Far Cry 4

I am not a Far Cry fan. That doesn’t mean I dislike the series, it just means that I haven’t played the series. Far Cry 4 is my real introduction to the series. I do have the original and second in my Steam library with a total of 20 minutes spent between the two but other than that I went into this one completely ignorant of any storyline.

My initial impression of Far Cry 4 was good, I liked the way it started and it set the stage for me to want to know what is going on. But my exploration was short-lived since as soon as you gain control, you are thrust back into a cut scene and the story is laid out in front of you. The game actually lays out the story better than most other games at first. It’s a shame that after the first few story missions you are left thinking, “Why the hell am I doing any of this?”. The game also doesn’t do a great job of telling you that you HAVE to do some side missions to keep the story moving. I ran out of story missions and wandered around for over an hour before figuring that out.

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January 15, 2015
by supergoat

Venetica – Throw Back Thursday

Today we are throwing it back to 2009 and looking at Venetica. A 3rd Person Hack-n-slash RPG by Deck13 Interactive, one of the studios also behind Lords of the Fallen. Haven’t heard of it? That’s no surprise. The game received average reviews at best overall and based on the price cuts shortly after release I can’t imagine it sold well; having a female only protagonist also didn’t help which I find to be absurd but that’s the way things go unfortunately. Even the PC version now has no kind of key code or activation, that’s basically the developer going “Yup, it’s a game.” and just throwing it out there.

I, however, feel it’s one of the few hidden gems out there that hasn’t received much coverage. And that’s a shame. This is a great title that can be bought for very little cash nowadays. So first off, basic story is basic as they say. You play Scarlett who is the only one in a small village without any family aside from a half-brother. The village is attacked by assassins that are looking for her. She survives the attack and then it’s up to her to hunt them down for killing her lover. As it turns out the only way to exact revenge is by using a special sword called a Moonblade. Scarlett, of course, is the only one that can locate and use the blade making her the hero by default.

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January 6, 2015
by supergoat

Call of Duty Ghosts

I’m on the delayed plan when it comes to Call of Duty. I don’t play the multiplayer so paying full price for a five hour campaign does not seem worth it to me but after a few price cuts, and a sale, the price finally fell in line…usually once the new one comes out. So I can’t wait to play Advanced Warfare next year!

For a series that’s known more for its multiplayer, I always have a good time with the campaign. It’s a shame that many people never even play it. Every single Call of Duty campaign I’ve played has been entertaining in some way. They later games seem to cram in a lot of different game styles, like a sample platter of the things you can do in multiplayer, into the campaign in a way that usually works seamlessly. It’s nice to break things up.

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January 2, 2015
by supergoat

Bound by Flame

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Bound by Flame once I started it up. I am playing the PC version and after some issues getting everything working it’s running quite well. However I have to disconnect my mouse in order to use my gamepad. It’s a known issue with the game. Research showed it was an issue with Logitech wireless mice and the game. So I bought a Microsoft wireless mouse, same issue. That’s an annoying issue that many have experienced, how it has not been fixed is beyond me. But aside from that, it’s been a smooth experience.

Once in the game the first thing I noticed was the visuals. I was expecting more I think for a game that was also released on the PS4 and XBone. Granted it was also released on PS3 and 360 so the visuals probably came under some kind of compromise. They do the job but look like they’d be at home on last gen consoles…near the beginning of release. I only mention this because of how jarring it was considering when the game came out. However the art style is fine. People have compared it to Borderlands, I guess I can see that but it’s a bit of a stretch.

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December 27, 2014
by supergoat

Ryse: Son of Rome

Ryse was recently released for PC and I got my hands on a copy, or rather my PC got it’s hard drive on a download…or whatever. Either way we got it, and I’ve been playing a lot of it. It’s still the only game that I wanted from the Xbox One lineup and almost bought an XBone just to get it. Luckily I found it was released on PC and Steam had it on sale for $19. Score! I’ll still pick up an XBone when Halo 5 releases I’m sure.

It runs very well to my surprise. PC ports are usually not optimized the best but this runs well on my system which has a AMD Phenom II x4 945 running at 3.3Ghz, 8GB of DDR3 and the GTX 750ti SC video card that was featured in the install video about a month back. Not a major powerhouse compared to what’s out there, but more than enough to keep up with the latest games at very playable resolutions and frame rates. I did notice some frame rate issues at first but a few helpful guides on the internet had that sorted quickly.
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December 19, 2014
by supergoat

Top Five Games of 2014

The Daily Goat Show’s
Top Five Games of the 2014

So before we get into it, let’s talk about why I chose these five games. It’s easy really. They may not be the best games of 2014 to everyone but when I laid out all the games released this year that I’ve played, and that’s a lot of games, these were the five that stood out to me. They stood out because they left the most lasting impression on me, when I started writing about all the games, these five had me on a roll, reliving my experiences and feelings I had when I played them.

So whether or not these are the five I had the most fun with, these are the ones that had the biggest impact on me as a gamer. And that’s fair enough.

