooth and the camera is a bit easier to manage than the Vita version. All in all I cannot wait to see what the new game will bring to the table and we only have to wait a few more weeks to find out!

HORIZON ZERO DAWN

Talk about starting the year off strong! First Gravity Rush 2 and then a month later Horizon Zero Dawn! Easily my most anticipated game of the new year, Horizon has captured the imagination of nearly anyone and everyone who follows video games. I've never visited the GI hub for a game so frequently as I did during the cover month for Horizon. The combat looks intense and challenging all while surrounded by this incredibly surreal world full of wonder and mystery. I look forward to unlocking the secrets of Aloy's past as well as the secrets of the world she lives in. I also fear the story letting me down. We've all been hurt before by an overhyped game, but I remain optimistic that Guerrilla Games can succeed with their new IP.

CRASH BANDICOOT N-SANE TRILOGY

This one has a special place in my heart. Crash Bandicoot 2 was my first game I ever played on a PlayStation. I still have the game and I even still have the official strategy guide. I still play Crash 2 every now and then, but the first and third game I have not played in ages. Seeing them redone is a dream come true and I hope this trilogy can open the door for a full revival of the series. Fingers crossed!

MARVEL VS CAPCOM INFINITE

Rarely does a fighting game come along that I enjoy for more than just a week or two. When MVC3 came out I had people over playing that game every week for months. We would select randoms and groan when we got a bad team and jump for joy with a good team. I would never say that I was great at the game, but I at least got to the point where I didn't need to button mash like I do in other fighters when I get desperate. I am a little sad to see that Infinite will only have two people per team instead of three, but as long as they don't release a game that is unfinished like Street Fighter was I can be happy (and here's hoping we don't see "Seasons" of characters either).

GOD OF WAR

When Sony's E3 presentation started and the orchestra began to play I knew immediately what game was about to appear on screen. Greek mythology was one of my favorite subjects in school and the God of War trilogy took those myths and formed one of the most memorable stories in any video game. Even the two PSP games were a blast to play and they added some lore and backstory to the main trilogy. Ascension, unfortunately, did not live up to the legacy, but the newly announced game for PS4 takes us to an entirely new world of Norse myth and legend and I cannot wait to see what Kratos does in it.

NINTENDO SWITCH

I jumped off the Nintendo train a couple years after the Wii came out and I have not been interested in most of their console games since. The DS and 3DS have kept me loyal to the company even though Pokemon is almost the only reason I keep them around, but any time a new console comes out I cannot help but feel excited. Third party support continues to be Nintendo's main failure, but if they can manage to launch some incredible first party games at launch and build a foundation for their third party developers to be successful Nintendo can absolutely become relevant again. If the new Zelda game can be the console seller it needs to be (who am I kidding, that game is gonna move some serious hardware) then there is absolutely hope for the Switch. I for one am dreaming of a Dark Souls 3 port so I could play it on the go. That would be oh so sweet! With the confirmation of Skyrim, the sky's the limit as to what the Switch could see in its library of games. Come on Nintendo! Make me proud!

2017 is shaping up to be quite an amazing year indeed. Most of what I am looking forward to is all launching (no delays no delays no delays oh please no delays!!!) fairly early in 2017 so who knows what else we will be treated to in the second half of the year.

What has you most excited for a new year of gaming? Let me know and thanks for reading!

2010's Trauma Team had players taking on the role of various doctors with different specialties who eventually banded together to fight a common enemy. It ended up being a good game, but I know what you're thinking: this also sounds like a good idea for a TV show! As it turns out, you are very, very wrong.

Although there were once plans to bring the series to television, they quickly fell by the wayside. Developed by Fat Dragon Films and Instavision (neither of which seem to have had a long history before or after this project), the show turned the titular Trauma Team into "medical vigilantes" who would take in patients that normal hospitals couldn't or wouldn't (for whatever reason).

The series was eventually scrapped, but not before a pilot for the show came to be. Six years later, that pilot has surfaced online, and it's not very good. Keep in mind, though, that this pilot wasn't meant to be viewed by the public quite yet, so it's still somewhat unfinished. You can watch the pilot below, if you're curious.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

[Source: Polygon]

Greetings! Welcome to the eleventh edition of the Monthly Gradebook. I’ll be giving my thoughts and grades on all the games I managed to play to competition in this past month. I decided to start doing this feature as a way to share my thoughts on the games that I’m playing without writing full reviews and to better organize my thoughts, so that way, when the end of the year rolls around, I’ll be in a better position to decide my Top Ten Games of 2016 and my Top Non-2016 Games without having to rely solely on my memory.

I started this blog series up back in January and have continued with it every month (except for April) despite self-induced fears that I would get lazy and quit it on. For the final month of the year, I did my best to knock-out two late big-game releases and one game that has been on my list since its release earlier in the year. In the end, I was successful and played all three games to completion – a mark that I only accomplished once in 2016, back in February. So, without delay, here are my final grades and thoughts of 2016, which are centered on Dishonored 2, Zero Time Dilemma, and Final Fantasy XV.

Dishonored 2 (PS4)

For the second straight year, the backend of the gaming calendar was headlined for me by Bethesda’s newest release, and despite having not played the original Dishonored (my copy of Dishonored 2 did come with a download code for Dishonored, so I will probably get on that sometime next year) I was eager to jump into the game.

Dishonored 2 is a difficult game for me to discuss. While physically playing the game, I was so enthralled by it that I was ready to call it my game of year, but when the console is off and I just sit back and think about the game, I realize there a lot of things I take exception to with the game.

Dishonored 2 was built with replayability in mind, that means however that the game is relatively short. The game’s campaign only features nine missions, but with two different characters to experience it through and a plenitude of different playstyles to try out I can see myself playing the game again in the not too distant future. There seems to be a large gap separating the playstyles in terms of difficulty, though, and not much of an in-between. When you’re attempting to ghost your way through a level it requires an absurd amount of patience and skill, however, when you going all out and attack everyone head-0n the game becomes a cakewalk.

The way I chose to play the game is unorthodox to say the least. At times, I ran around the map like a man possessed, but my kill count remained nearly nonexistent – preferring to incapacitate my enemies (sometimes by sneaking up onto them or by filling them with sleep darts, but usually by stunning them first via heaving a projectile in their face like a fish, bottle, or unconscious body). Some might see racking up kills as the funner method of play, but to me filling out the dormitory beds with unconscious guards and wondering how they would react when they woke - if they were real, of course - is immensely more satisfying. I didn’t find much use for most of the supernatural abilities available to you, apart for Blink, which has to be one of my favorite skills in all of video games; being able to teleport yourself across gaps, onto ledges, and over enemies’ heads is an awesome experience that isn’t replicated often. In the end, I had a blast playing Dishonored 2 the way I wanted, even if it was a bit too easy on the standard difficulty setting.

The general uniqueness of the level designs is another factor that helps me overlook the game’s length. From a clockwork mansion with rooms that shift at the pull of a lever to a mission where you obtain a time travel device that allows you to seamlessly shift between the past and present. Each mission’s setting is different and memorable, and a whole lot of fun to find your own way to tackle. For example, my brother and me usually play games the same way and we both went for the low chaos routes, however, are experiences with the missions were completely different. The creativity displayed in this aspect of the game is just phenomenal.

The variation in enemies is consistent, with the game throwing new, deadlier foes at you, like robotic soldiers and witches, that are not as easily deterred as the run-of-the-mill guards you encounter throughout the game. The AI, however, is still not clever enough to come anywhere close to blurring the lines of AI intelligence. When a masked assassin comes sprinting a through dinning party, the guards are way too quick to give up the chase and resume their normal patrols as if nothing had happened. I also encountered a few instances where after watching a fellow guard collapse from a sleeping dart, the nearby guards would fail to react.

