JT Ke3bz

This struck too close to home....literally.

I throw my Nightblog show on my IGN Blog via my Tumblr page...this will repost to Facebook and Twitter....have I officially whored myself to the gods of Social Media!?

FIREWATCH

GRAPHICS: A beautifully brushed painting GAMEPLAY: Perfect your walky and talky CONTROLS: Feels just like a walk in the park..... MULTIPLAYER: There’s this one turtle SOUND: Small talk, big mountain

SCORE: 8/10

Well, we know who Billy Ray turns out to be!

...

SO, I've been on the fence alot lately about a few MMO's and which medium I'd like to experience them on. 

I had the great privilege of taking place in the Elder Scrolls Online beta (obviously PC) but I can't say much on that topic...this made me wonder what system I would want this game on come release time. I know the console version will take longer to come to market but maybe it will be worth the wait? Maybe not! I played Skyrim on PC and loved it like no other until my pal said playing it on Xbox was so much better - after giving it a go, I agreed. The controller made all the difference.

Wait, I can just hook a controller to my compy and VOILA! Yes, but the real problem then is playing on a monitor/laptop VS TV/projector (with ease) unless I make myself a Steam Box. So I'm left with this decision on 2 up and coming MMO's - FFXIV: A Realm Reborn (have played on PC with mouse/keyboard and controller and let me say their controller support is AMAZING) and Elder Scrolls Online (have only played with keyboard and mouse). So there are some things I want to take into immediate consideration:

I have a PS4 and already subscribe to PS+ so that's no extra skin off my back with the subscription to the MMO

My PS4 greatly outperforms my laptop in power

Friends have PS4's but not capable PC's

Laptop portability is a huge bonus

Yes, it seems everyone is slamming Nintendo lately.

                                        Nintendo's sales numbers aren't what they projected, Iwata isn't stepping down and they're not abandoning their hardware. So what are they doing to fix this? Well, here are some Wii U games coming out in 2014: Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros 4, Bayonetta 2, X and Q.U.B.E; we can hope this list stimulates Wii U sales like crazy as the 3DS remains king of the jungle. Of course there's a small chance we'll see Zelda U this year, but it's highly unlikely. However, E3 may bring some surprises and more restored IP's or [hopefully] some new ones. With the number alone, you're looking at almost as many exclusives on the Wii U as the PS4 and XBO...but nowhere near as many mutli-platforms and so we're back to being reminded it's a niche console. Yes, we can tell their online gaming presence is near non-existent and their OS has just recently become fast enough to keep us sane, but if we help them along this gen by enjoying their AMAZING software offering, the next hardware they release could finally be the tech-giant they need. Ultimately this would benefit us as gamers and force the other two companies to pack even more punch into their next console outings.

What does this mean to us as gamers that this is a "niche machine"? It has games that we will never find on another console and presented in a way that is not the focus on other platforms. The Wii U exclusive offerings already out there (i.e. Mario 3D World, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Sonic Lost World, Zombi U, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, etc) are experiences I relish as a gamer but will not see on Next Gen consoles because themarket says otherwise. While I wait with bated breath for FPS offerings like Titanfall and open world sandboxes like inFamous, games like Pikmin 3 hold a banner high above them in my book for their creativity and whimsy. Sure, that's not what every gamer wants, but what we're offered here is something we always beg for - CREATIVITY, ORIGINALITY and INGENUITY. Unfortunately, the masses have fallen prey to the idea Nintendo has already failed...that will always be the case if everyone cries wolf but no one looks outside the window to see if it's true!

Survival Horror is a genre most gamers have experienced ever since the existence of text-based games. More often than not, you're placed in situations where escape is difficult and combat is usually a mistake. This simple idea was expanded upon in the 8-bit era of games that had "mysteries" where the additive of finding and analyzing clues made survival even more difficult as exploration became necessary.

Generation upon generation came along offering more chances to fight to survive and we were offered more and more opportunities to do our best to survive. From the simple idea that survival is key and combat is a last resort became only a niche as more and more survival horror games encouraged combat. Luckily these games encourage intelligent and strategic combat mixed with limited resources. To be more precise, these games made it difficult to do combat in the first place with shoddy mechanics and the close-to-impossible aiming schemes.

Somewhere along the lines, we lost the idea of difficult gameplay and have moved to a smooth-controlled, well-oiled, combat-infused "survival" "horror" genre. Reviews often get stuck on the idea of controls and 110% functionality of the game instead of the insane amount of terror and fun it brings. Games held in high reverence had some of the worst combat controls to date. These games have even been re-released with slightly improved control mechanics but still hold tight to what made them so scary. We fail to recognize that this very proprietary controlling can be, in a way, its own addition to the horror. If combat is difficult and controls are not the polished FPS quality we're accustomed to, it was probably made that way for a reason (exception being indie titles where the ability to make it the quality it should be just wasn't able to be obtained).

Point being, sometimes it is more important to look at a game for its pure content and ability to "scare" and completely involve your senses rather than Judging-A-Game-By-Its-Controller. With the new wave of games that don't even include combat, horror games have followed suit. In fact, if you followed close enough, the horror game industry has had combat-less games for a while (some supplement combat for their own version, infusing horror with the action)...and, let me tell you, they are not to be taken lightly. Now, if you look at the game I just linked in this past sentence, you'll see a review bashing graphical quality and controls but it fails to mention how they're perfect ambiance for the type of culture this game intends to place you into. The controls it throws at you make for an experience that cause for pulse-quickening action that leaves you audibly saying "PHEW!" upon surviving a chase. Other games come to mind that have been nearly ruined because of reviewers hating on its outer appearance instead of its true ability to scare the pants off of you and leave you breathless.

This post comes after just beating the game Outlast, which I can't recommend highly enough to those who want an experience that keeps fists clenched and hearts racing for hours on end. An indie gem that says your options are "Run, Hide or Die" and requires night-vision in the majority of area to even see where to go and the only type of "ammo" or "health" are batteries to keep that night vision at the ready. Study patterns, find hiding places, discovery mysteries and do it all with decent controls.