Watch Dogs 2 Review - Before You Buy it Read This!!!

"We're hackers.  We out-think, we out dare. I saw we tear down the wall.  Show to world what they...what Blume are up to.  Show the world what their personal data is being used for".

          - Marcus Holloway, Watch Dogs 2

This fall quarter of games seems to involve a rebel's rise to fight back against the machine that runs the system we live in.  Dishonored 2 lead the pack involving a story of being on your own and taking back what's yours. Watch Dogs 2 seem to be on a path that involves not letting those in power have absolute power over you and your life.  I will be honest, I did not play the first Watch Dogs.  It didn't catch my attention because I didn't under it.  I sort of judged the game as something I wouldn't like before I tried it and saw what it had to offer.  Most reviewers said the original Watch Dog fell real short of expectations, and this is why such drastic changes was needed for the sequel. 

Fortunately for me, Watch Dogs 2 is its own game and doesn't pick up from the roots of its predecessor.  Watch Dog 2 features its first black lead character Marcus Holloway.  Marcus is part of a hacker group known as Dedsec, a hacker group with the mission to take down the advance surveillance system of San Francisco. 

Watch Dogs 2 plays much like GTA open world with the ability to interact with NPC's non-linear and complete missions in multiple ways.  There is a multi-player feature similar to GTA online that allows you to complete missions online together.  During the game your objective is use gadgets to hack people, devices, and vehicles to gain information. 

Story

The story of Watch Dogs 2 is not as accurate or as punishing as GTA with a story that made you come to grips with the horrible reality of your life choices, insight on dysfunctional families and complete loss of control of your life.  30+ hours of story in Watch Dog 2 about finding who created the corrupt system and finding ways to bring them down.  Marcus has a criminal record that he wants erased, so he works with some hackers to clean his record.  Marcus eventually sees the bigger picture after the group informs him that a government agency ran by someone name Blume has intent on data mining citizens and controlling information for evil intentions.  If you seen the movie hackers, then a lot alluding to the movie plot is done in this game.  

There is a lot of 1984 big brother is watching and controlling everything you do in this game.  Since you don't like how Big Brother tracks and follows you, you become Little Brother and do the same thing but also bring the system down.  Watch Dogs 2 follows most video game motto of the core belief is that the main characters are right, and everyone else is wrong.  In order to combat Blume's government take over, Dedsec intends on creating a celebrity persona and gaining millions of followers online.  The followers they gain have online profiles and information that they will hack and data mine. Somehow all this will counter the efforts of the government control.  You're goal is to use your team's diverse background and ability/traits to unit as a whole to stop the exploitation of the common public and take down CtOS 2.0

Culture Shock

There is definite emphasis in the counter-culture and underground or indie scene in Watch Dogs 2.  Developers really went out of their way to represent the small groups society want to forget, judge, or overlook.  When developers made the lead African American, that offended a lot of players in the video community.  I do not know why having a black character as the lead effects anything.  Ignorance is bliss to some I guess.  Well, if that wasn't enough there are cannabis cultures and nudist camps.  If you went to a strip club in GTA V, then this isn't a shortcoming that will not offend you.  

Flaws

Well this game fell into the pit of what most open world games do.  It struggled to stay focus.  The balance between narrative and game-play really got of hand quick.  Implementation of using gadgets to complete missions can be inconsistent and less supportive to complete the task.  On some missions, you use gadgets to complete objective.  Well, sometimes the gadgets glitch and the AI is very dumb.  I see a bug to fix this.  Stealth is key this game where working in the shadows to do damage is key, but this aspect of the game is loose but fixable.  Focus mode from the original is gone.  

The game feels very empty.  Aside from completing the main objective of building a social media following by doing things like driving crazy and acting guards to stick it to the man, there ain't much substance to stray from this linear path of the story line.  Tagging the Golden Gate Bridge for attention on the social media seems more of a joke than purpose driven.

Perks

This game is one of the few open world games that play equally to PC.  The FPS in PS4 is averaging 30 FPS. Resolutions of 1080P handle well, and keep the architecture detailed and NPC presence solid.  It's like Crazy Taxi, where it's an accurate detailing of San Francisco.  The soundtrack is very smooth and appropriate for the action and setting of tone for the antics of a hacker group against the authority.  You have research points to level up your abilities which are key to progressing the game.  This leveling up task is mundane, but farming for skill points is a key part of role playing games.  

Overall

The game has potential and the actors did their best with what they had.  Watch Dogs 2 is light years better than what the first game established, and to be honest with a few DLC's it has the foundation and mechanics to be a great game.  Lots of patches are need to be the game function solid, so I will say for what it attempted to do which is be different from the pack...Watch Dogs 2 stood as its own beast.  I give Watch Dogs 2 at 9.0 out of 10. 

Call of Duty Infinite Review - What is this Crap they Released?

I'm going to exercise my constitutional right of Freedom of Speech and give an appropriate review.  Food for thought...Battlefield 1 put us at the very beginning of large scale warfare in WW1 taking pride in limiting gamers to the weapons of the time period, while Call of Duty Infinite takes us to the future where mechanized soldiers and spacecrafts make the possibilities endless.  I'm wondering if this was planned?

