Key

Seeing as almost everybody will be doing a theme of some sort during the month of October, I figured I'd do one as well, but I'm going to do mine a month early. Why you ask? Well, no reason. I just really want to do a whole month talking about horror games and I don't think I can wait until October to do it. So I figured if I do it a month early, it'll be good for everyone, especially me. I'm going to be doing multiple things during this month, so i'm sure there will be something for everyone to dip their fingers into. So get excited, because it's starting on the 1st of September. I don't know what i'll be doing for the month of October, maybe more horror video games if I haven't had enough in September. We'll see.

Key

Seems to be an ongoing theme this week. I haven't really been talking about video games as a whole this week, but I feel like it's a nice change of pace to talk about something a little different, to sort of spice things up a bit. So, once again, I have an artist that produces videos on Youtube that relate to both music and video games, and naturally, I have to talk about it. So here we go.

His name on Youtube is VGDrumCovers. Now i'm sure you can figure it out by the name alone, but this guy makes drum covers to video game music. Most of the videos I've watched of his have been "old school" video games like the original Pokemon games or Metroid, or Legend of Zelda, and I imagine he's just going to keep it that way. I find this type of stuff really neat for two reasons. One, it kind of adds a little spice to an already somewhat well known genre of music that some people wouldn't really consider a genre at all. It's video game music, it's a genre, get used to it. And two, the guy genuinely has some talent. Not only are they drum covers, but he's pretty amazing at the drums in his own right, and he's just using that talent to produce some pretty badass sounding covers. One in particular being a drum cover of the original Pokemon battle theme:



Not only does he have the original song playing in the background (which is just amazing in it's own right), he plays the drums over the track and makes a sound so unique and awesome that you can't help but like the video right away. Also, his killer mustache is just...killer.

On top of that, he does probably one of my favorite songs in any Pokemon game, a drum cover for the Champion Lance battle in Pokemon Gold/Silver. As a kid, I absolutely loved this song, and when I got good enough, I loved going to Lance and just having the song play as long as possible. The drum cover for this just makes it sound so much better and cooler and the guy is seriously talented and it's evident in this cover:



From what I can tell, this guy takes requests, and some people have requested some really cool stuff. I'm excited to see what he does next over the coming weeks and perhaps there'll be a part II for this post. But for now, i'll just leave you with his drum cover of the Fairy fountain song from LoZ. Enjoy:

Key

MORE SCREENSHOTS!!!

Something i've noticed as I do this post is the amount of times I decide that something is worth a screenshot. Something else I notice is how many freaking times I decide to take a screenshot of something. The things I take screenshots of when playing a game could literally be of nothing, and I'd somehow find a way to make it interesting. So let's look at some screenshots:


Typical day in Team Fortress 2

At the time of taking this screenshot, I think I was both under the influence of alcohol and it was late at night, resulting in poor judgement in regards to my gameplay habits in Team Fortress 2. Although, if most people know TF2 for what it is, the way I was playing the game this way isn't too weird. I was on one of the new maps for the Gun Mettle update trying to complete a Demoman contract. I decided that instead of bothering to defend the base from the BLU team, I figured...why not start a conga line at mid. The image above is the result at my attempt at making the game a little bit more interesting. I'm honestly convinced that the conga line emote is the best emote in TF2, especially since other people can join off your konga line and you can just have an entire team of RED or BLU just conga lining throughout the entire map. Is it productive? Hell no. But then again, if you want productivity, go to CS:GO.


Upon discovering a house...

I was wandering around in Fallout 3 when I stumble upon a house in the Arlington Cemetery of all places. Out of curiosity, I decide to go inside the house only to find what seems to be just a normal abandoned house, or so I thought. I looked around the upstairs, the main floor, and then I realized there was an entrance to a cellar / basement. Me being me, I decide to go down there with my gun ready to fire in case anything decides to jump out at me, and instead I find what is displayed above. I can only assume that the person who owned this house had some strange infatuation with Abraham Lincoln. Keep in mind, I haven't really looked into the lore of this game, so my assumption could be completely off. I just thought it was interesting enough to take a screenshot, so there you go.

Last but not least:


Playing a challenge, when I figure something out...

I was doing a challenge on BoI: Rebirth when I run into Tammy's head. If you don't know what Tammy's head does, here's a small snippet from their wiki so that you're not super confused throughout this description:

Anyway, I was curious, because in the challenge I was trying to completely, my tears were bombs. So, if Tammys head works with whatever your tears are, maybe it'll work for this one as well. (and yes, it works for brimstone, and it's ****ing OP as ****). I come to find out that it indeed does work when bombs are your tears. Unfortunately me being the careless man that I am, I decide to hurt myself nonstop with this wonderfully scary ability that I just couldn't stop using every room. Have I learned from this mistake? Maybe not, but hell, it's pretty damn cool.

