Happy Halloween. New Trailer for the Site. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween Y'all.  I worked really hard on this.  Hope you love it.  Drop a like or leave a comment.  6 years in the business and still going.

Mafia 3 Review

I feel the need to say that Mafia 3 is different. When I say different, I mean if you had an expectation based off previous games or what's on the market, then you will be disappointed.  In Mafia 3, developers did not shy away from controversy of Post Vietnam 1968 such as resentment for war veterans, communism, and racism.

Story
The story centers around Lincoln Clay a former decorated black ops soldier.   The story isn't full of revenge like some game reviewers mentioned.  Mafia 3's story is more about social commentary that you can see in the main campaign or overhear from NPCs roaming the streets and forest of New Bordeaux.  One thing I like about each mission is before you wack a captain, Capo or General, you can overhear conversations about world events such as Dr. Martin Luther King or President Kennedy's assassination, slice of life events NPC share with their gang, or even stories about your reputation among the syndicates and crime lords. There is a sense of connection and how everyone or thing has a place in this world.

Family
Make no mistake this is not a kids game! Mafia 3 earned its Mature 18 rating.  There are graphic sex scenes, prostitution, racketeering, drug use, human trafficking, collectible playboys and nude paintings that capture all that we image on what being part of a crime family is like.  Playing off how everything is connected, I wanted to touch base with how you build a crime family in the game. There is a familiar open-world free roaming and consequence of choices gameplay that Grand Thief Auto fans will appreciate.

Once the act of betrayal was committed in the first mission of the game, Lincoln Clay is hell bent on revenge and taking over the southern Mafia of Louisiana.  In Lincoln's quest to make a wrong a right, he has an ally in a high place known as John Donovan.  John is CIA agent that worked with the J. Edgar Hoover administration to create a lot of chaos domestic and internationally.  John helps Lincoln by supplying him with information on who is on the hit list as well as allies that are needed to maintain control of New Bordeaux.

As Lincoln dives into the crime world, he makes a three powerful friends, Cassandra, Burke, and Vito that will aid him.  His 3 friends later become his lieutenants that help Lincoln run the territory he seizes as he takes over the city.  Each lieutenant has a perk that you can use to help in your journey to take over the family.

Calling in favors
As you build your crime empire, you can gain perks from each Capo you are on good terms with known as calling in favors.  Favors vary from:
Tapping phones lines to know who rats on you
Backup in a gunfight
Deliver and deposit cash
Refills or order new weapons
Reduce police rating/heat

Don't Betray Your Allies
Some sub-bosses perks/favors are better than others such as calling off the heat or calling for a crew to help you in a fight, so stacking those perks will be beneficial but have the cost of losing allies. There is a way to keep everyone happy and territory assigned fairly, but when you get greedy or snub your nose at one sub-boss problems will happen.  If you streamline your workflow with perks and territory assignments to one lieutenants, then your other two sub-bosses/lieutenants will get mad and try to put a hit out on you. Once you go to war with a sub-boss you lose all the perks you had and you're on your own with who you picked.

Graphics
Developers really checked all the boxes that GTA created with an open world infrastructure. Driving around and exploring New Bourdeaux took me to places I never seen in video games such as diverse downtown bathing houses, swamps filled with gators and river boat casinos.  Being from that areas myself, I thought developers were spot on with the local color.

Combat
If you're a high volume gun battle Call of Duty player, then Mafia 3 is not the game for you.  There is a standard array weapons such as high powered rifles and ammo, but the most useful strategy is drawing from Lincoln's black ops background and being stealthy.  Sometimes you can save yourself a long battle by scouting the area, whistling when enemies are close and stabbing them.  The cover system is familiar but functional.  When the cover system doesn't glitch out it is perfect for achieving objectives.  That being said, sometimes you will experience oops moments that will you exposed and vulnerable.  Luckily, the AI in the game lack a sense of self preservation or team work, so you can think on your feet and get the job done.

Overall
Like I said early, Mafia 3 is its own game and it's not like anything else on the market.  I will give the game some props for addressing social injustice issues from 1968 that were left unresolved and escalated into 2016.  The game went there, and it made you look at America for the first time as a developing nation that gets more done when we diversify and work together.  I give Mafia 3 a 9/10.  It's not perfect, but I feel it is a step in the right direction for story, combat, and graphics.

