Sea of Thieves - Closed Beta Notes

Hello one and all!

Haven't had the chance/opportunity to play and experience Sea of Thieves? Let my notes guide your hand. Unlike reviews, these aren't fully hashed out, but more guidelines and explanations to what to expect in the game when it releases.
Without further ado, let's go!

EXPLANATION
Sea of Thieves is exactly that, an online pirate simulator where you are a pirate in the purest form: drinking grog and vomiting on your crew, playing shanties while hunting for booty, tearing through helpless enemy pirates to steal their plunder and solving clues to find your own. 

FEATURES
-Full control over sailing: adjust the direction of your sails and their length
-Find chests using your compass, map reading skills and solving various puzzles and riddles
-Fight off enemy pirates and skeletons with your weapons; sword, pistol, rifle and shotgun (optional purchase)
-Explore the world to find treasure on sunken ships, supplies on outposts/island etc
-Buy Voyages to explore islands for chests, or go out and see what it offers
-Large customisation; clothing and items you carry around (Tankard, musical instruments, watch, etc)

EXPERIENCE
Overall, I cannot be more excited for this game to be fully released. After almost 20 hours of gameplay, I am still keen to explore the map, the islands I haven't explored and discover what I can before the Beta runs out. I have battled against enemy pirates as they selfishly try to take my well earned booty, fought off sneaky pirates trying to get away with said booty, and parlayed with many friendly pirates, all the while making new friends. Imagine having a helmsman so bad that the rest of the crew turns one of the shanties into a song exclaiming to the world at how bad he is! 
Admittedly, hunting for chests does get a bit tiresome, but the riddle solving does help ebb this feeling away. A further explanation will be provided in the lower tab.

There were plenty of moments the riddles did confuse me, forcing me to spend plenty of time on an island searching for one specific spot. But the euphoria from finally hearing that victory tune to the chunk of hitting a chest buried underground is fantastic. There were plenty of bugs and glitches, to be expected in a Beta, but the Sea of Thieves team worked tirelessly throughout the beta to provide the best support possible. 
I also have to give special mention to the graphics team. Even in beta, this game looks beautiful. I cannot stress enough how many times I ignored so much of what was happening at the time to create the perfect screenshot. The animation in the waves are utterly stunning, the lighting and effects are great and at times, this game is so utterly peaceful.

In closing, my anticipation for this title is now higher than ever. I eagerly await the March 20th release date and will happily review it when it releases in full.

SUGGESTIONS AND NOTES

+Allow the players to zoom in on maps.
Flipping them for others to see does help immensely, but having the ability to zoom in would help making scavenging in one area missing the chest by centimeters can be annoying.

+Make key words glow after extended time in riddles
Sometimes the entire crew is confused by the exact riddle (personally speaking, I had no idea what a scarab beetle was until this game made it a clue), and making key words glow after an extended amount of time on the island may help players.

+Lower prices in shops
While I understand many of them are cosmetic, lowering some of the prices would definitely be an asset. Perhaps lowering them for single players would help getting those items for them. Because most enemies will steal all the special chests and leave the Castaway chests behind.
Castaway Chests will earn you 50-60 Gold Pieces. The Blunderbuss costs 960. You'd need 20 chests minimum, but don't forget voyages cost gold too.

+Harvest animals
Killing sharks are a need when they're chasing a crewmate with a chest. Imagine a Shark themed costume for your pirate, or perhaps selling shark skin to get some cheap gold in a hurry if you're a few pieces short of a new Voyage (which happened to me a few times).

+Dyes for clothes

+Extra songs for new equipment
Spending 400-500+ gold for new, better looking musical instruments is fine and all, but why still the same shanties? Hopefully there's more added in the finished game. "Drunken Sailor" plays with the Chest of a Thousand Grogs, why can't we play it?

Rare/Microsoft, Brownie Points if you can beg Disney to give you the rights to "He's A Pirate" or "Hoist The Colours".