The story is without a doubt the weakest part of the game. Kicking off with abrupt opening, the plot (at least from the Corvo side of things) feels a lot like Taken the video game. Stephen Russell’s portrayal of Corvo is very Liam Neeson-esque, and the plot basically boils down to his daughter being kidnapped, and everything that follows is just an excuse for him to use his very particular set of skills to accomplice cool and entertaining stuff. The story wraps itself up in a very anticlimactic fashion that is not befitting such a great game. I didn’t play as Emily, but I have a feeling the story isn’t any more interesting from her point-of-view either.

That’s not say there aren’t are a lot of interesting ideas at work with the plot, at one point you can choose to assisting one of two groups in their war against each other, but not enough time is focused on either group or the fallout of the choice itself to make the decision matter. None of the characters have time to develop either, with one revelation feeling abrupt and unnecessary rather than organic. The villains are for the most part one-note with the exceptions being the central antagonist and Emily’s aunt, Delilah Copperspoon, and inventor Kirin Jindosh, but neither is given enough time onscreen. And despite attempts by the game to tell the decisions you make on who to kill and who to spare will have major ramifications, the only thing you get is a brief endgame voice-over that touches on a few of your choices.

GRADE: A-

Zero Time Dilemma (3DS)

I haven’t played either of the first two entries into the Zero Escape series, and despite several recommendations that I don’t play Zero Time Dilemma until I do, I went and played the game anyway. But apart from learning of the events that transpired in the first two games that will probably dampen the impact of their twists if I went back and played them, I didn’t feel like my experience with Zero Time Dilemma was hampered by my naivety in any way.

The concept of Zero Time Dilemma’s plot is simple in principle - nine people, separated into three teams of three, are trapped inside an underground base and forced to play twisted and gruesome games until at least six people have died, but everything that follows is not.  The game’s utilization of a non-linear storytelling confused me at first. I felt like playing the game in chronological order would have made for a more enjoyable experience. But about halfway through, as the haze around the plot becomes clearer and you realize that everything you’ve experienced isn’t just a random series of events, I began to appreciate the narrative structure, even if it basically undermines every choice you make. The story does bog itself down with characters giving repeated lectures on scientific jargon and rehashing story beats, and comes off as if the game is trying too hard to hold your hand through the story so you don’t get lost. And there is one long and drawn out story sequence involving a character wielding a shotgun that is eye-rolling and an insult to the intelligence of everyone involved.

Zero Time Dilemma’s gameplay probably takes a backseat in most discussions about the game because of how significant the story is, but I’d like to start off with some praise for the game’s escape the room segments. Each of the rooms are different enough in design and implantation that I never thought one was too much like another. I became addicted to solving the puzzles laid out in front of me, and there is nothing more empowering then when your brain make the first connection and then everything seemingly begins to fall into place. I’ll admit there were a few times where I had to cheat and consult a walkthrough; when the answer was something obvious that I overlooked, I just felt frustrated at myself, but when it was something that the game was obstructing from me, like a tiny item or device that is difficult to interact with due to finicky controls, the game was the one I had frustrations with.

The Decisions Games that follow-up each escape the room segments, started out as my favorite part of the game. Unloading one nerve-racking decision after another onto the player where the wrong choice could lead to the death of one or more characters – heck, sometimes every choice can do that. A few times I set the game aside to give myself more time to deliberate. These “games” are creative, clever, and awesomely, horrifying – that is until the game makes it painfully clear that they are all meaningless. At the same time as I began to appreciative the game’s unorthodox method of storytelling, the less I began to care about these decisions. I mean, why should I care about the ramifications of my choices when I’m going to be forced to replay the segment and choose the opposite choice anyway? I’ll give the developers credit that this feeling is aligned with the game’s themes, but this doesn’t make it any less annoying and denies the game any sense of replability.

