Monday-Itis - Banned and Censored Games

So I get really passionate and ramble on, even more so since I didn't sleep for 24 hours before filming this.
Enjoy!

7am Updates

Goooooood mornin' Internet!
(Geddit? Good Morning Vietnam reference? ...I'm old...)

It's been a majorly long time since I've written one of these here so let me bring you all up to speed on what I've been doing as of the last few months.
1: As you might remember, I'm currently in the works to reinvent Five Easy Achievements (Which was quite the popular segment on this blog) into video form. While the video itself will feature no actual gameplay of earning the achievement, I'll still be able to guide you. And, if you're lucky, they may return in written form too. I'm hoping to have that out ASAP, at least in the next two weeks, so keep an eye out for that.
2: I'm also working on a new show called Gaming Tales in which I recount all my past experiences in gaming. This one will be more like blogging and will most likely replace 95% of all the vlogs I currently do (Which is usually two vlogs per month), while I hope to involve all of you too. The show will feature questions in which you can answer if you wish and all will be featured in the next episode. My current show Monday-itis seems to be a fair bit popular and I hope Gaming Tales can follow suit, but on a more gaming wise area. And hopefully, this can lead back to the revival of some of my older shows, in particular, Ask Fatman. I quite miss that.
3: Since I've been unable to post videos on this blog for quite some time (the reason behind this I still don't know), my gameplay videos have fallen behind here so I may do a massive post to finish them all here in the next few days, including my recent work.
4: Before I forget, Gaming Tales and Five Easy Achievements will also become featured here whenever I post a video. They won't be scheduled to a specific date release but more to when a new game comes out or people request it. If you enjoy them, I'll start posting Monday-itis here too.

And that raps it up in a nice and neat bow. I've done an all nighter planning all of this out and more so hopefully I can get it all together soon. Please have a bit of patience. Planning, scripting, editing, rendering, uploading, all this is done by one guy who doesn't have much of a social life. I'll get stuff done but I'd rather get it done when I'm happy with it. Trust me, the amount of awful, unwatchable content I've deleted would be at least in the 100's by now. Same goes for reviews, there have been games when I've played them and they were just too damn terrible to review. Some of them are in my "List Of Shame" Gamer Rant I posted a little while back.

Okay, enough blabbering, time to get back to work. I'm only waiting for the sun to rise to film then it's off to bed! I'm getting too old for all nighters.
Thanks for reading!

10'000 VIEWS ON YT

I made this video a few days ago to show my appreciation to all you folks who watch my YT channel. So I decided to post it here (Since Blogspot is finally allowing me to post videos again).
Enjoy!

Review: Faction Pack DLC

G'day there guys and gals!

On a side note, I'm writing this with a bum arm/hand so let's see how much I can write!

While Koch is still suffering the after-effects of the Ranger Mode controversy, DLCs galore have been popping out of the company and making a first in Metro history, add on Campaign missions. While the three missions do not effect the main storyline of Metro Last Light and don't feature/mention Artyom in the slightest (except for the fact that they partake in the same modern age of Moscow), Faction Pack focuses on the stories of three new characters in a shorter sense from the main three groups inside the Metro: Reich, Red and Polis Rangers.

In order we have the Reich mission, which sees players set in the shoes of a Heavy Gunner, fighting off wave after wave of Red soldiers attacking D6. While this mission is absolutely a ton of fun, it's incredibly short. Switch to the new weapons when prompted do, go back to the mini-gun on occasion and it's over quickly.
Secondly we have the Polis Rangers mission, the largest mission by far. As a new scouting recruit, you are sent out into the ruins of Moscow and better yet, the fearful and terrifying Library. Without a doubt the greatest mission in the pack, the Polis Rangers are very unhelpful (at times) and ask nothing of you but to gather as many items as you can (such as toys, books, weapon parts ect) and with what little money you receive after each trip, you spend on air filters, bullets and other helpful things. The armor and radiation suits are a definite must so remember to save up. However while this mode is massive fun, it can get massively repetitive running back and forth through the same areas. While being able to remove the contents of the mutant's stomach for supplies and lighting up different areas with light globes is a nice touch to the game, this doesn't stop the principle: run out, fight off Nosalises, find a few items, return to base, spend most of your money on filters, repeat.
Lastly is the Sniper mission as the Reds, two men trying to take over a Reich outpost on the surface. Definitely my favourite by far, this part of the DLC forces players to sneak through the base as quietly as possible, failure to stay stealthy will result in mission failure. From in the inner buildings to the bottom of a ditch, this mission is much longer and more developed than the first.

While I have yet to find/buy any of the new weapons in the main mission (and sadly still unable to finish the Polis mission in the DLC), this DLC is agreeably fun but a teeny bit dull around the edges. Taking into consideration that the budget for Metro Last Light is a lower budget game than most A List titles, Metro Last Light has seen extreme popularity. This DLC is definitely worth the buy, especially for it's price, but don't expect to be wowed.

Metro Last Light - Faction Pack DLC: C-

Gamer Rants - My List Of Shame

G'day there guys and gals!