+More customisation
The weapons can look a bit dull after a while, especially when you're pimping yourself out. Weapon skins, custom ship colours, and a biggie for me
CUSTOMISABLE PIRATE FLAGS
How AWESOME would it be to have a pirate flag of your very own?!

+Damage Up Blunderbuss
For an expensive optional weapon, it is fairly weak against Skeletons and pirates alike. Maybe upping it a bit would be for the best.
(At current rate on average - 4 shots to kill a Skeleton, 5+ for a Pirate. Possibly lag)

Top 10 List of 2017

Happy holidays to all of you!

I know reviews slowed down massively this year, but maaaan has it been crazy so far. Considering Christmas is only a couple days away and nothing too major is releasing between here and the end of the year, once more, here are my top ten picks of the year!
Do you agree? Disagree? Have any of your own? Let me know!

10: For Honor
The ultimate question was answered earlier this year: who would win in a fight between a knight, samurai or viking? Despite its issues, it was a fantastic game with a brilliant balance between gameplay, with a solid storyline, customisation and leveling system. The community is still holding up, considering the state of many other online games this year, and I'd definitely recommend it to history fans for an alternative look, or a group of people looking to experiment outside your standard fighting games.

9: Infinite Mini Golf
A shot-in-the-dark purchase, I was incredibly surprised by this game, and I'm happy to say its online community is thriving. Players can experience custom made maps of their own or the community, or simply play through the standard. Huge customisation in characters, simplistic but easy to use controls, IMG is the 3D Ultra MiniGolf of the new generation of consoles. I hope the devs release a DLC pack of new buildable maps!

8: Call of Duty: WW2
"Boots on the ground" was the rally call of the COD Dev team this year around, and it has most certainly brought back the old fans while attracting the new. While lacking in multiplayer maps, what are there are well balanced, easy to pick up and fun to play. The campaign was well written and acted, with great moments from world war history (With a few exaggerations here and there). Gameplay in the campaign was also mixed up from your standard run and gun, which was excellent to see.
Maybe now...back to WW1? More Aussie rep?

7: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Yes, we know about the glitches and how its now been reduced to its multiplayer side, but what remains is a solid game. Each world is incredibly massive with plenty of side missions. The campaign's story is unique to the series and does well to separate itself from the main series. Great customisation, surprising choices nearing the end of the game, and while it does lack the punch of the original series, it's definitely worth your play, especially considering its current pricing.
Fingers crossed for that DLC. Or at least a Trilogy remaster.

6: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Admittedly, I'm quite zombie-d out. But my adoration for this game was able to enthrall in its story. Dynamic characters were absolutely essential and the crew nailed it. The graphics are beautifully horrifying and the gameplay is unique to the series. While it does contain jumpscares galore, its atmosphere and rarity of supplies help push this game high on the list. While I haven't had time to play the DLC, I'm still hoping this game causes a trend in the series.

5: South Park: The Fractured But Whole
There are jokes here and there that I still don't get (considering I haven't watched the show in some time - pay tv in Australia is expensive), but overall the game is damn solid. the jokes are raunchy, freaky, and a mirror pointed directly at society. The story is solid and works well, and while areas do feel somewhat rushed, the gameplay is excellent and works! I was admittedly skeptical when it was announced, but it feels natural to play. A must own for sure.


4: Horizon: Zero Dawn.
The first PS exclusive to the yearly list and I'm so glad its this one. I tend to not play much of my playstation because, as a man with giant monkey hands, my hands tend to cramp during use. I played this game so long and often my hands were claws by the end of sessions. I didn't stop because I wanted to, I stopped because I felt my hands exploding if I didn't. I'm so upset I missed my window to review this game: the gameplay is fantastic, the story is great, the graphics are breathtaking, the world is brilliant, I cannot love this game more. Find it cheap, buy it, love it forever, and play the DLC for me!

