Tag: PlayStation

Categories
GAMING Uncategorized

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour: Still the best PS4 Golf Game – The Gamer in me GL-28

As great today as it was at release

(Cobe Life has recently switched to a new Subscription service.  I strongly advise current Subscribers to resubmit their follow request)

That could be taken many different ways depending on your preferences.  If a feature packed game filled with multiple game modes, lots of unlockables, and a simulation feel is what you want.  Well then Rory McIlroy PGA tour won’t impress you much.  Since it’s initial release back in the summer of 2015 EA sports hasn’t added anything new to the mix either.  Now if an impressive looking golf game, that feels quite like the difficult challenge of the real thing appeals to you.  Well then you are probably very happy with Rory McIlroy PGA tour.  What it lacks in features, it gains in actual gameplay.  What i enjoy in a Sports Sim falls a little between the two so Rory McIlroy PGA tour is a little hit and miss for me.  Of course this being Masters week I couldn’t resist revisiting this game.

Career Mode

This is generally the mode I’m most interested in when playing Sports Sims.   Designing your golfer is a little disappointing.  Character customization is extremely limited so don’t expect to create a digital version of yourself unless you are the most generic looking person ever.  Instead of working your way up through the ranks on the amateur circuit.  You begin the game by playing in the amateur championship.  Finish high enough and voila!  You’ve earned your tour card.  Obviously you won’t become to attached to your avatar early on.  Fortunately every hole of golf you play earns you experience.  After a few Rounds you will be able to begin to shape your Golfer into the type of Player that you would like to be.   As your career advances you will unlock Player boosts that can dramatically alter your characters skills.  I found this to be one of the most interesting aspects of the game.  Would you like to bomb it like Dustin Johnson, putt like Jordan Spieth, or hit your Irons like Rickie Fowler?  Well select the right combination of boosts and you can mimic the play style of your favourite professional Golfer.  Just don’t expect to break into the Top 10 overnight.  It takes a lot of Rounds to develop into a top contender.  Although playing the tour is a blast.  Quite a few of the most famous courses are missing, and EA wasn’t able to secure the rights to the Masters so that’s left off the schedule as well.  Still I didn’t miss it nearly as much as I thought that I might.

The thrill of the game

What Rory McIlroy PGA tour does best is re-create the excitement of making the cut on Friday, and fighting for the win on Sunday.  Realizing that you are in contention gets your heart pumping.  Every shot becomes your path to victory, or reason for defeat.  You pay extra close attention to the leaderboard.  Recognizable names like Scott, Rose, and Kuchar are right there challenging you for the victory.  You suddenly realize that your two stroke lead might not be enough, and then just as quickly you remember that it’s only a game.  It’s at that moment that I realized that despite it’s shortcomings, Rory McIlroy PGA tour is a fantastic game.  It does the one thing that Sports Sims and all games are meant to do.  Allow you for the short time you spend playing it to feel like the character, not the person controlling it.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
http://twitter.com/cobeness

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
http://instagram.com/cobesports

Categories
GAMING Uncategorized

End the isolation with A Way Out – The Gamer in me GL-27

The return of Couch Co-op

(Cobe Life has recently switched to a new Subscription service.  I strongly advise current Subscribers to resubmit their follow request)

I remember a time when the most popular video games were all shared screen, or split screen.  Whether competitive or co-operative they all shared one thing in common.  They were enjoyed as a group.  Everyone found a spot on the couch, or floor and prepared themselves for hours of video game domination.  I’ll never forget the ridiculous four port splitters required to play four player dungeon crawlers.  There were wires absolutely everywhere.  The graphics weren’t great, and the more players that played increased the likelihood of frame rate issues.  Games would freeze, or totally crash two hours in when the game consoles got too hot.  To prevent it from happening I purchased one of those external fans that clipped to the back of the game system.  Even with all those issues we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  What made it special was the shared experience.

Developed by Hazelight, and produced by Electronic Arts – A Way Out is banking on the appeal of those classic Co-operative games.  They believe that the shared experience is what makes a game special.  Even if it has a few flaws.

Buy 1 get 1 free

Something that’s totally unique about how A Way Out is being sold.  A Way Out cannot be played solo.  It requires a second player.  Now you might have assumed that it was a crafty sales trick to get somebody who purchases the game to talk their friends into buying it as well.  Well that’s not the case.  When you purchase a copy it includes a fully playable download that you can give to your gaming partner.  It allows them to play the game as the other character online with you.  Of course you can always play couch co-op split screen.  I haven’t played the entire game, but ivI’ heard that it takes roughly 8 hours to complete.  So playing online might be the best way for many to complete the game easily.  Providing the additional download wasn’t necessary.  Electronic Arts could have just forced everyone to buy a copy.  I see this as a very smart marketing move though.  As a video game enthusiast and blogger I keep up on what’s new.  When I mentioned the upcoming release of A Way Out to some of my friends.  Not all of them were aware of it.  Those that were aware, were split between those that were buying it, and those that weren’t.  By providing the free playable download, Electronic Arts will effectively double the number of Players.  If the game is even moderately successful.  The next co-operative game they release will have a larger audience.  They have turned their customers into salespeople.  And who’s more passionate about the games they create than the people that play them?