Now while I admit that I'm an avid gamer, I too have raged at a game so bad that I never picked it up again. I've had a game now and again that I couldn't finish or simply had to return it, or
others that I just couldn't crack. While this isn't truly a rant, I'm simply writing this in order to amuse myself and you too!

To the younger folks who don't know, here's a quick summary: Each and every gamer has a List Of Shame, a list that consists of all the game titles you have never completed. The most common (And
the one I'll be using) contains of games with an uncompleted campaign. From here, the list can grow to uncompleted 100% Campaign, unlockable secrets, Multiplayer ranks and 100% Achievement List
in a game. If I chose Achievement Lists, each and every game I've owned would be on that list! So Campaign it is and here we go!

1: Goldeneye 64
This game came out when I was five years old and my fear of blood was still majorly strong at that point of time. While I rarely played the game myself, I'd tend to watch my father and brother
play the missions over and over. And let me tell you, they SUCKED. My father died almost every ten minutes but my brother lasted a little longer, ether way the red screen would slowly inch
on the screen and I would run away in fright! Embarrassing, but true. The graphics of that day look realistic enough to send me running and whenever I played, I tried my damn hardest not to die.
While I have finished the game in it's remake for, I have never finished the original, I got stuck on the Forest mission and I never played it again. Why?
Because years later our N64 and games was stolen.

2: Diddy Kong Racing
This was the game my siblings and I paid most of our attention to. We each had our own favourite characters: My brother had Banjo, my sister Conker and myself, Pipsy. We each played equally, one
save file to each of us and we had fun playing the multiplayer parts together. However eventually we all got stuck on one area; The Silver Coin Dragon challenge. Eventually we all started
playing together to try, one after another we took turned to try and beat the bastard but to no prevail. Eventually after moving house twice in the span of a month, we were all too busy to
play the game and we never picked it up again. I have tried on an emulator to finally put the game at rest but to no luck.

3: Blinx The Time Sweeper
While my brother had fallen out of the habit of playing video games together, my sister and I were determined to beat this game. I found it fun and she found it fascinating gameplay wise. While
she got ahead of me (As I got stuck on one particular area for a time) my sister was nearing the end but eventually got stuck herself. After catching up to whichever world it was, we played back
and forth, trying to defeat the level but continuously getting stuck to the point where my sister never picked up another video game controller again and I placed the game away.
I have repeatedly gone back to try and get back to that level but to no luck.

4: Worms 4 Mayhem.
While it's kind of odd to add this in, it is a game I never could finish. After travelling to the Dueling Western World, I eventually got bored and gave up the game to complete others. While I
still enjoy the game immensly, the storyline was a bit too ridiculous for my tastes at the time. I have gone back to play the game but made no attempts to try and beat the campaign.

5: Alone In The Dark (2008)
This game was much fun to play over time. The gameplay was great and the story was decent but there was one massive flaw with the game itself. If you ever wanted to save and quit for a day,
then you better kiss your equipment goodbye. I'm not sure if the game had a glitch or that was part of the survival aspects of the game, but after saving and leaving the game, upon returning
I would find my pistol, weapons, equipment and other necessities gone. This was extremely frustrating but it happened so randomly that each save was a scramble to see if I kept my findings,
as weapons and other things needed were DAMN hard to find. Eventually I reached the near end of the game, which required you to destroy 50% of these odd Stalks in order to reach a particular
area. I saved and stopped playing after a particular part of the game. I came back a few days later to find everything gone. The only way to destroy the Stalks was with fire, the only way to get
fire was bottles, alcohol and rags. The only way to get two of those items is from killing enemies. The only efficient way of killing enemies was a gun or a blunt weapon and the only way to get
those was explore. With hundred of the damn things everywhere and no health equipment, it lead to some major rage quitting. And after spoiling the ending for myself, doing all that work would
not have been worth it. Trust me.

6: Tom Clancy's EndWar
My parents bought me this game a few years back and I won't lie. This game is TERRIBLE. All you need to do is speak and press A once in a while. But the game doesn't pick up on voice, accent or
different actions too well. I rage quit after the first few missions. Here's an example:
"Bravo. Head to. Site. Designated. Attack. Enemy. B. *Click A*"
It was that dull. In order for anything to work, you needed to stop for three seconds after each command for the game to pick up on it.
And that is why I hate Stratergy games.

7: Operation Flashpoint Red River
To be perfectly honest, I just got bored of the game not 20 minutes into playing it. Sticky controls, boring characters and utterly outright disgusting gameplay. It's not worth it, second worst
next to EndWar.

8: Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 2
Technically, I had never played this game until I bough both KOTOR 1 and 2 almost a year ago. After beating the first game for the first time in years (As I originally only played the game through renting it from a video store), I picked up the second game in the title. However, I only played for ten minutes and just stopped. I was unable to get into the storyline and to this day, the game sits in my collection until I pick it up once more.

9: F.E.A.R.
The game that got me on the series, I started playing the original game through, once more, renting the game from my local video store. I was able to get a partial way through until I was forced to return it. Since then I've had several attempts to beat it but fail due to loosing interest or the friend I borrow it from asking for it back.