3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It has been quite some time since I've been so captivated from a game unlike this one. Very rarely I play a game immediately after finishing, let alone five times in a row. But Breath of the Wild had so much to explore. I'm sure by now the average gamer has heard enough about the game, but hopefully I'm the tipping point for you. The gameplay is excellent, the story works perfectly, the graphics are stunning and everything clicks, from customisation to sound effects. The story's main beats tend to repeat in themes, but are executed in different ways, and the game is changed by how you play. You want to take on Ganon immediately after the tutorial? You're welcome to! Hell, some people do it before!
If you can afford a Switch, this is an absolute must buy.

2: Assassin's Creed: Origins
"Like a breath of fresh air". The amount of times I've heard that spoken when fans and newbies speak of this is unending. To this day, I still hear it discussing the game. The setting has been one wanted by the community for a long time and its huge open world definitely helped it. A giant customisation system unseen in the series before, a unique storyline (albeit ret-conning a few things from the OG here and there), and excellent gameplay shot this game up in the charts and was much needed. What makes this game so great is simply how much there is to do. When it comes to certain games, there is one fact that will sell a game to the hardcore gamer: you get the feeling that there's too much to do. If you buy this game you will feel that too.
Now give us Feudal Japan already, Ubisoft. I haven't forgotten the AC Rising Sun teases.

1: Splatoon 2
When this game first came out, I admittedly looked past it. It was aimed at kids, to get their fix of a shooter game on the child friendly console, and at the time, I was still infused with finding every last Korok seed. All it took was one friend asking me to buy it and try it.
I have been hooked ever since.
Almost 190 hours later, I can safely say that this is a must own game on the Switch. The gameplay is excellent and works with both people who can handle movement controls or not. The customisation options are great, the campaign is simple, but gives a good sense of direction over what weapons work for your playstyle. The customisation is massive, the maps work excellently in the Lobby, Salmon Run has become a "Stop-Everything-And-Play-It" moment in my life and it doesn't appear to have a stopping point for me at this time. Hell, I'm racing through this review because Salmon Run is on and I want to earn me those Golden Eggs!
What holds this above my favourite series of all time and the game that I spent days playing is just how great the gameplay feels, how it rewards even bad players and simply how fun it can be for kids and adults alike. Games are enthralling until the last second, as one guy with no opposition can give you that .1 percent in inking territory to give your team the win. Surviving that hectic match of Salmon Run only to get some sweet RNG boosters out of it is excellent!
I can go on but Salmon Run calls. Just like the top 3, this is an absolute must buy for new Switch owners. Play with your kids and learn to "Booyah!" when you smoke three enemies at once and ink their turf!

Review - Call of Duty: WW2

History has forever been a fascinating subject for me: even to this day, it still boggles my mind to think of just how many tales have been passed down through time, people both heroic and horrifying who we still recall hundreds to thousands of years later, and even the stories we know next to nothing about. World War 2 is still a very recent thing, in the grand lifespan of humanity, and its affects are still very well present in our lives today and will most likely stand the test of time beyond our years.

From die-hard fan to nervous parent, "Call of Duty" are three simple words that afflict many different emotions and responses. For me in particular, it's one of fondness. I have had highs and lows with the series, but I have always remained neutral on the new games before I can try them out myself. 

WW2 isn't the best the series has offered, but it certainly did very well at lest.

As a change of pace, I want to expose the similarities the game shares with its predecessors, as almost every gamer has played at least one game in this long-running series. Gameplay is incredibly similar to previous titles and can be picked up within a few minutes, if you're common to gaming. Controls feel weighty, especially with the difference of weaponry, but work very well with different play types. Campaign through zombies works well and I have yet to find any game-breaking glitches.

