Tom Clancy's Division - April 12, 2018 - Save the Date!

Agents!

I'm happy to announce that Update 1.8.1 is launching across PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on April 12th! Players can expect two new Legendary mission modes for Amherst’s Apartment and Grand Central Station alongside the following Xbox One X patch enhancements:

• 4K rendering
• Higher anisotropy
• Improved reflections
• Improved object detail
• Improved screen-space shadows

Two brand new Global Events are coming to The Division: Blackout in April and Onslaught in May.
Global Event Blackout—Agents are equipped with Shock Ammo that stuns enemies. Shooting or running builds your charge meter. The more charge, the more damage you inflict.
Global Event Onslaught—Agents deal burn, bleed, and gas effects to enemies in addition to normal damage. Reloading changes the effect.

In addition, the new Classified acquisition changes will be live with 1.8.1. Here is a short recap for everyone who missed the news. Players can refer to the 1.8.1 Patch Notes soon for a full list of changes.

Vendor Changes

• Added a Classified Gear cache to the Special Vendor that guarantees 1 Classified Gear piece from the entire pool.

Global Events Vendor

• Removed the basic cache from the vendor.
• Each Global Event will now have individual caches per Classified Gear set for that Global Event. This allows the player to purchase, for example, a Fire Crest cache that guarantees one item from that set.

Exotic Loot drops

• Removed Premium Vendor Exotics from Open World loot pool and Exotic Caches.
• All Exotics added to the Open World Bosses.
• Classified Gear Drop Rates
• Classified Drop Rates chances have been increased in all locations.
• Legendary Missions now have a 20% chance to give Classified Gear as a reward at the completion of the mission.
• Season Pass Supply Drops now have a 10% chance to drop Classified Gear.
• Survival Caches now have a roughly 10% chance to drop Classified Gear.

Head over to the Official Forums to engage in the conversations and leave us some feedback. We will see everyone on the streets of New York!

The Division Dev Team

Will Smith Movie Bright Is Alright - Underrated Hit

I finally caught the movie Bright by Will Smith and Netflix after seeing the soundtrack for it on iTunes.  I read a few reviews on sites, and I really have to say that they were completely wrong about this movie.

First of all if you're not a fan of sci-fi, magic, or World of Warcraft, then you will not take much interest in the movie Bright.  Bright really focuses on how multiple races like Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs, Humans, Fairies, Centaurs and magical creatures co-exist in a modern world.

The social class system is based on the aftermath of a magical war where an evil demon tried to end existence and all races came together to stop it.  Somehow humans maintain order, elves are wealthy, and other races fall into normal roles.

I'm going to be honest with you, Bright is a good movie but it was marketing is horrible.  You have to watch the movie for a hour to get to the main story line of the movie.  Will Smith plays a human police officer Ward.  Joel Edgerton plays an Orc police officer Jakoby.  Officer Ward gets shot by an Orc and everyone believes Officer Jakoby was in on it or let the Orc get away b/c of Orc traditions/loyalty.

We learned that Officer Jakoby kept a secret that really changes the tone of the movie.  Officer is an outcast in his race, and he can no longer go back his race b/c he is unblooded.  The whole movie builds on how he must gain honor to become unblooded and accepted by his race.

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>Officer Jakoby joined the police force to gain honor and protect the city.   I can see how viewers that are not sci-fi fans would be thrown off by the story lines of what goes on with the class system of imaginary creatures.  Once you get past that, it's actually a good movie.

The story centers around a magic wand that can grant wishes to anyone who can wield it.  Mainly Elves named Brights are the only ones that have the power to wield the magic wand without dying. The story picks up when the two officers respond to a call to a gang area where they meet a young Bright who has a magic wand.

An older Bright tried to kill the younger Bright, and use magic to resurrect the dark lord.  Lore of the dark lord becomes a motif or running joke throughout the movie. The movie takes a serious tone as both officers battle their morals, desires, sense of duty to protect the young Bright and the wand.

Many races died trying to wield the magic wand.  Lots of action and jokes from uncomfortable situations result from the Officer Ward and Jakoby protecting the wand and the Bright.  It's a typical action comedy like Lethal Weapon or Police Academy.  I won't give all the story away, so i'll end it here.

In conclusion, you have to take the movie for what it is.  It's an action comedy movie about magical creatures starring Will Smith.  It makes you smile when you think about it but hey...it works.  If you come looking for something innovative, then you will be disappointed.