Black Francis

Gotta love that kick drum, he's a good drummer and like him there are tons of musicians on youtube covering retro videogame songs and most of them are pretty damn good.

All of them cover the fairy fountain tune too, but hey, who can blame them? that's a great song.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Key

Yeah, i've been looking at a lot others and most of the time they're pretty cool. I just love the style of taking old songs and turning them into some fresh and new.

The Batlord

You need ta fix yo' gun, son.

__________________

Key

Something I have noticed about myself when playing video games is that my overall opinion on certain types of genres change drastically as I play those genres of games more. Some would say that's an obvious change and it's meant to happen because i'm growing to appreciate what the genre holds, and others would say differently. I want to talk about a "genre" of gaming that i've been really latched onto over the last year or so.

I'm sure there are people who are familiar with the term "top down camera". If you're not familiar with it, basically it just means that in the game you're playing, instead of your camera sitting behind your character or in a 2D fashion, it sits above your character and it moves along with your character from above. There are a lot of pros and cons that go along with this type of perspective, but it's really been one that I seem to have latched onto much more than I have with any other genres before. From recent memory, I think what really pushed me to appreciate a game in this perspective was Torchlight II. On my first post in this journal actually, I did talk about Torchlight II, in fact, I even said in the first sentence of that post that I wasn't a big fan of the top down POV that the game revolved around, but obviously things have changed since then and it's become one of my favorite games of all time. If you're still not familiar with what i'm talking about, the Diablo series shares this same concept in terms of top down POV, more specifically Diablo II and Diablo III. Honestly, the only reason i'm talking about those two specifically is because I've played a few hours of Diablo II and have seen gameplay of Diablo III, and both do a fantastic job at showcasing what the top down POV can really offer.

Now, there are obviously some cons to playing games with this sort of POV, and i'm sure some of those cons are obvious just based on my description of the POV itself, but i'll talk about some anyway. First and foremost, if you're used to being able to see in front of you at all times and figure out where you're going based on the environment around you alone, you're in for a bad time. The games that offer this sort of POV have a sense of mystery as you progress through the map. You can't see what is in front of you, and you can't see what's behind you. In my opinion though, it kind of makes things a bit more exciting, especially if there's a boss monster ahead of you. Not being able to see the boss monster in advance adds a bit of difficult to the game and I think that's a great way for people to kind of prepare themselves for the worst even if the worst isn't going to show up. It's honestly just one of those things you'll get used to the more you play these type of games because it really ends up being more fun than difficult, at least in my experience. Another con about this type of game is that most of the time with top down POV games, they're very click intensive. Some games do a fantastic job at finding a balance between using the POV and making sure the combat is easy enough to wrap your head around so that you're not struggling to press buttons just to unleash a few attacks. Torchlight series has done a fantastic job at finding that balance because the combat in those games is nearly flawless. Games like Dungeon Siege however are more revolved around technical combat, but still...it's not so much that it's not balanced. I can't really remember playing a game where the combat was necessarily bad or unplayable in this type of game, but i'm sure there are some out there.

Now, I guess I could talk about a game that I don't think i've talked about in this journal before, but i'd have to check.


How To Survive

How To Survive is in basic terms, a top down perspective zombie survival horror game. Now I know what you're thinking..."great, another zombie survival horror game". Well, yeah, it is exactly that, but from my experience with this game, it was actually done quite well that everything seemed to fit together and the gameplay experience was fantastic. You basically wake up stranded and you have to learn how to survive. Everything from the combat, to the story, to the quests, and even the crafting are done in a way where it's simple to learn it, and worthwile to master it. It's been a while since I've played this game because I think around this time, I was also getting into Torchlight II and that game took precedent for probably obvious reasons. I wouldn't say How To Survive is my go to game for this type of genre or gameplay style, and I wouldn't say it's one of the best games I've ever played, but it's up there in being a game that I enjoy playing when I'm in the mood for it.

Ok fine, i'll talk about another game i've been playing...