Speaking of, the campaign is well structured for its story and gameplay, but does bend the reality of the war here and there, which I was honestly a bit disappointed with. There are sections (even specific missions) that directly conflicted with historical moments of the war and seemed directly inspired by other pieces of war media (Considering D-Day, take one guess what movie they parody), but in the grand scheme of the story itself only helped it along, so I was quite conflicted with it. The campaign does very well to try and mix up how they present the story aside from your standard Run-And-Gun strategy of the past. Stealth missions are frequent in the main storyline, as well as an excellently crafted infiltration mission that has you correctly answering questions to bypass security. The plot overall was fairly predictable for the protagonist and the characters around him, but was held up by good and effective acting by the cast, especially in the final mission.

Sound effects are excellent when it comes to the weaponry in game. I wish there were more, with at least half a dozen in each class, but what is there is serviceable and feels excellent to use. Musical score is well done and brings back the good nostalgia from the old World War games of the past.
Although I prefer to not make them too high of a point, the graphics in the game are phenomenal, especially on the Xbox One X. Water effects look downright stunning and the level of detail put into character faces looks realistic. Characters based off their real life actors are uncanny alike. Visuals and backgrounds are also just as beautiful and should be commended.

I try to focus a lot of my time on the Campaign as I believe nothing beats a good story compared to the multiplayer of that game. But considering Call of Duty has built an empire of a series around it, I have to at least mention its highs and lows.

First off, the multiplayer maps present are somewhat disappointing, but at least work well. All favour the one extreme of gameplay types (Long range, short range, corridor). There are key spots where the other factors come into play, but the one trope tends to dominate their own map. Weapons in MP are also underwhelming as Rifles take center stage, especially with the help of the correct class. The game offers five different Divisions from the War with their own unlockable skills, but unless you choose to play Infantry or Mountain, chances are you will not exceed fairly well in the Multiplayer, as those two Divisions have unlocks much more useful in the current maps released.

Standard modes for Multiplayer make a return, with the exception of one new mode in the multiplayer that has the community buzzing: War.

War sees two teams of six fight against each other Ala Verdun style in trench warfare: players must defend or attack specific targets. If the targets are destroyed, the advancing team moves onto the next target while the enemy team retreats. If they fail, it's game over. Specific maps do seem to favour the Defense, especially with the Bridge mission, but otherwise the mode is fairly balanced and a great distraction from your standard KOTH or Team Deathmatch.

Finally, Nazi Zombies makes a return, and this time with a proper story. To spare you the details to let you discover this on your own, the story follows four people on a task to retrieve a specific object from the Nazis that they believe will be used against the allies when their train is attacked and derailed from beast they have never seen. The voice acting from the cast (featuring David Tennant, Udo Kier, Ving Rhames, etc) are incredibly well done and helps progress the story more-so than the zombies and plot at times! I have been quite zombie-d out for some time, but I can appreciate the amount of care that went into this mode.

To finish with the elephant in the room, microtransations have of course made an appearance in this game and have caused a small amount of controversy, but I'm happy to report that at least they aren't Pay-To-Win. Some of the choices behind it (Like 5 mins of Double XP) seem a little off but I have always kept a "To Each Their Own" mentality stance on the subject.
Overall, I at least enjoyed this return to form for the series. Perhaps its my love of history that holds this game up, maybe its how impressed I am at the campaign, but otherwise it has been quite some time since I've enjoyed a Call of Duty game two years in a row. While I hope more multiplayer maps are made free to the public at a later stage (Although I highly doubt it), what is here is well worth a trip or two in all the modes, and I hope this is a theme the people behind COD stick with. 

WW1, the Russian Revolution, Vietnam, maybe even take a page from Battlefield's book and follow the battles of the Allies. I look forward to the next battle.

Call of Duty: WW2 - 7/10

Review Delays

G'day all!

I'm just writing a quick note on here letting you know that reviews are still on the way! With the holidays right around the corner, work and a whole bunch of waves crashing around, I'm finding very little time to write reviews. However, I'm still working hard to get them done asap and share my thoughts on what to buy this holiday season. 