The cast of Zero Time Dilemma start off as a likeable enough group and the light-hearted banter between them during the escape the room segments offer up some funny moments, but the further along into the story I got, the more and more I began to despise them. Some say you can tell a lot about someone’s character by how they react under pressure – if that’s true then there isn’t much good you can say about this cast. The characters are prone to jumping to rash decisions and putting the blame onto each other, while widely ignoring the thought that Zero, the person who kidnapped them and is forcing them to play these games, could be involved. Several characters slip way too quickly into psychopath territory; some having better reasons then others. All the characters are apparently mathematical geniuses who are smart enough to calculate their odds of surviving each situation in seconds – except for Eric – yet are unable to comprehend concepts like time travel and alternate realties without it being explained to them in a dumbed down, overly simplified manner. By the end, the members of D Team and Carlos were the only characters that I could stomach.

Zero Time Dilemma’s ending seems to a source of a lot of controversy, but I’m not really sure what side I’m on - I can’t decide whether it’s unbelievably brilliant or just plain stupid. There a lot of small stuff that is fun to look back at and say “Oh, that makes sense now” but there are other things that require some heavy suspension of disbelief to buy into it.

GRADE: B

Final Fantasy XV (PS4)

After watching the credits roll on Final Fantasy XV - a game that some have been waiting over ten years for - the first word that came to mind for me was passable. If you google the word passable, one of the definitions you get is: “(of a route or road) clear of obstacles and able to be traveled along or on” and since Final Fantasy XV’s story can be summed up as one big road trip, it is an accurate description. And much like driving down a clear, open road, playing Final Fantasy XV is an adequate experience, but there’s nothing special about it that I’m going to gush over or classify as amazing or spectacular.

The only place that seems suitable to me to start a discussion about Final Fantasy XV is with its four main characters, as the entire story hinges on the bond between these characters. Prince Noctis’s three bodyguards each fit into a typical architype; the smart guy, the funny guy, and the strong guy. They play these roles well, no doubt, but nothing about them inspired much originality in my mind. Prince Noctis himself, though, is the worst offender. He comes off cold, disinterested, and a shell of a character, and, apart from a few select story moments, his only form of emote is being angsty. Other games have pulled off such a protagonist by having him act as conduit for the player to funnel their own emotion and reactions into, but it is made clear that it is not supposed to be the case here. It is nice to watch characters with an already established friendship hang out together and they have some entertaining interactions and fun banter. Unfortunately, the game is unable to convey this connection to me, the player, and I never shared in this genuine affection the cast clearly harbor for each. When it comes down to it, there is nothing memorable about this cast that will have me looking back on them with fond memories, if even at all.

Meanwhile, almost every other member of rest of the supporting cast leave little to no impression on the plot and are denied any meaningful character devolvement. With the lone exception being main heroine, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, a by the book Mary Sue who also happens to be in possession of a McGuffin. The game tries it’s best to sell you on a love story between her and Noctis, but it is more interested in telling you they care deeply for each other rather producing any meaningful interaction that would make me believe it. The voice acting is solid in the cases of the main cast - some of those quest-givers, though, they can make your ears bleed.

Using a road trip for the setting of an RPG is a unique angle, but I feel like the story overextends itself. As the chaotic events around the characters begin to unfold, they, for most part, remain care-free and are content wasting time camping under the stars and having fun, which leads to some very jarring transitions – for example: “Oh, no, everyone we know might be dead…Let’s go ride some chocobos!” The game could have really benefitted from a smaller-scale plot, because it comes off like the developers wanted to have their cake and eat it too – they tried to tell a coming-of-age, buddy road trip comedy, while also spinning a dark, depressing yarn featuring a big-bad – who is charismatic enough in his own right but lacks depth - with a high-stakes scheme, without giving enough time to setup the key pieces and players needed to pull something like that off. As a result, main story beats are rushed through, the tone is wildly incoherent, and despite possessing an ending that on paper should have been an emotional, it ends up coming off quite underwhelming. What is most disappointing is that the story does have a lot of potential, it’s just never capitalized on.