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December 16, 2014
by supergoat

Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor

EDIT: Ok, changing this to Reluctantly Recommended. While I stand by everything I wrote I can’t stop playing the game. It has the “Destiny” effect. It’s not a great game but you keep playing it. I will say that the main missions are fun, but the side stuff (Warchiefs included) that you have to do to unlock missions still feels like work and the cheapness of the encounters are still very prevalent. So be warned.

I really want to like this game. It’s pretty, it’s a big title, it’s got swords, I paid $30 for it…but I don’t. I’m sure people that are heavily invested into the lore of Middle Earth may really like it, but I can’t find any fun in this title. The combat is repetitive, VERY repetitive. I realize all games are but the sheer number of enemies this game throws at you making you mash the same two buttons over and over to win a battle after you’ve already grown bored of it is just stupid.

That’s my main issue with this game. There is something here that is good. Like Batman meets Assassin Creed. It has the makings of a great title. But it ruins the experience with the combat. It’s the same combat system used in the recent Batman games but Batman knew how to make it fun. You were never overwhelmed with enemies around every corner, but in Shadow of Mordor it seems every fight is a test of patience. Add to that, every one of your enemies seems to have a lot more health than you do which just adds time to an already uninspired battle.

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December 8, 2014
by supergoat

South Park: The Stick of Truth

I recently purchased this on a Steam sale and let it sit in my library for a bit. I decided to jump in. Hours later and I had to force myself to put it down and type this. I could not be more impressed by what the guys and gals over at Obsidian Entertainment did with the license. It really does feel like you are playing an episode of the show.

It picks up right where the Black Friday Trilogy ended. You don’t need to have watch the shows to understand the game but they are very entertaining so I’d recommended it regardless. In fact if you are a fan of the show you will be treated to almost non-stop fan service. There is such a history surrounding this show that it has a virtually bottomless bag of references to pull from. Continue reading →

November 19, 2014
by supergoat

Dragon Age Inquisition – First Day Impressions

It’s finally here! I purposely avoided any reviews, previews and screenshots of the game. I was very excited for it to come out and with high profile games I prefer to avoid any “contact” with it until I pop it into my console so I can experience it all at once. I don’t know why I do that, but I do.

It’s been a while since I played a Dragon Age game. In fact I didn’t play Origins until Dragon Age 2 came out. So, hearing good things, I bought Origins, Awakening and “2” all at the same time and binge gamed my way through them. It was a good time and I got fully immersed in the world. That was, however, long enough ago that I’ve forgotten most of it so Inquisition really is a new experience for me. Though, some of what they reference from the previous games seems…familiar at least.

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November 7, 2014
by supergoat

Spec Ops: The Line: Recommended

I just finished playing through this game and have mixed feelings overall about it, but at the end of the day I did have fun. A large portion of my enjoyment came from the gunplay which reminded me a lot of Army of Two, and that is never a bad thing.

You play the role of a soldier that turns the mission into a personal vendetta deep in the sands of Dubai. During the game you get to see what that means and how your choices play out. The mechanic of making choices in games are seldom done with major consequences and Spec Ops is no different but at least it seems like it makes an impact on the ending, I didn’t play a second time to find out. But it adds a little something extra.

The graphics do the job and the sand that flies in the air during sand storms or when a grenade explodes looks fine. There are a few times when you can bury your enemies in a ton of sand by shooting out windows but this is never fully realized as a common strategy during the game. The game looks good and the overall atmosphere is successful at setting the tone of the game.
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November 6, 2014
by supergoat

Lords of the Fallen

First thing’s first. Like other reviews, mentions of Dark Souls will be made. The game does stand on it’s own merits but comparing it to From Software’s game helps put some things into perspective; we will keep them to a minimum if possible. So with that said, do we recommend Lord’s of the Fallen? Well here we go!

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October 22, 2014
by supergoat

Destined to be Alone: Day Four, Final Impressions and Review

Late but it’s done. This segment I meant. Day Four is here and I won! I finished Mars and hit level 20 to start a new saga on my journey to… well, be better at Destiny.

Look at that thang!

I was taken back the first time I saw the Cabal. They were nothing like the previous enemies. Big, huge space marine type enemies. They fell easy enough, but posed a challenge once I started fighting Centurions. Continue reading →

October 17, 2014
by supergoat

The Evil Within: First Impressions

I finally got a chance this week to sit down with The Evil Within from Tango Gameworks. I spent a good hour and a half with it and went through a rollercoaster of emotions as I played it. They were not the emotions you may think. The game didn’t scare me at all so far. I went from excited anticipation, elation, disappointment, eye-rolling, perseverance and finally relief once I saw what the game will actually be like. Continue reading →

September 18, 2014
by supergoat

SMTP: Killzone Shadow Fall

Killzone is a strong brand in the PlayStation universe. It was a huge system seller when Killzone 2 came out for the PS3. I was expecting the same excitement for Shadow Fall. It’s been argued that Shadow Fall is not really a sequel as it’s not a numbered entry in the series and I get that. However, there is an expectation for this brand, especially if it’s going to be a launch title. This title was one of their arguments for getting a PS4 over the XBone right?

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