The PS4: My first impressions Pt 1

Last week something incredible happened, the PS4 was finally released for average consumers in North America to buy and take back to their homes and finally experience Next Gen first hand. After working a midnight shift I was included in that Million people who purchased their PS4 in the first 24 hours.

Right out of the box its gorgeous, those pointed edges and that smooth black finish make it something that people are gonna wanna look at in your living room. Not to mention the redesigned and very much improved Dual Shock 4 that just screams hold me for hours, comfortably, I should add. Plugging it in and booting up the PS4 you hear the familiar chirp from the PS3 and already I feel this is going to be a great time. Quickly the menus pop up walking me through the initial set up and getting my social feeds set before a "Your PS4 is Ready" screen shows up. Jumping right in I decide to play around on the new, fast, and super smooth UI before going for the Day 1 update. The update took less than 8 minutes to download and install and I was ready to go.

After the update it was right to the store to download all the goodness that comes with PS+, the paid service for PSN that is required for the multi-player experience now on PlayStation 4. Resogun, Contrast, Warframe, DCUO, BlackLight retribution, all in the download cue. The only launch game I decided to pick up was Knack: an action platformed with a Disney/Pixar flare and a sort of early Jack and Daxter/ Crash Bandicoot feel to the game-play. After inserting the disk the installation starts but not even 10 seconds later you're able to play the game while it installs. Instantly a big win for me as I hated wait times on the PS3.

Not long after I put some time into Knack, Resogun has finished downloading, yes, a simultaneous download and installation all while playing a game being installed. YES! I quickly switch to Resogun with two button presses, so fast and smooth it will spoil you. Resogun is gorgeous and is probably the most addictive game available for the PS4 right now so if you have or are getting a PS4 I highly recommend it.
While completely involved with Resogun it was getting much to late and it was time for me to get to bed but the next day I discovered more amazing things this machine can do. In part two expect more talk about remote play, party chat, The PS Store, Social networks, live streaming and more!

Watch Dogs Delayed Until Spring 2014

Well that's kind of a surprise! One of the most anticipated games for next gen has been delayed by Ubisoft. From what I read it seems like they just want more time to polish and or just give the game more of the love it deserves or they don't want two of their biggest games going head to head this holiday season. We've seen so much of this game that its kinda heart breaking that they get us so excited but then to tell us we have to wait a bit longer is sort of a bummer. But I'd rather them take that game and make it more amazing than for them to give us a game that could have been better with more time to polish.

The open world genre is filling up with heavy hitters so I really don't blame them for wanting to spend more time polishing their game. After playing GTA V and seeing so much of Assassins Creed: Black Flag anything they do to Watch Dogs to make it stand out should be done, plus with Infamous Second Son not far behind the release of the PS4 this gives Ubisoft some breathing room. One concern I've seen across the internet after this announcement is what happens to the Watch Dogs PS4 bundles that people have already purchased?  I hope that just means that they will still get the system and Watch Dogs will be sent after release and a voucher given to those picking it up in store.

UPDATE: The Crew a next-gen Racer/MMO, also by Ubisoft, has been delayed as well.

So how do you feel about Watch Dogs being delayed? Canceling your PS4 or Xbox One pre-order because of it? Excited that they're spending more time with the game before we get it?

Pokemon oh Pokemon

Pokemon X and Y were released 3 days ago and I'm about 11 hours into the game and I have one, yes one, gym badge. Yet, I've already seen that people have beat the Elite Four, WHAT? Is this game really that short or did the dedicated choose their team and just steamroll the game? Either way I think that's impressive and can't wait to find out how tough things get this time around. I just want to see all the new Pokes since this is my first time buying a Pokemon game since Ruby and Sapphire. Speaking of new Pokemon, anyone else think there is an unusual amount of Fighting type Pokes or am I just running into them more often this early in the game?

So far I love it! The animations, sounds, and the overall Pokemon experience just feels fresh to me. Even the little gimmicks I've heard about that involve actually holding the 3DS a certain way with a Pokemon at a certain level to evolve are just so amusing.  The only issue I'm having is with the circle pad, I'm new to the 3DS so that could also be why, sometimes its not very responsive to my input or i run past someone I want to talk to. Other than that tiny issue I'm having a blast and can't wait to bust out my first mega evolution!

How are you enjoying the game so far? Any complaints? Thoughts on DLC?

Welcome!

Love video games and occasional banter about things in the video games industry? Well, you are in the proper place with the best interests, my name is Raymond and I've been gaming since I could use a computer. I didn't become interested in writing my thoughts about games for your viewing pleasure until about 6 years ago. It took some time to sort of muster up the courage to create this blog but here goes nothing, right?
I'm more of a Sony guy, the PS4 is so close I can smell it, at this point in my story but I do enjoy bits and bobs from all over the gaming spectrum, table top to mobile. Once again, welcome! I do hope that you find something that you can relate to or learn something you didn't from any of my posts.