I’d also like to express my displeasure in how the game completely ignores almost all the characters of the companion film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. It is quite strange how much the game leans on the film to lay the foundation of the story, but then barely references the actual events. Antagonist, General Glauca, is an enigmatic character, but despite playing a massive role in triggering the events that unfold in game, is reduced to a brief cameo and never referenced by name. One of your own party member’s father appears in the film, but his fate glossed in-game. Another character, who if included could have been a cool Easter egg is instead is made completely irrelevant by not appearing. And I must say, compared to Noctis, the film’s protagonist, Nyx Ulric, is a much cooler character and actually has more chemistry with Luna than her own “beloved” does.

Moving on, I can say without a doubt that Final Fantasy XV is the only game where I full heartedly sucked at the combat but never once saw a game over screen. Throughout my 35+ hour journey, I never managed to completely wrap my head around the combat system, yet with a healthy dose of health potions I successfully fought my way through every battle I encountered, resulting in me never acquiring a need to attempt to understand the mechanics better. Noctis’ phasing abilities adds a unique aspect of versatility to the battles, and while I can see why a lot of people weren’t fond the magic crafting system, I liked it because it was something different. Your allies’ AI in combat was good for the most, except for their tendency to run into your magic attacks and begin spouting off snarky remarks, blaming you. And the summons, while vastly limited in their usages, are awesome cinematic moments. The boss fights, however, weren’t all that great; a few of them probably sound like fun in principal but the execution wasn’t there. All in all, the gameplay really can’t match up with the likes of other established action-based JRPG’s like Kingdom Hearts and Dark Souls.

I’m probably going against the grain by saying this, but I didn’t care for the open world aspects of the game. I feel like when the game pushes the open world shenanigans aside and locks you into the linear aspects of the story is when I enjoyed the gameplay the most, as it mixes things up and offers more variety, including one amazing train sequence. The environments you encounter are drastically different then what you encounter in the open world and the transition between in-game and cinematic cutscenes is almost seamless.

Don’t get me wrong, the open world is a true sight to behold, but it’s no Wasteland (Fallout 4) or Mira (Xenoblade Chronicles X), and all starts to blend together. The areas are scarcely populated and, for the most part, all the hub areas are identical rest stops. I can’t say there was nothing to do, rather there wasn’t much that I enjoyed doing. Driving around in the Regalia was something I was looking forward coming in, but it turned out to be the most disappointing thing I’ve experienced in gaming this year. The car controls like it is on rails, preventing you from going off-road or having any meaningful control over the vehicle. The chocobo riding, however, was a surprisingly fun method of travel, and much more entertaining than the dull car rides or loading screen you must endure when traveling long distances. There are plenty of side-quests to undertake, but none of the questlines are interesting and fundamentally the same, making them feel likes choirs that I’m obligated to accomplice then something I want to do.

I may not have been waiting for this game as long as others have, but I’ve had my eye on the game since it was rebranded from its original title of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and I just can’t honestly say the game was worth the wait. While the production values are top-notch, featuring a decent soundtrack - with Florence and the Machine’s cover of the Ben E. King’s classic, Stand by Me, being used to great effect – I found everything else about this game fall decisively below expectations. Final Fantasy XV isn’t a bad game, just good. But I was personally hoping for a little better than just good.

GRADE: B

And... Done! I have succeeded in my year-long goal of keeping up this blog the entire year and grading and critiquing every game I played to completion. My next goal? Do it all again in 2017. And with the season of gift giving in the rear-view mirror, I’m now stocked up on enough games and gift cards to hopefully tide me over until Person 5’s release in April. The Technomancer, The Last Guardian, Skyrim, and Valkyria Chronicles are among the games I have to look forward to playing in the months to come and the ones you will be able to read my nonsensical ramblings on.

If you have any thoughts on my opinions and/or grades let me know in the comments, even if you completely disagree and think I’m an idiot.

Have a Happy New Year and thanks for reading. I'll see you in whatever comes next.

For many people, 2016 has been a rough year filled with loss and disappointment. Over the course of this year it seems that the world has become even more divisive, and tensions that have been kept under control have finally reached the boiling point. From my perspective it feels like America itself has become more separated and relationships between some groups have become strained. With all of that in mind, 2016 for video games has been in a lot of ways the opposite of the real world. The relationships and bonds that have become soured in the real world have become a strength for many games that have released this year. As a whole, this year delivered some great examples of the strong connections and emotional bonds that video games can deliver, whether it be between players and a character or between a cast of characters in a game.