Call of Duty Infinite is a tangled story of blood and ambition filled interplanetary warfare.  Like the Madden series, Call of Duty is soon becoming an annual release with few improvements that most die hard fans are starting to take note.  Well, this time around we are given a new dynamic, space warfare and zero gravity battles. Seems like developers of Call of Duty Infinite were doing some note taking on the No Man's Land game, and they sampled the ability to go from on ground battles to outer space combat.  To be honest aside from a few gadgets, space travel is really the only improvement to me if you been buying each new game of the Call of Duty Black ops games.

Single Player Mode

In the single player mode, the pacing suffers from endless corridors, long loading screens, bullet spongy enemies, and uneven AI. This game has a star studded cast of voice actors.  Racing fans will recognize Formula Racer Lewis Hamilton.  The big draw is Jon Snow from the Game of Thrones as the main villain.  Kit Harrington is a freedom hating Mar's rebel that wants to destroy the Earth.  Developer's aren't paying me for a review so i'll be honest.  The single player story is really weak and hardly will hold your attention to be honest.  Spoiler alert everyone dies on a suicide mission. The real anticipated action is the multi player mode.

Multiplayer Mode

The major reason gamers invest in Call of Duty games is the multi-player mode.  Well here is the thing you might want to know up front developers seem to cut corners on this game. The maps are poorly designed, and the wall running mechanics are glitched and limited.  Sometimes you have limited access to wall climbing and the advantage will go to gamers who have familiarized themselves with the maps.  A positive note  is customization classes are a good addition mixed with all the innovations you play with in the single player mode. With some debugging and patches, Multiplayer mode this time around is estimated to be a challenge for even a veteran Call of Duty player.

Zombie Mode

There is a knock-off version of the zombie game sat in an abandon amusement park that will draw in many gamers.  The amusement park mini-game is a mix of plants vs zombies and Zombieland movie.   It's a fun play through centered around puzzle solving and interesting mini games in the park.  I cannot lie, it will definitely catch your attention, and kept you amused more than the single player mode or multiplayer mode.

Overall, this was a very disappointing Call of Duty game.  I anticipated a lot more from the new system and capabilities.  Seems like I got the same black ops game with new characters and half-way written single player story line.  Developers got a lot of bugs and patches to do before the multiplayer mode is playable to be honest. I would like to revisit this game after it has been fixed, but now I give Call of Duty Infinite a 7.5/10.  It really earned loyalty points b/c that score could be lower.  Developers get on it, and fix the game to the quality standards I have come to expect from the series.

Doom 4 Review

"He cannot be allowed to leave this place!  He will ruin everything!"

Let's get this out the way...if you were expecting innovative gameplay and sappy romantic in-depth storylines, then you are playing the wrong game.  If you're all about killing demons, and going berserk in chaotic world that wants you died, then you found you're calling.  Well let's say Doom 4 is a demon of its own instead a reboot of a loved video game series.

Revival of the Franchise

The trick to rebooting a great video game series is to rediscover its context. Bringing back specific mechanics or systems is pointless in itself, like applying lipstick and blusher to rotten flesh; instead, designers must treat on the old title in broader terms, looking at what made it special for the era and seeking to replicate those emotions, that sensibility, with today's tools and in today's climate. 

Doom 4 is a catch 22 in many aspects.  It wants to sample all aspects of the boxes associated with a modern story-heavy shooter campaign in the Bioshock vein - holographic echoes of now-butchered people fiddling around with ancient artifacts, upgradeable gear, weapon select wheels and a lore database intent on sapping all enthusiasm for the gorgeous weapons by explaining them to death.  On the other hand, it disappoints from what I expected to see and experience.  The game play is really dated and seems like a Halo 4 on Xbox 360 more than and new-gen game. 

The core components of the 1993 game's appeal are its maps, or rather, dungeons - shifting Stygian warrens of flesh and bulkhead, in which no chamber is without its fair share of false walls, trick floors, mysterious switches, teleport pads and out-of-reach power-ups.

The 2016 version clearly gets this, though it has yet to really surprise me. While compact by current genre standards, the first few campaign maps are agreeably knotty, with all sorts of secrets visible on walkways or dropped invitingly behind malfunctioning doors. 

Innovations

The demons have more spring in their step, too.  Another new addition is the possessed sentry, a former human elite who rocks a handheld energy shield and shotgun - distressing indeed when you're backed into a corner. In general, there's a nice sense of layering to the encounter design, with bog-standard zombies who shamble towards you slowly but steadily while you're preoccupied with more eye-catching threats.

eSports already has a doping problem'There is plenty of evidence that it can cause brain damage'

The game's "Glory Kills" melee execution system has attracted the ire of purists - this lets you polish off a weakened, flashing foe in spectacular style with a single button press, showering you in Stimpacks to boot. It certainly sounds like a banal cosmetic flourish, but actually serves a function similar to Bloodborne's rallying, whereby you'll often need to risk close quarters combat if you want to heal up. There's a similar touch of risk-and-reward to managing ammo reserves - you can masticate opponents with a chainsaw to refill your weapons, which again entails putting yourself in harm's way. Later levels will really force you to dig into these systems, in addition to each weapon's alternate fire and the environment.

Overall

I have not played the multiplayer that much because it's not my thing, but I would say the campaign is worth a playthrough or rental if possible.  Honestly, it's not going to win game of the year, but Doom 4 has it's moment.  I must say with Bethesda reputation for quality and innovation, I was really disappointment with the results of Doom 4.  It's 7 out of 10 for me.  I might change my mind in increase the score if the multiplayer turns out to be good and competitive.