If you want to watch a Netflix original new movie, then this is a good one to watch.  It's not going to win any awards, but it is a good movie to watch on your free time.  The movie was marketed as an action movie when it should be a sci-fi thriller.  I give Bright a 7 out of 10.  I heard that sequel is in the making.  Many are protesting the ration behind a sequel, but if you getting involved with the story then you want to see more.

Overfall - Something New

Do you like RPG's and strategy games? Do you like vikings and fighting?  Do you like sailing and exploring an open world?  Do you like negotiating and diplomacy?  Well, I have an underdog hit that you may like called Overfall.

Indie game brought to life with your help and Kickstarter
I remember Overfall because developers had a fund raiser for the game's development nearly a year ago. 1,430 backers pledged $67,768 to help bring this project to life.  Now, Overfall is nearly finished, and it is a dream come true thanks you fans.

What is Overfall?
Overfall is available for early access on Steam, but it will be fully released on March 1, 2016.  In Overfall, you are the captain of your own ship and can explore the shifting seas of a strange realm. Fight challenging foes…or befriend them. Recruit lost souls and learn their histories. Take part in stories of the absurd and the tragic, the magical and the mundane - intimate, epic, and never the same twice in this fantastic strategy role-playing game!

Why is Overfall unique?
The most exciting aspects of the game is it use of teamwork with the fighting system and the storytelling.  Developers stated "one of the main strengths of Overfall comes from the stories you encounter during a playthrough, an island-to-island experience where you don’t just sail around trying to save the world - you can just as easily encounter a charming stand-alone story or a self-contained quest progression. The more of these encounters we have, the richer and more fun the overall experience will be. We wanted these encounters to be perfect, and to achieve that, we started searching for ways to improve our storytelling."

What is separates the writing from other RPGs?

Developers said "Game Writing Style Guide, which would explain the basics of creating a story in Overfall, give some ideas on how to write a good story, and outline Overfall’s writing style with a couple of examples. And we already were in touch with the best person for writing this kind of guide, not only because he’s a great writer with worlds of experience, but also because he’s great mentor material.

Combat and progression
Overfall is similar to Xcom with its combat strategy movement system.  You have to move a limited amount of spaces, and select your attack or buff to progress the battle.  It's unique because team work is everything.  You can't put faith or level up one character to accomplish everything.  You have to use one character in support, and use a stronger character to support. It's one of the few RPG's in a while to make you think about choices because enemies will gang up on you in order to end your game.

Barter and Trade
You also have to barter, trade, and maintain an inventory of supplies that will determine if you have the ability to explore and enter combat.  Deciding between restoring your health, upgrading weapons or ships will be key to surviving.  Dust is a drug and currency that you use to barter.  Dust is a magical ingredient which causes some to become addicted to it.  It can be used to upgrade utility skills at guild ships.  Also, can be used to alter movement speed of the ship for a short period of time by pressing SPACE key, this process stacks up 3 times and fades slowly.  I wonder if dust can be exploit later to those who are addicts?

Overall on Overfall
It's definitely worth a playthrough.  Right now it's still a beta version.  When the game is released on March 1, 2016 in its full version, it will be priced at $9.99 to $19.99.  It's not on the level with final fantasy graphics, but it gets the job done and tells a good story.  I enjoyed being one of the fans that help support this project, and I encourage you all to play Overfall as well.

6 Year Anniversary- Thank You

6 years ago when I watched a report that stated minorities aren't represented on gaming television and media because they are not valued consumers by major corporations, I decided to be the voice of the consumer and start a website called www.hivegaming.blogspot.com dedicated to gaming and anime. 

 

Today we celebrated our 6 year anniversary.  I just wanted to say y'all the real MVP, and I love you all! 🎮. Shout out to everyone new and old.  If you just found my blog, then leave a comment and say hello.  I'm here today bc you all thank you for helping make a difference. 

Hideo Kojima Firing was a Hoax?

For gamers like me that were disappointed to see Hideo Kojima departure from Konami, we can breathe a sigh of relief.

According to Vamien McKalin of Tech Times the voice actress Donna Burke stated "Konami is correct in that Kojima has not actually been fired. As I stated previously he and his team are still working hard on getting the game out. My sincere apologies to Konami, Hideo Kojima and the fans for giving the wrong impression.

I was trying to add my voice to Otsuka-san pleading with the fans to not abandon MGSV because of the stuff happening at Konami and to throw my support behind Kojima and everyone who has worked over the last five years and is working to make this game the greatest ever."

The take away you are suppose to get from reading this is that the rumor of Kojima being fired was really a marketing tactic to increase buzz for the new Metal Gear Solid Game coming out. Developers hoped that consumers would buy the game believing this was Kojima's final video game and his gaming artistry would be over.