10: 007 Legends
I lost interest within the prequel. Horrible game graphics, gameplay was utterly terrible, dodgy and glitchy controls - not to mention the terrible acting. Even Daniel Craig seemed less than 100%.
Overall, a waste of money.

11: Dragon Age 2
I've never been a huge fan of the series itself and after much bugging, I tried picking it up. Shortly after the intro I lost interest, placed the game on my shelf and never touched it again.
I don't know why but I just got sick of it. Dragon Age isn't much interesting to me.

And that pretty much sums it up. There might be a few I'm forgetting but there are some I have completed on other accounts from my main account due to reviews. This list would've been longer if I didn't go back and replay a fair few of them just to pass them. There are a few more on my main account that aren't complete but they have been completed on other accounts.
How far does your List of Shame reach? Remember folks, we all have one because gamers gotta game.

Review: Black Ops 2 - Vengeance DLC

Howdy guys and gals!

As some may recall, I personally have never been a huge Call of Duty fan - while I do prefer the Treyarch/Activision versions more - and that goes doubly so for DLCs. Their can be no mistake that the COD series is both well known and one of the most highest grossing games in history. With all this in mind I must admit that Vengeance is one of the more enjoyable DLCs of the game so far.
Let's start off with the multiplayer maps: The four maps are Rush, Cove, Detour and Uplink. By far Rush is my favourite overall - quite large with many different routes and passages. Set in a modern day Indoor/Outdoor Paintball Arena, battles between teams can lead from the closer quarter hallways and course to the long range parking lot.
Cove is set on a deserted island with a destroyed plane smashed into the dead set middle. Players can battle in close quarters in and around the plane or fight in the large open areas in the sand and in the water.
Detour sees players on a half destroyed highway beset by a security checkpoint. The map is mostly close quarter fighting with a medium range stretch of highway, with gamers (mostly in my experience) sticking to the sides and interior middle of the map.
Uplink is a remake of a classic map Summit. The map is the same as always with the difference in cover and a cleaner cut of gameplay in the area. While the map has a futuristic look about it, the nostalgia won't last too long.
Now onto Zombies - Buried takes place with The New Crew, featuring a comic-book style look and an impressive change of gameplay pace. A new feature includes Chalk Drawing, allowing players to draw on specific areas the classic chalk outlines of available weaponry to buy as well as what appears to be a giant who, when fed or given alcohol, can smash down barriers. Other features can be covered by the more pristine player as, unbeknownst to the public, Zombie matches - while I do enjoy them immensely - are my Achilles Heel.

To tally it all together in a simple way, for those who crave multiplayer matches you won't be disappointed with the new maps. Each have their own uniqueness and playing style. For the Zombie fans, Buried will not disappoint, even my first match in Buried lasting for hours on end solo, team and battling wise. Overall, the Vengeance DLC is definitely the best so far but I'll leave the new weaponry as a secret for you to discover.

Black Ops 2 Vengeance DLC - B+

Vengeance is out now for the standard price of 1200 MSP

Review: Walking Dead - 400 Days

G'day there guys and gals!
***WARNING: Possible spoilers for topics/main storyline from the original Telltale game, ending and DLC. Read at your own caution***

The series of The Walking Dead television show is damn popular by it's own and the Telltale game was a massive hit; the story of Lee and Clementine was a tearful, heart warming and thrilling experience for all and personally, this gamer even named his first car Clementine in honour of it all (As all first cars should). And while Survivor's Instinct was hounded by critics as a horrible game, 400 Days may have saved a bit of face for the franchise.
The DLC tells the story of five different survivors and how they came together to form their own survival group. Vince, Wyatt, Russell, Bonnie and Shel have placed photos of themselves at a nearby diner, with a note telling whomever found it that they were still alive. This note is found by a sixth person, to which you'll find out about later. While the game can be played at any order, the game follows a pattern of timelines: Vince starts at Day 2, Wyatt at 41, Russell at 184, Bonnie at 220 and Shel with two at 236 and 259 - the game finishes at Day 400.
Each character has their own story to tell but each are linked together by similar means. Russell, while walking down the road, is forced to choose between hiding or standing his ground. If he hides, you'll find either Doug or Carley dead on the road (Depending on your choice in the previous titles), but this isn't where the similarities end. To avoid spoilers, I'll say this - keep your eyes open for details. Hiding from the truck on the road is also linked to one of two non-storyline achievements, the first two in the Telltale series.
There isn't much that can be said without spoiling the entire DLC. For fans, you're looking at just over an hour of gameplay, seeing as Shel's story is definitely longer than the others and Vince being the shortest. The storyline is definitely Telltale standards, each character having their own attractions and definite warmness around them. Some in bad situations from their own weakness, others for family and some looking for others. Each character's story is unique and adds to the ending nicely.
For a cheap price and fun gameplay, 400 Days is definitely a recommended DLC, despite it's shortness. Check it out before Season 2 is released and when it is, I hope Telltale can make the experience of their award wining game even better.

The Walking Dead: 400 Days - B+

400 Days is out now for 400 MSP