Writing N' Video Games

Howdy partners. I recently finished Red Dead Redemption 2 and with Ben going back to test the waters with the original game, I figured I come out and share my experience offline and on. My single player experience I'll keep relatively short to avoid spoilers: It was fantastic, here's why. Despite being able to appeal to a wider and receptive audience following GTA V's success and the world's constant infatuation with westerns, RDR2 takes the time to slow things down with mechanics that make you consider your actions. Such mechanics included; weight systems based on how much food you consume, health, stamina, and deadeye (accuracy and slow-mo powers) cores that present passive debuffs if you don't replenish them with items or by resting. Such items can be purchased, looted off dead bodies, or found by rummaging through random homes or shacks. How you obtain certain items, including cash, affect your karma (much like RDR1) which offers in world benefits or co...

Hey everybody reading, small side note before getting back into it today. I recently watched a great video regarding Andromeda's production cycle that I think is more than worth a look for anybody interested. It helps give a lot of context to a lot of the issues and even successes of Andromeda. It's linked just below for anyone curious, I may even go into detail regarding my own thoughts on it in my Retrospective of the game over on our YouTube channel (also linked below). Mass Effect: Andromeda... 1 Year Later Retrospective - Andromeda The More You Know The Scourge of the Heleus Cluster! Argh! So, if you noticed in my last post, I made no mention of the Archon. That's because he's no longer the major antagonist of the narrative. The Khett remain a threat and sub faction but function more like a horde of jobbers (see "losers" in dictionary) that can overwhelm in large numbers and devastate any large groups by infecting populations via either the sco...

Hello? Jeez, this is embarassing. Hey guys, Gabe here. Sorry I haven't updated this blog in while! I've been focusing on our YouTube channel a bit more recently while Ben has been killing it over here! Figured I pick up where I left off and drop some new pieces on different games soon after. Stay tuned! Plot - Greasing The Wheels Alright, now that you've decided whether that tickles your fancy or not, let's move on to where this premise and Andromeda's premise re-converge. The Hyperion ark, filled to bursts with humans, departs much as it does in the opening crawl. They arrive in the Andromeda galaxy or some new cluster in our own galaxy. It really doesn't matter either way, you just have to characterize the original galaxy setting as not caring or not being in a position to contribute. And that's easy; the Council in the last couple games hated exploring and taking new chances. They would've never said yes in approving this risky adventure...

Call of Duty: WWII brings us the second great war for the first time in nine years.  Is it a gameplay improvement worth playing or a graphical overhaul? When will Call of Duty break back into using a subtitle Since Ye Old Call of Duty The first three CoD titles took place in World War 2, while the 5th game, CoD: World at War, was the first to tackle World War 2 in Japan.  Eight other games in the series were released between World at War and WWII.  A history of those eight games: Danger Close; Vietnam; World War 3; Target Finders; Aliens; Sledgehammer's first game; Bow and Arrows; Star Wars.  That's a lot I know, and it means those World War 2 enthusiasts have been waiting that long for the series to come back to its roots, as it advertised.  Of course, the gameplay is the main root of CoD, but the war it so prominently held onto must be attached in some secondary way.  The setting is part of the foundation for the original mechanics.  The se...

People are still playing Burnout Paradise, and it got a remaster.  Let's try to figure out why, and if it's worth a visit, or revisit. Known to some fans as not Burnout Revenge  The Era Burnout Paradise was released a while ago.  The year 2008 seemed like a much different time: motion controls were real, every new shooter was still dubbed a halo killer, and personally, I'm still trying to figure out what Frontlines: Fuel of War was supposed to be.  Anyway, racing games were mainly Need for Speed and Forza.  Need for Speed had a dozen games while Forza had two really good ones.  Gran Turismo 5 was seemingly never going to happen, and Criterion had released Black, a first-person shooter until they dropped Burnout Paradise in the middle a tidal wave of gaming that was just getting great for the PS3/360 generation.  The Burnout team was back with a large open world showcasing long sweeping mountain roads and tight, overlapping city roads packed w...