IPhone 7 Plus Shipping Issue, Is It Worth It?

If you belong to the Apple cult and awaiting its latest iPhone idol to be worship, then you are in for a big surprise.  Guess what? The iPhone 7 Plus does not ship until October 7-14, 2016 if you want the 32 GB version and November 28, 2016 if you want the 256 GB version!

Thankfully the I Phone 7 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB versions are scheduled to be on time, and pre-orders will be honored on September 16, 2016.  If you're wondering if it is worth it to wait at least another month before you purchase the $900+ smartphone, then here are a few options to leverage to test your decision making skills and vindicate your judgement. Source of information below is attributed to Forbes.com.

Cameras – Main Selling Points

There’s no denying Samsung is outshined Apple 720P low quality cameras in recent years, but the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus may steal it back:

• iPhone 7 – Rear: 12 megapixel sensor, f/1.8 aperture, Focus Pixels, Optical Image Stabilisation, quad-LED (dual tone) flash, 4K video recording. Front: 7MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p recording
• iPhone 7 Plus – Rear: Dual 12MP sensors (f/1.8, 28mm & f/2.8, 56mm), Focus Pixels, OIS, 2x optical zoom, quad-LED (dual tone) flash, 4K video recording. Front: 7MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p recording

iPhone 7 Plus, but first the iPhone 7 as it has made some significant improvements with a much larger f/1.8 aperture to let in more light (better for low light snaps in particular), a new 6-element lens and the long awaited addition of OIS. There’s also wide color capture for more color accurate photos and a new Apple-designed image signal processor which does the hard-work optimizing images after they are captured.

But it is the iPhone 7 Plus which will capture all the headlines as it is the first iPhone to use a dual camera setup. One camera is identical the wide-angle lens in the iPhone 7, but the second is a telephoto lens enabling 2x optical zoom and far greater depth of field (something Apple pointed out is particularly good for portrait shots).

In addition to this both phones get an upgraded four-LED True Tone flash which is 50 percent brighter, but uses warm and cool lights to produce more natural results. Both phones also have an upgraded 7MP front camera with 1080p video recording, though disappointingly this camera has a slower f/2.2 aperture (the same as last year’s models) so it waits to be seen how it performs in low light.

Storage And Price – The 16GB Curse Is Lifted

Far better news comes with storage and value for money, however, as Apple has at long long last ditched its useless 16GB of base level storage. In fact the company has double storage capacities at every tier so 16GB, 64GB and 128GB have been replaced with 32GB, 128GB and 256GB.

Consequently while prices are unchanged from last year this look better value for money:

• iPhone 7 – 32GB ($649), 128GB ($749), 256GB ($849)
• iPhone 7 Plus – 32GB ($769), 128GB ($869), 256GB ($969)

Needless to say that hardcore iPhone fans will grab the 256GB model, but I suspect many buyers of the previous 128GB flagship may now be happy to save $100 and opt for the same storage as a mid tier option.

Battery Life And Charging – Minimal Improvements

Apple failed to disclose the exact capacities of the batteries in either of its new iPhones, but it did say iPhone 7 owners could expect up to two additional hours of usage compared to the iPhone 6S while iPhone 7 Plus owners will get one additional hour compared to the iPhone 6S Plus.

Displays 

The much marketed 3D Touch is carried over from the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, but wasn’t name dropped once during the entire keynote.

Meanwhile on paper the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus look identical with OLED panels missing yet again and native resolutions moored far behind their flagship 2K (2560 x 1440) Android counterparts:

• iPhone 7 – 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi), 65.6% screen-to-body ratio
• iPhone 7 Plus – 5.5-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1920 x 1080 pixels (401 ppi), 67.7% screen-to-body ratio

Apple is loudly proclaiming improvements to the quality of both displays highlighting a 25% brighter “cinema standard” Retina HD display. There is also a wider (P3) colour gamut and improved color management, though Apple stopped short of labelling them ‘True Tone’ displays like that on the iPad Pro.