Keep an eye out on Twitter for any in the works, and any updates on streams.

And as always, have fun and game on!

Review - Assassin's Creed Origins

Writing for this series has continuously been a struggle, as it's well known that I'm a fan of this series, and with each review, I do my utmost to look at each addition to this series of games with clear, unadulterated eyes. Assassin's Creed Origins is the game fans have waited for since the series was put on standby two years ago after the release of Syndicate, and gamers have been anticipating its arrival for a while, especially since its setting was officially announced.
Origins takes place in the last few decades of the BC era, following a Medjay most commonly called Bayek of Siwa. After the death of his son at the hands of men known only as the Order of Ancients, Bayek swears revenge for his son and seeks these people out to put his son's soul to rest and discover why his son had to die.

The gameplay is one of the betters in the series, setting itself out with a new combat systems. Enemies no longer wait in turns to die and will attack you at random, or at once, which forces you into much more tactical means of fighting rather than the tried and true "Hidden-Blade-Pwnage" method. Players can use Overcharge abilities with a set of different weapon types (Two blades, spear, heavy weapons, swords of different types etc), each with their own ability to wear down enemy health. Quick and heavy attacks also play center stage alongside bows, which also range (no pun intended) with different stats to your liking. Gone is the ability to fight solely with the Hidden Blade, although it does make an appearance and helps immensely with hidden attacks. Enemies are all different levels and pose a much bigger threat if you travel beyond your region's max level. Fighting from horse/carriage back, flaming weaponry, poison/bleeding effects on weapons and shields, Ubisoft has gone all out in changing the combat in the series, even as far as to reinvent the ship fights! This is all I will say here, as I want you to explore it for yourself! I'll talk about the customisation at a later point.

The story is satisfactory, but does lack in somewhat as you progress. The first hour is just upright confusing (the use of jumpcuts in time and no explanation will confuse you - especially Bayek's reasoning), while the ending tends to have too many climaxes that experiencing so much action feels like the final boss, but isn't. By the time you get there (which is a repeated boss fight), and the final big moment that almost anyone who knows history would see coming, it's almost a let down. BUT the middle, and what will ultimately take up most of your time, is excellent in building the world and the story around you. There are parts here and there that seem rushed or could have been missed, but are still well worth it.
I should at this point mention the modern day story; you are Layla, a contracted Abstergo employee wannabee in hiding, using an Animus you have built yourself. We discover a lot about her background (including that the events of the AC Movie are now Canon to the series), but other than a few hints here and there, it seems what little remained of the original modern day story has been pushed aside. There are a few guesses we can make with its ending, but nothing concrete.

The sound effects are fantastic and the team behind them need to be commemorated, especially in coordination with the graphics. Water effects are one of the best I've seen in modern video games, and the fact that each dive into its depths shows something interesting or new is something that still leaves me wanting more and to go back. Ubisoft has included a Camera mode inside the game and for obvious reasons, as the game (especially on the new Xbox One X) looks incredible. Animations are fluid, mouth syncs are great in game and cutscene and each flows very well.
Musical score is very well done, suiting to the game well, although I do wish there were more moments while roaming that music would play, even Fallout style, just to kill the silence while in the desert. The Ezio Family strings of course hit the nostalgia nerve very well, but I'm glad it didn't play center stage here like it has in the past where it didn't suit.
Voice acting is well done and coordinated effectively. NPCs are a little off here and there, but this boils down mostly to the children in game (Same Voice Syndrome strikes most here) and can be excusable. Abubakar Salim as Bayek was a great choice who works well to develop a much needed torn character; one who is hell bent of saving his son's soul but also kind and gentle and loving, which is quite refreshing to see.