The most recent examples of this being games that players have long been waiting for: Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian. These two games demonstrated the potential that games have of delivering an experience that can connect with players in ways that other medium at times can't. Playing through The Last Guardian and slowly building a bond between the young boy and the giant creature Trico, two beings who couldn't be more different, and seeing the emotional attachment that the two have by the end of the game is truly something unique only to the medium of video games.

You can say all you want about the dated and frustrating gameplay segments of The Last Guardian, but you can't deny that the game offers players a one of kind experience about two unlikely beings coming to together and forming a long lasting bond that can't help but melt my icy heart as the credits roll.

Final Fantasy XV offers a different sort of bond than that of The Last Guardian. The relationship between the "boy band" cast of characters of Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio, seems a little off at first and a bit awkward, but as is the case with most anything that deals with bonds and relationships these characters begin to grow on the player and demonstrate the unbreakable connection that these four characters have with each other.

Even when things begin to go south for the cast in Final Fantasy XV and these bonds are tested, the connections between the crew finds a way to overcome these trials and show the emotional attachment that these characters have. I was never sold on the cast or plot of Final Fantasy XV before it released, but after the dozens of hours of time invested into the game and witnessing the relationship between this crew, I can't help but feel a connection to the cast of characters. The photos that Prompto takes throughout the journey just add a little something extra to the recipe that contains all the ingredients of a game that displays the power that relationships between characters can have.

The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV are the recent examples of the special bonds that video games have provided this year. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End demonstrates the bonds between two brothers, and a husband and wife. The final hurrah for Nathan Drake and his crew, is a perfect showcase of the bonds that have developed throughout the series.

Uncharted 4 is pretty much all about the bond between Nathan and his brother Sam, the sudden reappearance of Sam and the adventure that Nate goes on with him causes a snag in the relationships between his wife, Elena, and also his father figure Sully. The reconnection of the bond between Nate and Sam forces the current relationships that Nate has to become stressed and close to breaking.

While everything works out in the end as things would for our treasure hunting buddy Nathan Drake, the game demonstrates a type of relationship that doesn't often take place in video games and that is the bond between husband and wife. The section late in Uncharted 4 where Elena and Nate are back together again, is a great section showcasing the relationships between the two and the reigniting of the bond they have, and is one of my favorite moments of the game. I would be remised if I also didn't mention the scene where the two play Crash Bandicoot because that is also a great moment showcasing the relationship between Nate and Elena as well.

Games like Stardew Valley, Titanfall 2, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, also displayed some of the better examples of the variety of bonds that video games this year demonstrated. The bond between the protagonist Cooper and his titan BT, while maybe not as special as the other bonds discussed, displays a solid improvement between the original Titanfall, where titans were rather soulless, and the titans in Titanfall 2 who had personalities and offered players at least a chance to feel connected to their big robot buddies.

BT may not be the best character, but hey he goes from someone who doesn't understand what a thumbs up means, to a titan who gives you a nice thumbs up before he throws you a mile away and if that isn't an example of a growing connection between two characters then I don't know what is. The improvement in Titanfall 2 compared to the original, showcases the upward trend in the video game industry of creating characters and games that offer players a chance to experience memorable relationships like in The Last Guardian and Firewatch.

The bonds and relationships established by many games throughout 2016 definitely made many of the real world struggles a bit easier to handle. As knowing that video games at times offered a chance to get away a bit and witness the good that can occur, was much needed. When the calendar flips to 2017 and many of us attempt to try and bury 2016 in a safe deep inside our mind and throw the key into the ocean; just make sure to keep the memories of the emotional bonds that you witnessed or developed with characters in video games this year, as those are the memories worth keeping and looking back on throughout 2017 and beyond.

Feel free to share your thoughts below and have a Happy New Year! See you next year!