Dungeon Siege III

Dungeon Siege III is of course the 3rd in the line of the Dungeon Siege series. If you couldn't figure that out on your own, there's something wrong with you. Anyway, I picked up the 3 games for a total of 5$ on Steam, and although I was more excited about playing the first one mostly due to nostalgia, I actually found myself latching onto the 3rd game much more than the other two, so much that I decided to not even bother finishing the installation of the other two. This game has a few things that I don't like, but a lot that I do like. First off, I don't really like how the HUD is set up, more specifically where the character info is displayed. I have to be fair though since this game was released a few years ago and game developers didn't really know any better, but it just looks like this game's HUD could have been made in the DOOM era and it still would have fit. Honestly, that's really my only gripe about the game so far because everything else just feels really good and strong. I've talked about this game in the "What Game Are You Playing Right Now?" thread so if you'd like to see what else i've said, you can head over there, I just figured i'd mention it here for ol' times sake.

Anyway, those are my thoughts and games on the top down perspective of gaming. I honestly think that right now, this type of genre is incredible underrated. I know that there are older retro games that use this type of perspective like the Pokemon games or things like that, but with the ability to make a game in this perspective with the graphics styles of games of the current era, I really think there's a lot of potential to make an amazing game that uses this type of perspective. *hint hint* Torchlight III.

Key

Rocket League has been sitting on my wishlist for a while now and last night, I finally decided to go ahead and buy it. At first, spending $20 on a game that I've only really seen played through videos and streams seemed a bit off, but I trusted my instincts, and thank god I did. Upon buying it, it actually downloaded / installed fairly quickly. It's surprisingly not a huge game file so that was pretty nice. I asked a friend of mine if he was interested in playing since he had the game but had never played it either, and we ended up playing for four straight hours. It's not been a long time since I found a game where I can just play non stop and not get bored, but it's nice to find those games when they come around. Before purchasing this game, as I said, I've been watching a lot of videos on it and a lot of my favorite streamers play this game addictively. Upon playing it myself, I can understand the addiction as I feel like i'm already starting to get to that point. I mean, I woke up this morning and first thing on my mind was Rocket League.

So you may be asking yourself, "what is Rocket League?" Well it's actually a lot more simple than you think. It's a competitive sports game, along the lines of soccer, but instead of humans, you play as cars. The matches can go from 2v2, to 3v3, to 4v4 and you can get matched up with people of the rookie rank, all the way up to Pro and even higher than that. You basically are trying your best to get the ball in the opposite teams goal to get the points, however, doing that is a much more difficult task than it sounds. You have the ability to boost, jump, double jump, crash into other cars to blow them up, and drive on walls. From the games that i've played so far, the gameplay is a mixture of intense, friendly, competitive, and satisfying all at the same time. So far, the people that i've played with online seem really friendly and a lot of them are just starting up just like I am. The learning aspect of the game is really neat as well. When I first started playing, I was going up against rookies and semi-pro's, but after like an hour of playing, I was starting to get used to the controls more and was able to land some pretty good aerial shots and wall jumps to aerial shots. Probably the most satisfying thing about the game and seeing the open ball, going for a boost, and hitting it right into the goal. Unfortunately, there are times where you'll play against a team that has a strong defense, and you'll get the open ball, the boost, and the ball goes towards the goal, and it gets blocked. So if you're worried about not being good at this game, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just grab a friend, play for like an hour, and you'll be playing like a pro in no time. I've gotten MVP in the servers that i've played on multiple times, and it feels awesome.

Something else I really really like about the game is how it can be competitive, but I don't seem to lose my temper too much. Usually with competitive games, like CS:GO or even Team Fortress 2, i'll end up getting frustrated because of how bad i'm doing that round and i'll rage quit or just play something else. In Rocket League however, I don't get frustrated even if I miss a shot, or the opposite team gets the shot, because it's all a learning thing. I don't mind admitting in game when the opposite team had the perfect opportunity for a shot, and succeeded at it. There have been times where I was caught off guard by the opposite team just based on the fact that they set up a perfect shot and went for it. That has happened to me a few times as well, especially since I was playing with a friend. We were talking over Skype and would let the other person know when we'd pass it or when we'd be setting up a good shot, and 90% of the time, it'd work out. The only time it wouldn't work out is when the opposite team sees through our plan and stops it. Like I said though, the more you play, the more you learn, and that's part of the fun. I actually see myself getting better every time I play.

As far as the community goes, from my experience, it seems really strong. Everybody seems to understand what it's like for new people to play the game, so even if you're on a server of pro's, they don't make you feel like a noob. I was in a server last night and I actually had a few guys show me a few tricks that have actually helped me get better in the long run. I think it's a mutual understand that the game isn't based on luck, but it's more based on the skill you learn the more you play. Granted, i've seen some streamers play this and I don't think i'll ever get to the skill level that those guys are at. Perhaps in time it may happen, but not anytime soon. It's a fun game though, and i'm surprised I didn't pick it up sooner. I was always excited to watch people play it but for some time, it just didn't seem like my kind of game. Now I know that it most certainly is my kind of game.