I also want to mention that massive amount of customisation present in the game; from garments to weapons, there is a huge selection of choice to make, and upgrading your equipment allows you to keep your favourite weapons throughout the series of the game, which is rarely seen these days. To address the elephant in the room, yes there are microtransations in the game and the Time Savers do help a fair bit, but honestly it's much empty a few garrisons out of men, loot and all their weapons to get money than it is to use RWC to buy the currency in game (especially the crystals you'll need to upgrade your gear). It's moments like these as to why I mention customisation in a review, as its these moments that really help immerse a player into the game: I was obsessed with upgrading one particular sword because Bayek was attached to it. I hunted down Level 40 killers, I did plenty of side missions, all the while using this sword to upgrade it as far as I could. These are the things that keep players engaged long after the story is finished. The main story is roughly 20-30 hours long, with heaps of things to explore along the way (I haven't had a bad Side Mission yet), with plenty more to explore as you level Bayek slowly but surely.

With open world games, there are plentiful of bugs and issues, and I found quite a lot. I had two crashes, where the game paused for so long I was pushed back to the main menu. The game also froze quite a lot, and traveling across the map cause everything to pause while it loaded. Plenty of floating rocks, unloaded textures and glitches in NPCs are out there in the world, and I did experience one frozen side mission where a NPC failed to load where he needed to be at mission's end (Blood In The Water side mission). These did take me out of the experience and thus needed to be mentioned here.

Chariot racing, War Elephant attacks, Gladiator missions, the mass amount of side missions littered over the map, tracing the stars, finding the hidden tombs, exploring the Pyramids of Giza, traversing across the deserts (while I had the Prince of Egypt soundtrack blaring), Assassin's Creed Origins gives the series a new RPG-eske breath of fresh air into the series and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in it. At around 50 hours have I finally decided to take a break, as my side missions are starting to run thin. From mild to hardcore fan, I do recommend this series without a doubt. 
It does have its bugs and faults: the main story begins to drag by the time you begin to focus your energy on the final Order members, and obvious heartbreaking moments lose their punch when you've known the character for less than two cutscenes, but nevertheless, I enjoyed this game without a doubt and definitely are looking forward to replaying from the beginning soon.

RPG fans rejoice, and welcome to the Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed Origins - 8/10

Review: South Park The Fractured But Whole

South Park The Stick of Truth was praised for many things, and I personally gave it a favouritable score even despite it being heavily censored in Australia. Stick of Truth was so good that I even contacted the Classification Board about it, something I never thought I'd do for any game, let alone South Park. That was how much I enjoyed the game. (Full review of SOT here)

So since the announcement of Fractured But Whole, I have kept a keen, albeit guarded, outlook on the series. I kept my expectations low so that when the game would eventually come out, I would have a fresh perspective, to which I'm happy to say I had during my time playing.
Fractured But Whole isn't perfect, but it still has enough to improve from its predecessor. 

The storyline begins immediately from the previous game. You play as King Douchebag AKA New Kid, fighting to protect the Stick of Truth when suddenly, Cartman changes the game as something only the Coon and Friends could solve has appeared; cats have started disappearing from South Park, and Scrambles has a $100 reward. To start their Superhero franchise, the boys set off to find Scrambles for the reward (and gathering followers on Coonstergram), as trouble begins to loom over the horizon.
The story, admittedly, isn't as strong as the Stick of Truth. Fractured But Whole spends so much time focusing on Scrambles, only to abandon the plotline as soon as the second begins. Don't get me wrong, the beginning and middle are still incredible, but its ending leaves more to be desired than what we got. A special mention to the writing as it is phenomenal in the game. The jokes and puns are what you'd expect from a South Park episode and does well to once more immerse you in its world. I was particularly captivated with the Tweek/Craig storyline, and any parts discovering more of the New Kid (Although I was sad being unable to choose "Australian" after all the crying Koalas I got last time - I would have even forgiven terrible Australian accents after choosing that).
While having plenty of side missions, a large portion and the most time consuming are primarily fetch quests: collecting Yaoi fanart of Tweek and Craig, distributing mugshots, finding cats, etc. Speaking of, the main missions now include boss fights against key people/characters, and unlocking your Buddy, who aids to unlock different areas (Human Kite flys with your farts, Captain Diabetes destroys obstacles, etc).