Performance – Major Speed Upgrades

According to some metrics, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus are still the fastest smartphones on the market one year on, but Apple has not stood still:

• iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – Apple A10 Fusion chipset: Quad Core CPU, 2GB of RAM (3GB rumored for Plus, but unconfirmed)

I Phone 7 will be the first iPhones to be equipped with quad core processors. Apple claims they will deliver 40% faster CPU performance and up to 50% faster graphics performance than the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Some will bemoan that the iPhone 7 Plus hasn’t got the 3GB of RAM many had predicted, but new iPhones will still deliver performance that even 2017 Android flagships may struggle to live with. Update: some leaks are claiming the Plus will have 3GB but Apple has not confirmed that yet.

 

Design & Size

Apple has made virtually no changes to the external design. Apple fitted both the new iPhones with just a single Lightning port. Adaptors are bundled in the box, but users will now not be able to charge their iPhones and listen to music with wired headphones at the same time. This decision to going to divide a lot of users.

While the practicality of this decision is questionable, elsewhere the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the most durable iPhones Apple has ever made. They add IP67 dust and water resistance (good for full submersion in up to 1 metre of water for 30 minutes) for the first time while still retaining the rigid Series 7000 Aluminium introduced last year with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Also aiding durability is the replacement of the physical home button on both models with a touch sensitive surface which provides haptic feedback to mimic the feeling of a click. App developers can also harness the haptic feedback for custom vibrations, which could prove interesting.

Apple has also tidied up the antenna bands, removing them from the back of the phone so they only now appear at the top and bottom edges. Meanwhile the eagled eyed among you will have spotted a small physical change:

• iPhone 7 – 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in) and 138 g (4.87 oz)
• iPhone 7 Plus – 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in) and 188 g (6.63 oz)

The answer? While the dimensions are identical to the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are both fractionally lighter at 5g (0.17 oz) and 4g (0.14 oz) respectively. Then again they are still notably heavier than 2014’s iPhone 6 (129g) and iPhone 6 Plus (172g).

Sound Quality

Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus gain dual speakers for the first time. Interestingly this is not from what seems like dual speakers at the bottom of the new iPhones (one side is the mic for phone calls), but through upgrading the speaker earpiece so it is loud enough to be an external speaker in its own right. Better external audio is a long awaited iPhone catchup.

As for finishes, you’ll get a wider array of options this year with Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Black and (for just 128GB and 256GB options) Jet Black but wave goodbye to Space Grey.

Iphone 7: All You Need to Know About What is New and Changed in Less than Minute

What's new with the I Phone 7?

If you're like me, and your I phone  is on it last leg and you're waiting on the I phone 7, then you're in for a big surprise!

Both the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch 7 Plus come in the usual array of colors, with the added additions of the super glossy Jet Black and the slightly more ordinary Black. They have a 25 percent brighter display, with a wider color gamut for better color management and reproduction. This time around, the antennas are built right into the chassis, getting rid of those ugly lines from the previous two versions of the phone. Internally, the new phones get stereo speakers and a brand new A10 Fusion chip. And, possibly most importantly, the devices are water- and dust-resistant. But we get it: you want to drill into the big changes. Take a look below.

First of all lets get the big topic out of the way. There is No longer a Headphone Jack for your earbuds. To make the transition away from analog audio easier (if more expensive), Apple developed its own standard to allow wireless headphones to connect to the new iPhones seamlessly. Using its own W1 chip, Apple designed AirPods — or EarPods without wires — that connect to the iPhone without needing to pair like you would with Bluetooth. Beats has also developed two new headphones running on the W1 chip.

Second,the home button is gone. One of the iPhone’s most constant, iconic features is gone: the clicky physical button at the bottom of the phone. In the iPhone 7, the Home button is still there, but it’s no longer mechanical. Instead, like Apple’s new MacBook trackpads, the iPhone will provide touch feedback with the Taptic Engine.

Third, there is a better double camera.  The bigger version of the iPhone 7 comes with two rear-facing cameras, but it’s not going to let you capture your favorite moments in 3D. Instead, each camera has a different focal length, allowing for users to pick between shooting photos with a wide-angle or a telephoto lens. The iPhone 7 Plus will also be able to do some software tricks using those two different focal lengths. One is called "software zoom," where you’ll be able to "zoom" in the camera app between (and beyond) the two different focal lengths. The other is called "depth," and it uses the differences in the lenses to enhance the blur of the background behind your subject — similar to what phones like the recently released Honor 8 are capable of.