Stay tuned!

Me, Microsoft, and the Xbox One

5 years ago the only current gen console I owned was an xbox 360. My younger brother and I shared it since it was really all we could afford and at the time I think we were pretty good with sharing, probably not. We loved Halo and he couldn't get enough of Forza, those being the main reason we wanted one so bad. I remember staying up all night the day Halo 3 launched and watched videos on Youtube to see how amazing it looked and just in awe of what the 360 could do. I loved all my time with the 360 minus the 2 boxes we had that red ringed, I met some of my best online friends on XBL too.

But the day came when it was time for me to head off to college, at this point my brother was way more invested games wise into the 360 than I was so I left it with him. My online friends constantly asked when I was gonna buy another one, so much so its still sorta a running joke, I was then a poor college student, still poor just no longer a student, so there was no way I was actually gonna buy one but to keep them in good spirits I'd always tell them, "When I have money I'll get one." Yeah that was a great big lie but hey I'll tell you eventually about our PC gaming reunion. But one day I did have a decent chunk of money and you know what I did with that? Yup I went and bought a PS3, Uncharted, Infamous, and God of War 3 were calling my name.

Flash forward to the recent E3 2013, the Xbox One is announced prior to the Microsoft conference and is met with internet rage unlike we've never seen before a rage that only the internet can unleash. I find it completely unappealing until they begin to show me what I want, the games. TitanFall, Dead Rising 3, and Forza impress me but still the Xbox One not really the one for me. I don't want Kinect 2.0 or the Xbox UI in general but in the future when the price drops and my soon to be wife isn't looking I'll buy one so I won't miss out on those amazing games. The Xbox One is an amazing machine that I'm sure will do well regardless of the severe hiccups they've encountered on the PR and marketing side of things. Personally I would have thrown one of the development team on stage and told him or her to tell the people why they love this machine and I'm almost positive it would have been much less of the mess it was.

Indie devs! My new friends.

This time last year I was in England studying abroad but I had to have some games to play, only armed with a Vita (I hadn't bought many vita games and the library at that time was scarce) and a low end laptop my options were limited. But then I started reading more into these indie games, games that these small teams make that have incredible content and worth the tiny price tags they come with. The first one I found was called,

"Don't Starve" with amazing art and just a different take on the survival game I had to try it. At the time it was in Beta but I loved it and with every update there was something that kept me playing. I could pop in for a few minutes build up my base, kill a few hounds, and explore a bit before saving it and be off to do a few other things. I couldn't believe how detailed it was but how inexpensive it was for me to buy but also get a key for a friend to play.

When I got back to the states and had access to a better computer I looked into more of them, Minecraft, Spelunkey, gunpoint ect.. The list can go on and on because there are so many of these games and they're all so good that they all deserve a try. At as much as $15 I feel like I'm getting a great deal for amazing games that have a certain charm that only indie games can create. One that I still need to try that I saw on steam in Bro Force it looks hilarious and just like a fun time and that's why I play games, I want to have fun and then tell you why I had fun.

What are some of your favorite indie games?

UPDATE: Check out this video from Polygon this morning showing views about both Microsoft and Sony from the Indie developer prospective.

Pokemon X and Pokemon Y

3 weeks ago I decided to put my Pokemon Pearl version in a DS I'd borrowed from a friend to learn that I'd put close to 400 hours into this game. Wait, WHAT!? I guess at some point the DS was my main source of gaming and boy do I miss having that much time to invest in a game. But the good news, with Pokemon X and Y coming out soon I will probably be making the investment to pour hundreds of hours into this Pokemon game, this being my first Pokemon game in years.

Last night the final evolutions or at least rumors of the 3 were posted online and I'm very excited. By the looks of them alone Chespin will more than likely be my starter I mean look at that behemoth of a final evolution. I thinks its rumored that he is a Grass/Steel type although I feel like Fennekin's final Fire/psychic type will be more fun to steamroll teams with. Froakie's final evolution is a ninja not much more I have to say about that. The hilarious Japanese videos I've seen about the game just make is seem like all the more fun, I feel this may be the first true upgrade to the Pokemon franchise and I couldn't be happier. 

Which one will be your favorite? Or will you stick with one of the Original 3 and their amazing Mega Evolutions, except for Bulbasaur poor thing. 

UPDATE: The reviews are pouring in and guess what. ITS AMAZING! Check out IGN's video review.
http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/10/04/pokemon-x-and-y-video-review?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook