Uncle Al's Totally Awesome Geek Out Extravaganza

Late To The Party Review: Destiny and DLC

2015-06-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge fan of first-person shooters. I've never played Halo or Call of Duty or any of the others. They generally don't appeal to me.

I got this one on a whim when my wife said "pick out a game you want for Christmas". And I don't regret it.

The premise of Destiny is pretty basic. Shoot everything. The End. There is a storyline you can play, and the two DLC packs that are out so far add to that a little, but neither the original or the DLCs give you a huge story to play. I was really disappointed in that.

But the "magic" happens in "The Crucible". This is a multiplayer area with differing scenarios to play and shoot the avatars of other real people playing on the Internet.

And that's really all there is to say about it. I could give you the long backstories of the NPC classes, but basically it's all about shoot or be shot.

But why am I still playing it 6 months later, so much so that I even got the DLCs? What is it about this game that makes it hard to quit, even when I am probably ranked the lowest of all players everywhere in the multi-player games?

I don't really know. It's either subliminal messages flashing on the screen that keep me addicted or just the sheer satisfaction of blasting the flerp out of things.

I think it's the latter. There's just something very satisfying of hitting a monster with a headshot and having him burst into flame, or playing against a real person and hitting them just right with a grenade and sending his body flying off a cliff. It's the moments of "OOO! Dang that had to hurt!" that makes this game hard to quit, even when you're really really bad at it.

Would I recommend it? Well... if you really like first person shooters and you get it on sale... sure. For anyone that isn't really into first person shooter... maybe. You might find it as addictive as I do. But then again, if you prefer story driven games like Skyrim or Mass Effect, then this might not be the game for you.

Overall rating: "BOOM! OOO! Yeah, baby! I'm taking this area back!"

Late to the Party Review: Mass Effect Trilogy - Original (or WHAT DID YOU MAKE ME DO???? AAAAAAAA!!!!)

2015-02-24T13:47:00.001-08:00

Greetings follower. All one of you. I'm sorry this blog hasn't been very active. You see, after my last review, and the comments I got on it, I had the idea to review the entire Mass Effect trilogy, which I had recently acquired for 5 bucks (yes, for the whole she-bang, including most of the DLC) for my PS3.

I had played through the first two on pc a while back, so I had an idea of how much time it would take, but once I got back into it, playing Shepherd again, putting myself into that world, and then playing it through to the end... yea, I probably should have taken time to do something else. Like eat. Shower. Pay attention to my children. Pay the electric bill...

First off, lets answer a question. Would you like Mass Effect and would it be worth picking up out of the bargain bin or from the PSN store (or whatever the xbox equivalent is that I don't know because I don't have one)?

Mass effect is first and foremost an RPG. But it's also a third person shooter. But it also involves a good bit of strategy and team mechanics. Decisions you make ripple through each game, but also through the entire series (if you carry your character from one game to the next). It's rich, it's deep, it's cinematic, it's got lots of curvy girls and studly guys. There's romance, there's action, there's lots and lots of shooting and explosions.....

So yes, you would like Mass Effect. It's got something for everyone. In fact, I would venture to say, in my opinion, that is is very nearly the perfect game series. Yes, I said perfect. Nearly. (More on that later).

I give it 4.95 out of 5 pots of coffee that you will want to drink each time you boot it up because you'll want to keep playing.

******SPOILER ALERT*******
The following section will contain spoilers. If you're OK with that, proceed.

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I have to give that alert because it's impossible to talk about the plot, the characters, the setting, any of it without spoiling some part of it.

I'm going to share my experience with the series on my most recent play-through. Given the multitude of choices, you results may, and most certainly will, vary. There are situations and characters that I didn't even encounter because of the choices I made in my character and in gameplay.

Immersion begins from the very beginning of the first game. Once you get past the title screen and start a new career, a computer voice comes on and asks you to connect to the top secret data base. I love that. It pulls you right in from the start.

From there you're going to create your version of Commander Shepard. And I suggest you spend a lot of time on this. Really customize the character. Go into custom and really do it up. I love, too that you can choose to play a female character. My daughters went nuts over that option!

Every choice you make here will ripple through the game and the series. So choose carefully, or with wild abandon. Either way the experience is worth it. Take the time and enjoy the creation process. You are limited to some presets, but taking time with the process will be well worth it later on.

Set your difficulty level and a few other settings and then you're off. Your story is told right from the start. The voice over starts and off you go.

I love the over-arching story of Mass Effect. Alien races built technology that allows all alien races and humans to be connected and travel quickly between worlds. But at what cost? There are still petty thieves and arguments between people and races and grand attempts at grabbing power.

But there is also romance and friendships.

Game play is very unique - at least in my experience. It's a combination of RPG and third person shooter. Over all it's very immersive. You connect immediately with your Commander Shepard. All conversations give you different options on how to respond, and every choice you make generates a different response from those around you.

And the story unfolds based on those decisions.

My favorite, and least favorite from an emotional standpoint, part of the games is the choices you have to make. At first the conversations can be kind of boring, especially if you've played the game before, but as the story unfolds you will eventually find yourself having to make difficult choices.

This is a huge spoiler, but let me share it. There's a point in the third game where you must make a choice between one action and another. Either choice will result in the extinction of an entire race. But you don't know that at the time. It's not until the choice is made that you realize what you've done. And depending on how your character has evolved, and your emotional investment, the choice can be devastating. I literally had to stop playing and I honestly felt I a sense of loss and mourning. I had to stop playing for several days and grieve.

That's what makes this game series amazing. "WHAT DID YOU MAKE ME DO???!!!???" I found myself saying that more than once.

As you play you have several opportunities to distinguish yourself as a Paragon or a Renegade. Or somewhere in the middle. As you earn points toward one or the other, different dialog options are unlocked and later taking certain Paragon or Renegade actions have an effect on the story. In the second game it can even affect your characters appearance.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the games is the romance subplot(s). By the third game you can even have full-blown same-sex relationships. A very bold move by the game designers and, in my opinion, one of the more important things that has happened to gaming since it's inception. I applaud the designers bravery. Of course the choice of who to date, or not date, is entirely up to you, the player and you are not forced in one direction or the other, or really any direction. While adding to the realism and the immersiveness of the game, the relationships don't significantly impact the main plot line. (The actual romantic encounters are very G rated, well, PG, but very tame and safe for most audiences.)

If you've read this far you are braving the chance that I will drop some spoilers, so let me warn you one last time. I am about to drop the biggest spoiler. Since the game has been around for a while, and this issue has been discussed elsewhere, I feel pretty safe talking about it now.

The ending of game three.

Yes. The big, bad, controversial end of the trilogy.

All the game play, all the hours playing, all adventures and guns and bullets and everything, comes down to the final chapter of the final game.

And in my opinion it SUCKS!

It's the Matrix choice. Almost literally. Red or Blue.

That's it. That's the last thing you do in the series. You got through an entire galactic war to make a choice between red or blue. And neither choice is all that satisfying in the end.

But does that change my opinion of the overall series? Not at all. It is still worth it. Every bit of it. Even right up to that horrible end.

And it's worth playing again and again. As I write this, I am starting a new character in game one. A female Commander Shepard this time. A soldier (my favorite "class" if you will, is the Infiltrator - loves me a good sniper rifle) I haven't played this class yet and I'm wondering how gameplay will go without the tech or biotic abilities.

So go get it! Fire it up! Obviously I haven't covered nearly everything in the blog post. There's a multiplayer option in game three that I have no idea if it's worth trying or not, because I haven't tried it. And the differing combinations of character and class and weapons and choices makes it impossible to cover even a sliver of the game series. All I can say is it is one of the best gaming experiences I have had.

Late to the Party Review - Borderlands 2 and DLC

2014-07-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer - This game is huge. Massive. If you consider all combinations of characters and weapons and playing styles, it's sort of infinite. Or nearly so. My review is about my experience with the base game and SOME of the DLC. Your experience may, and probably will, vary.

So there I was, left for dead in a frozen wasteland...

And then Bullymongs! Marauders! Psychos! Loot! And lots and lots and lots of bullets!

I never liked first person shooter games, until I played the original Borderlands, which was GREAT, and then I got Borderlands 2....

Ermagehrd this game is AMAZING! It may be the perfect gaming experience. I have completed the main campaign story twice and am in the process of playing a third time with one of the add-on characters. Each time I find some new trick or bit of humor or something that totally makes it worth it.

It is kind of a bloody-gory game, though you can tone down the blood in the settings. And the humor can be raunchy at times - really rauchy. But the humor is what makes this such a great gaming experience. The graphics are in sort of a comic/graphic novel sort of style and the physics are sort of real+super power lite (you can jump off a cliff and suffer no damage) and the explosions - so many explosions!

When I started writing this post, Borderlands 2 was still free to Playstation network members. I don't know if it still is, but even at full price it is worth it.

Late To The Party Review: Tomb Raider (2013) - PS3

2014-06-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

I am poor. I'm a dad who has 8 kids (currently 6 at home plus a grand kid) and I am really really poor. As such, I don't get to play games when they come out. I have to wait for them to go on sale. Or in this case, free on the Playstation Network giveaways.

But I finally did get to play it, about a year late, and finished it about a year later than everyone else that played it.

So I welcome you to a new feature here on the Geek Out: Late to the Party Reviews. In these reviews I will share with you games that are now probably on sale and let you know if it's worth spending the (great reduced) retail price. Yea, I know that you've probably already read a lot of reviews and know what there is to know, but you never know when I'm going to say something amazingly profound, insightful, or at least kind of funny.

So without further ado, I bring you Tomb Raider - the Reboot (2013).

This is an attempt to restart the successful and long running Tomb Raider franchise. And by long running I mean REALLY long running! 18 years! Some of the games have been big hits, others have been terrible misses. I haven't played all of them, but I have played a few, most notably the Legend, Anniversary, Underworld trilogy. (Those and a few earlier games are available on Steam for $7-$9 each.) I must admit that I rage-quit Underworld because I could not figure out how to defeat a particular enemy, even after looking it up on YouTube, so I can't say that it was among my favorites, but Anniversary was really great as a remake.

I digress. This time we are talking about the newest title, simply called "Tomb Raider". This particular one is neither a remake, nor a sequel. It's a reboot.

Released March 5, 2013 by Square Enix, Tomb Raider tells a tale of the origin of the legend that has become Lara Croft. On an archeological expedition with some friends and her mentor, a teenage Lara and the others are shipwrecked on an mysterious island. She is confronted with dangers both natural and human.

Unlike other 'versions' of Lara, this teenager is very vulnerable, scared, and, in the beginning, unskilled. As she faces the challenges she develops the skills and character that we come to know and love in the other games.

Review:

I loved this game. It has all the elements that I like from the other games, the action, the gunplay, the side stories, and most of all, the puzzles. I would contend that the puzzling is what made the original a success and the sequels when they failed, that is where they failed.

This game is not for everyone. It is much grittier and gorier than previous versions. You will have to shoot a lot. A lot a lot. I can't even begin to guess at the final body count, but it had to be in the hundreds. And the death scenes, when you fail and get Lara killed, are pretty graphic. But it is also breathtakingly beautiful at times, the jungle terrain is well done, lush and seems very real at times.

But what about the puzzles? Well, I never had to cheat, so I liked that, but some might say that means they were too easy. And some where. Others took me a while to figure out. Others I didn't solve because they were part of the side quests that I didn't get back to.

My sale-bin score? B+. If you can find this game for $20 or less, it's well worth the price. It's not as 'epic' as you might remember the original, but taken on it's own merits it is worthy of the Tomb Raider title for the action and puzzling.

I saw today, in with all the other news from this year's E3, that the sequel is due out next year, tentatively titled "Rise of the Tomb Raider". It looks like a direct sequel, but the buzz is it will be Xbox only. Which torques me off, but we'll see.

Ps. I wrote this review before news of the latest shooting at a school in Oregon. On all my other blogs today I have been raging against gun violence and it seems illogical that I am giving a B+ to a game where, virtually, I shot hundreds of 'bad guys'. I am experiencing a great deal of cognitive dissonance in 'liking' this game and at the same time being angry that yet another kid was shot by yet another gun at yet another school.

So instead I will dedicate this post to all those who have suffered because of a gun brought to school. And say with all of you, please #NotOneMore.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

2014-05-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

First photo from 'Star Wars Episode VII' released as filming begins

Gilbert Gottfried Voices Our Favorite Games - Via Game Informer

2014-05-13T14:12:00.002-07:00

Gilbert Gottfried Voices Our Favorite Games

From Cracked - 5 Absurd Ways Comic Books Have Resurrected Dead Superheroes

2014-05-10T09:45:00.002-07:00

5 Absurd Ways Comic Books Have Resurrected Dead Superheroes

Our Theme Song

2014-05-09T21:38:00.002-07:00

Summer time gaming

2012-05-22T10:04:00.002-07:00

How do you handle summertime? Is it time to just cut loose and have a free-for-all on the games? For you and the kids?

I am a stay at home dad. I love games. Love. Games. If it were up to me, I would say "have at it kids! Go for broke! I'll leave Cheetos and Red Bull on the table for you! See you in August!"

But we can't do that. Too much of anything is too much. We still have laundry and dishes to do. And there is more to life than what's on the screen.

How much is too much?

The amount of time a child spends playing games is up to the parent. When I was a kid and my parents got me an Atari, I spent hours and hours and HOURS playing that dumb thing. That's not a criticism of my Mother, because she did encourage me to go outside. But later, when she was a single parent and I was a stubborn teenager, I pretty much ignored her.

I try to be much more involved in my kids' lives than my mother could be. I try to know what they are watching on TV, what games they are playing, and all that stuff. I do censor them a bit, but not in the sense of right and wrong, just what is age appropriate. I would not, for example, let my 4-year-old play Dead Space...

One thing I, as a geek dad, am trying to do this summer is find a project for all of us to work on. And since we all love games, we are going to create our own game.

Think about it, there is something for everyone of every age to do on a project like that. A story to write, characters to draw, weapons to design, rendering, coding... all kind of things! I'm really looking forward to it.

What are you doing with your gamer kids this summer? How much time will you spend playing? What else will you be doing?

Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative

2012-05-14T12:17:00.001-07:00

If you haven't played Portal or Portal 2, then I have to ask: What the what?

I'll spare you this history of the game, but the game itself is simple. It's like a first person shooter, but instead of a weapon, you have a gun that creates portals. When you walk through one, you come out the other. You are trapped inside this laboratory controlled by a computer that forces you to perform test after test.

Just last week Valve released a level editor for the PC version of Portal 2. This allows everyone to create their own levels. Even better, once you've created it everyone else who has the game can play the level you've created. As of this morning more than 50 thousand community created levels have been shared.

The great thing about the Portal games is they aren't bloody. Certainly your character can die, but the player isn't presented was blood and guts and dismemberment upon their character's demise. If one is shot by a turret, there is a bit of blood spatter on the wall, but it's not horrible. This makes the game pretty family friendly (I would recommend 10 or older).

And now with the level creator, it' makes it a family project. Already my teens and tweens are talking about this as a summer project for us, working together to create the ultimate set of levels, creating our own scenarios and stories to continue to story of the game that we all love so much.

Being a geek dad with geek kids is awesome.

You should see my Four-Year-Old play Minecraft...

2012-05-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

How young is too young to let your children play computer/video games?

As early as they can manage the controls.

I love games. All kinds.Thanks to Steam I have been able to get some great games I might not have played for only $5 or so. Both Bioshock games (that have been released so far), both Dead Space games, and the Half Life series. All really good games.

However, I am careful about which ones I let my children play. I won't let them play any of the above until I feel they are old enough to deal with some very horrifying scenes. All of these have a lot - a LOT - of blood. I seriously will not even give them the choice until they are at least 17.

But I do let them play. A lot. For every age range there are great games available. Even for the little guys.

My four year old loves Minecraft. Currently she plays the "old", single player version that is available for free on the official website. She amazes me with her creativity. She's built a castle with huge, high rising towers. She built a house out of sponge in case it floods. And she's dug great, elaborate, caverns "for animals to live in".

I indulge her obsession with it because I feel it's a great thing to encourage her imagination. Some might argue that "real" toys, like Legos or wooden blocks would be better for her, and those are really great and she does play with those too, but Minecraft opens doors that you just can't find in "reality".

What games do you let your little ones play?

Balancing Games I Play With Games I Let My Kids Play (And Why It's Not Hypocritical To Say "No, You Can't Play This One).

2012-04-20T14:21:00.001-07:00

I'm a dad. (Duh, right, it says that in my blog title?) I have a lot of kids. And by a lot I mean 8. My eldest is now off and married with her own kid, my youngest just turned 4. We've always had video game systems in our house. Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, Playstation 1, 2, and now 3, we have a Wii, 2 in fact... and computers. Always had computers in the house too.

In that time I've had a lot of games. Some super great, others very poor. But there has always been 2 categories of games, games for the kids and games for the adults. And subcategories, games for older kids and games for younger kids. And games for girls and games for boys.

When you have all these game disks laying around, it can be hard to say "No you can't play that". You might even feel hypocritical because you are playing at the same time you are telling your child "no".

As a father, it's your job not to let those little brains get corrupted. Does that mean you have to give up your fun? Well, yes, some of it. But when it comes to gaming, it's OK to say no, even though you are playing it.

For example, I've been playing the Dead Space series. If you are familiar with it, it's very dark, very scary, and extremely bloody and gory. In face, stomach turning in some places. But, I like it. It's like playing a sci-fi horror movie. Will I let my kids play it? No, not until they are 21. Why? Because it's my job to take care of them. To expose them to something like that before they are ready would be irresponsible.

So what do I do? I say no. And in this case I don't let them access the computer the game is installed on. (If it were a disk, it would be hidden.)

So go ahead, dad, play that game. Have fun. But protect those little brains.

Test post

2012-03-13T11:28:00.002-07:00

Test post!

First Post

2012-03-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

My new project.

Hi, how are you? This blog is all about games I have, games I like, and general game related stuff. There will be some tips and trick, there will be some game humor, and there will be some pointless ramblings.

I'm a dad. I love games. My kids love game. Some of what I'll share will be about games that are good for your kids, how to play with your kids, and some other game related parent type stuff.

Hope you enjoy.