One more thing, make sure you have a PC controller or if you're playing on PS4, don't worry about it. I haven't really bothered looking at the controls for a keyboard and mouse, but I can't imagine it's easier than using a controller. There's only a few controls that are really helpful in game, and having a controller with the buttons being so close together actually help out a ton. But, if you'd rather play with a keyboard and mouse, that's fine too. I haven't done it, and I don't really know anybody who does do it, but to each their own. Make sure you're ready for your thumbs to hurt though, because they will.

Anyway, great game. If I haven't convinced you to play it for yourself, well I did my best. But it's certainly a game you want to try out if you're interested, and if you want someone to play with, i'm totally down to start an MB Rocket League club or something like that.

Key

I don't think I've had many experiences this year in gaming where I have said "yep, this game is definitely the best release this year" until I started playing Rocket League. Sure, the year isn't over yet, and there's still a lot of potential for great games, some that I'm looking forward to even. I'm not saying this year has been bad for gaming, I'm just saying there's not been a LOT of games that I've played that just blew me away from the get-go. Again, that's not to say none have, some definitely have. But I digress. I want to talk about Rocket League some more because I feel like I touched on some things in my previous post, but I didn't talk about the things that really make it special. They're small things of course, but they still help to make the game what it is. But first and foremost, i'm sure you're probably interested, here are my current stats as of today:



I'm not ashamed of the fact that I'm hopelessly addicted to this game, and I'm glad that my current stats prove that. I've gotten a pretty good win percentage coming in at 51.6%. I guess that means i'm winning more than half the games that I play at the moment, which to me is pretty impressive. It's also no surprise that i'm coming in on 130 matches played. The 20 hours that I have clocked in on this game already are pretty much proven. So, I won't say these are impressive stats by any means, but I like looking at them from time to time to make sure i'm doing good, and getting better for that matter.

Another thing I'd like to talk about is the soundtrack, and boy oh boy what a soundtrack it is. From the minute you start up the game, you hear some fantastic music playing at the menu screen, and sometimes during the replay sections of matches, but there's not a whole lot of music playing while you play, which is actually pretty nice, because it creates a much more competitive atmosphere when you can listen to the crowd cheering you on as you make some impressive shots. Anyway, here's one of my favorite songs off the soundtrack:



Out of all the tracks on the OST, this one just sticks out to me. It's super catchy, and fun to listen to. Then again, the entire OST is that way, so there's no way you can go wrong.

So yeah, that's just a few things I wanted to talk about. Small post, but there's more to come in the coming weeks. The addiction is real, now back to more Rocket League.

Key

I haven't done one of these in a while, and boy do I have some good ones.


Dungeons 2

I tried this game out because a friend of mine said that it'd be fun to do multiplayer on it. However, upon buying it, he wasn't really interested in the multiplayer at all, and it started collecting dust in my steam library. I was curious to see what the campaign would be like, and although this game has it's strong points, there is just so much going on that it just doesn't feel right. It's pretty much an RTS but the kicker is that you have to manage your base and fight in two completely separate screens, as opposed to RTS games like Warcraft and Starcraft where everything is on the same screen. Like I said, it's got some strong points, like the dialogue and the graphics, but mechanically it just falls short and requires too much to really get into it. I was able to get a full refund and will probably not touch this game again.


Starbound

Starbound was to put it simple, one of the most disappointing purchases i've ever made. This is a game that looked, felt, and had the potential to be one of my favorite games of all time. Unfortunately, not only was it difficult to get into the first time, the second time just felt a little odd. At some points, it just felt like there was nothing going on, and at other points it just felt like a direct Terraria clone, which is fine in it's own right, but not fine if you're wanting something different. I don't think i'll ever go back to this one ever since I got back into Terraria, and I'd much rather play that game anyway.


Farming Simulator '15

Yeah yeah I know, what was I expecting right? Well i'll tell you. I've seen people play Euro Truck Simulator and it just looked so relaxing and easy to just chill and relax so I figured instead, i'd try something that also looked as relaxing and easy to just chill, unfortunately Farming Simulator '15 didn't really do that. Hell, I still think it's a great game and I would certainly play it more but there's just no sense of progression and half the time, it's really just straight up boring. At least with Euro Truck Simulator, you get to at least experience the life of a truck driver on the road, not really the same thing with farming I suppose. I don't really regret buying it because it has it's charm, but like many games, it just falls a little bit thin.