I'll be streaming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in April! I originally wanted to stream some of the Tomb Raider games, but I'm having trouble getting them to work the way I want to for streaming.
As it stands, I could stream most of them if I wanted to use a controller... which I really don't like. I may still attempt it sometime (perhaps even later in the month after finishing PoP), but I'd much rather use keyboard and mouse controls. We'll see. Part of the fun of the non-MMOMG months is playing it by ear and trying different things.
Join me Sundays - Wednesdays starting at 9pm ET on Twitch, YouTube, Mixer or Smashcast to watch me play live! Hope to see you there!
Here's something that thoroughly pisses me off, and with streaming MMOs every other month I encounter it all too often.
This is a screenshot of the En Masse launcher, which is in the process of downloading a game (though it might as well be nearly any game launcher). As you can see, the download has stalled. Clicking 'Pause' and then 'Resume' will in fact resume the download... for a short time. I know because I've had to do this over 50 times just to get to 22% and I will have to continue this until it's finished, for a total of several hundred clicks.
Experience action, stealth and intrigue in the New World!
There's probably nothing I can say about Assassin's Creed that hasn't already been said. The franchise is so huge that a film is about to release in theaters as I write this. What I can do is express my first impressions of the title from the standpoint of someone new to the series, but not to gaming.
Cyborg super-soldiers versus laser-blasting dragons!
In Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, you're a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier on a mission to stop your former superior officer which has gone rogue. He's also a cyborg, but he has an army at his disposal and has been meddling around with radioactive beasts.
Blood Dragon is technically an expansion for Far Cry 3, but it's standalone meaning you don't need the base game to play it. Unlike its parent title, your skills are preset when leveling up, but that's offset by the fact that you're playing as an amalgamation of the Terminator, Rambo, and Snake Plisskin. If the premise and characters sound a bit excessive, don't worry because that's absolutely intended! The setting is steeped in '80s action nostalgia, complete with "Cobra"-inspired goons, thrumming synth music and a barrage of cheesy one-liners!
Once you liberate the first base, you discover a nice big map full of further points of interest, including side-missions to rescue scientists and hunting expeditions to take down rare creatures. Of course, you also have to watch out for Colonel Sloan's army as well as the rampaging blood dragons. The game places a little more emphasis on stealth than I expected, which I was quite happy with. I find it fairly disappointing when so-called "stealth games" allow you to go in guns blazing with nearly no repercussion, and this title makes it a necessity in certain situations.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon uses the successful recipe of open-world exploration and first-person shooters, but adds a healthy dose of '80s action flick tropes to provide an over-the-top story and setting.
Photograph wildlife and fight aliens amidst an intergalactic war... you gotta pay the bills somehow!
Beyond Good & Evil is an adventure with a lot of charm, polish and action. Set several hundred years in the future, your planet becomes the target of alien attack just as the power company shuts off your service (which includes your home's force field). Thankfully, you quickly find work taking photographs for scientific research as well as a covert mission offered by a mysterious and wealthy man.
In short, I have a lot of praise for this title. The photography element (which serves as an income source and map acquisition) encourages exploration and makes for a fun way to collect images of your travels. The cast of characters are all well-written and entertaining, and the transitions between gameplay and cutscenes feel fairly natural. Playing as the duo of Jade and Pey'j provides a co-op feel to both combat and puzzle-solving, complete with an ample dose of buddy-banter.
I highly recommend you snag this title ASAP while it's still free on Uplay (which won't be for long).
Platforming fun available for a limited time via Uplay!
Rayman Origins is a polished platformer that features a cast of silly characters, bright and colorful settings, and a fair amount of environmental interaction.
It's obvious that a lot of care and work went into this title, as it's a quality game. It has a cute, cartoon art style and is packed with humorous moments and animations. Even the premise of the game is rather silly - Rayman and his slacker buddies end up snoring so loudly they actually wake the dead. The characters all seem to speak pig latin, further adding to absurdity of it all.
Style and story aside, the game has excellent controls, level design and pacing. You gain access to new abilities, areas and alternate characters by collecting items and saving your friends scattered throughout the game. You can switch characters and look at your progress in between levels by going back to the Snoring Tree (where you begin), which is thankfully accessible with a simple button press. Completionists can get their fix by finding all the secrets and collectibles, which seems to be the real challenge of the game.
In short, Rayman Origins is a fun, high-quality platformer with a lot of charm.
Time to get sneaky doing covert ops in this stealth action game!
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is the first in the Splinter Cell series of stealth games by Ubisoft Montreal. You play as agent Sam Fisher, using your stealth skills to complete covert ops missions.
Puzzle-platforming action combat with the ability to rewind time!
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is available free for a limited time on Uplay. This title is mainly a puzzle-platformer, but also features a fun action combat system and a handful of time-manipulating tricks.