Attractive Pricing

As a Canadian I’m getting accustomed to paying upwards of $80 for a single video game.  Feels like highway robbery to me.  I’m sure many of you feel the same way.  It takes a lot of hype, great reviews, and an interesting type of game to encourage me to buy it on Day one.  Well at only $40 for A Way Out the choice to purchase it was far easier.  Especially when it includes a partner copy.  Even if it ends up being a bit of a flop.  It becomes a little easier to stomach when it’s only half the price of most new releases.  Lets be honest, there haven’t been many marquee releases yet this year.  While you are waiting for something like the sequel to your favourite franchise to come out.  Why not give A Way Out a try.  It isn’t an exceptionally long game, and one of your friends will owe you one to boot.

Categories
GAMING Uncategorized

Tom Clancy’s The Division revisited – The Gamer in me GL-24

A blessing to be bored

I keep waiting for a new PS4 game to grab my attention and really wow me. For the last few months nothing really has. So today I found myself reaching into the Blu-ray cabinet for an old favourite, Tom Clancy’s The Division. Tell you what, I am damn glad I did. If you haven’t read some of my earlier posts. You might be unaware of the primary reason I waited in line one very early morning to purchase my PS4 on release day. I pre-ordered my PS4 from Futureshop, and although I was practically guaranteed my console provided I arrived before noon. The two games I would get to take home with me weren’t guaranteed. Each game was subject to availability, and the sole reason I wanted a PS4 on day one was to play Tom Clancy’s The Division. Well what I would soon find out is that without any prior warning a number of the day one releases had been delayed. Sony was worried that the significant number of games that had been promised on day one were reduced enough to scare people away from making a purchase. If you ask me they were probably right. I for one wouldn’t have pre-ordered a PS4 if I knew that my first two games would be Need for Speed Rivals and Injustice Gods among us. A couple of truly shitty games in my opinion. I spent the next three months after playing my favourite PS3 games. What made matters worse was the game I truly wanted got delayed multiple times over a couple years.

Would my wish be answered?

When I finally got to play Tom Clancy’s The Division my initial interest and expectations were thankfully met. It remains to this day one of the best designed games I’ve ever played. Even the Dark zone which has had it’s fair share of issues, and balance problems couldn’t ruin it for me because the primary campaign is totally playable and fantastic without it. It has the perfect balance of Story, realism, and arcade elements to make it feel challenging, but remain fun. Graphically it’s stunning. Many open world campaign shooters tend to feel monochromatic. Although the colours are subtle in The Division, they are still very present. The game rewards Players of a high arcade style skill level, but is equally playable by Players that take a more realistic tactical approach. Generally I’m not a big fan of first person or third person shooters. I find them too unrealistic, or chaotic in most cases. Successful franchises like Halo, or Battlefield are probably why so many game designers have chosen to go that way. Tom Clancy’s The Division has moments of intense action which can feel a little chaotic at times, but in doing so never feels unrealistic. The intense, and occasionally over the top sequences fit the story, and serve as a reminder that not all in this world is totally familiar.

If it isn’t obviously apparent to you by now, I’ll just say that I was hooked. I played it as much as I could for a couple months and completed the campaign. Then like most games I’ve truly enjoyed it found it’s way into my Blu-ray cabinet. Expansions were released, but I was already on to something else. Quite a few of my online friends I played The Division with, had already moved on to playing Destiny. Although a marquee game in it’s own right. Destiny was a game that I made a conscious decision to avoid because it seemed to require too much of a time commitment. I prefer solitary games or games that I can enjoy online with 1-3 friends for a few hours every now and then. Destiny just doesn’t fit what I’m looking for out of a game. Although the Division does require groups to complete some of the missions. The majority of the game can be played by yourself, and with a couple friends or strangers online when need be.

HOW IT FEELS TO REVISIT THE GAME.

There have been a number of updates since the game was originally released.  They have managed to improve an already excellent game.  Additional gameplay modes, new equipment to be found, and additional areas to explore.  Honestly they didn’t have to change a thing for me, but the additions are totally welcome.  I had already started a second campaign months ago so I started out a little buffed already.  What I wasn’t ready for was how realistic the recoil system was, and how engaging and smart the AI can be.  In other words I was rusty and ready to have my ass handed to me.  Oh and I definitely did.  Should have changed my name to respawn.  A few deaths later, and I was back to kicking gang banger ass.  It feels good to be back.

If you haven’t played Tom Clancy’s The Division, well now is a great time to give it a try.  If you own it like me but haven’t tried it since the most recent updates.  I suggest you load it up, and give it a go.  I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.