Gameplay wise is fantastic; instead of being turnbased, each confrontation is contained in small bockbased combat (very much like standard JRPGs), characters needing to overcome barriers, and areas to damage enemies. Missions can also do the opposite where hurting only the boss is key, or keeping enemies contained to specific zones, or even simply fleeing from the battle. This does well to help break up the combat sections, especially once the City Ninja start tracking you down.
Sound effects are more or less the same, minus the new Superhero abilities, which is where they shine. Musical score also experiences the same sort of issue, but does well to help incorporate in the areas that need it for nostalgia.
Customisation is by far the biggest improvement over the previous game. Players can choose their gender (although not until unlocking your Superhero powers), religion, race, even your own weakness. And the mass amount of clothing options is easily more than the previous game. Players can choose their abilities from a set of classes (Unlocking more as you progress), and their clothing as they progress. Power bonuses all depend on what you find/create, from 9 Balls to god damn Fidget Spinners, each improves you/your team and your stats. Crafting new artifacts/health boosts, mixing your abilities from different classes, taking selfies with everyone you can find in the game, there's so much to do to make your character how you want them to be.

Voice acting is brilliant, and really helps to show what affect having the creators of your game's basis can have overall. NPCs do often have Same Voice Syndrome, but this can be mostly ignored if you don't fart on every NPC like I do.
Graphics have been inproved, especially colouring and lighting in cutscenes, while retaining that familiar SP look and retaining the previous game's style. I didn't experience any game breaking bugs, but glitches did occur here and there, mostly resulting in a duplicating glitch of characters (Ms Cartman being the worst offender) or essentially freezing combat due to two conflicting parties joining in (Cops assaulting the New Kid after starting a fight with Crab People, for example).

Personally speaking, I do still think Stick of Truth is a better game, if only in story alone, but Fractured But Whole simply has so much more meat on its bones than its predecessor. Toilet mini-games, visiting the Canadian Wall, turning back time with your farts, everything clicks so well in this game that despite the flaws, it improves on so many areas from Stick of Truth. It may kill Trey and Matt, but I firmly believe one more, one final game, may finally perfect this series of games involving the New Kid with the powerful farts. Developers, take notes.

Fractured But Whole - 7/10

Changes - Update Post

G'day there everyone!

I know these posts aren't generally what you come here for, especially considering we're now deep into AAA Title releases, but I felt as if this is a necessary addition to highlight some changes to this page and how I review games.

First and foremost: scoring. I have always scored games out of 10, with the occasional .5 thrown in, but was abandoned after I felt it cheapened the scoring of a game. But as I focus more and more on smaller additions in games and what makes them tick, I feel as if my scoring doesn't accurately portray those little pieces that make a game what it is.
So considering the response for review scores, in the upcoming year there may be a few changes to how games will be scored. I'll leave 2017 with the standard and add something new for 2018.

Looking around, I've also added another search bar near the Archive for quicker access to reviews, and have updated the Upcoming Reviews with titles you can expect to be covered within the next few weeks and months. There's also a Subscription button, as I have been informed by a few that they didn't know how/where to do this.

With all said and done, please stick around for upcoming reviews! Shadow Of War will be my first in the upcoming reviews, but I will also be doing a review/Unboxing of an Xbox One X next month!

This update post is already too long, so TLDR: Vote in the poll, new ways to see my old stuff/subscribe to this page, expect lots of reviews in the next few weeks.

Recording videos is also a priority, but I'm working on something special, so keep an eye out for that! I'm hoping to get it done (At least the first!) before the new year. It's almost 2018! My god, we're in the future.

Otherwise, as always, have fun and game on!