Fourth, the water resistant Apple Watch 2. Apple is back with what it calls the Apple Watch Series 2. It has all the requisite specs bumps: it has the brightest screen Apple’s ever shipped — supposedly twice as bright as the last Watch — and its new S2 chip has a dual-core processor that’s supposed to be 50 percent faster than its predecessor. On the outside, you’ve got the same square shape and side buttons, but it now comes in white ceramic along with aluminum and stainless steel. It also includes some snappy-looking new bands, including a custom design from Hermès, and there’s a Nike watch model that’s aimed specifically at guilting runners into regular exercise.

The Series 2 watches will start at $369, and just like Apple has done for iPhones and iPads, it’s keeping the original Watch around as a cheaper alternative. The Series One line, as it’s being called now, will be upgraded with the same S2 chip and sold for $269. Preorders will start September 9th, with the watches coming in late October. And watchOS 3, which was announced earlier this year, will be coming to current Watch owners on September 13th.

Fifth IOS 10 is coming out. iOS 10 is officially coming out on September 13th, bringing the next major iOS update to users after spending the summer in beta. This release represents one of the biggest iOS has ever seen. It means particularly big things for Siri, which has gotten smart enough to handle image searches and handle transcribing voicemails. But iOS 10 shows Apple becoming much more open, with Siri and iMessage now opening up to developers. Users will also see more widgets and better notifications, and Apple has extended Continuity to include Universal Clipboard, which lets you copy text and images on your phone and paste them on your Mac.

Availability?

The I Phone 7 will be available for purchase on Sept. 16, 2016.  You can start pre-ordering the phone on Sept 9, 2016. 

Fallout 4 Nuka World DLC: All Endings

"From here on out we're stuck together because what it took to get where you are now, the burned bridges, the salted earth, there is no going back.  Like it or not you're one of us.  A cut throat, a killer...A Raider. As luck would have it.  It seems this was the life you were meant for.   Sorry boss.  Take it from experience.  There is no point in fighting who you are.  You can only either let nature consume you, fall to booze and chems like the rabble around this place or you can embrace it.  Let it drive you.  With that in mind, I hope you appreciate the earnestness when I say...welcome home Boss!  Here is to a bright future."

     - Mags, Operators Leader

If you thought you were going to have a fun censored DisneyLand knockoff  DLC, then obvious you aren't used Bethesda irony and sarcastic metaphors.  In Fallout 4 last DLC, Nuka World, you challenged with being leader of 4 gangs that run a corrupt amusement park where innocent travelers are tricked by a lie of helping those in need and forced to fight to the death or become a slave to the bandit anarchy crime syndicates.

In Nuka World there are 4 Factions that run this sadist paradise:

Raiders

• The Pack
• Disciples
• Operators

Hubologists
Traders
Gunners

If you accept the challenge of managing in Hell hole full on disloyal, disrespectful, degenerates and anarchist then this is the add-on for you.  The DLC opens with you trying to defeat a Mad Max like maze of traps and blood thirsty upstart bandits looking to prove something or make a name for themself by gunning you down. After you overcome their challenges and prove your the alpha male or female in charge, then all the factions bow down to you and "let you" take charge of the place.

When I say "let you" take charge of the place, I mean they really only let you have political power to act as a non-bias leader that governs all bandit factions, and not let anyone faction have more leverage over the other. 

This DLC has real gang mentality and organized crime done with a mafia like twist.  At one point you're asked to make a tough choice of living the rest of your life sleeping with a gun under your pillow for safety or putting a bullet in head of the 4 faction leaders, Nisha, Mason, Mags, and William, then restore Nuke World to the peaceful free trading post that all assume it would be. The problem with putting a hit one leader of Disneyland causes all their followers and NPC to turn on Walt Disney. 

""Free and in charge today, tomorrow you'll be somebody slave.  Ain't life somethin.  After everything we done for them, they turned on us. Ungrateful shits! I expect more from Nisha at least. "

        - Porter Gage

Well Boss, you have to decide what direction you want to take.  The old saying you can't please them all, so decide which ones you value the most and which ones you want to screw over...holds weigh here.  

Picking your ending and bonus begins with how you plant flags at the amusement park during the Grand Tour Quest. You should give control of the park sections to the two you like (based on the perks below). Give them both at least 2 spots of land. One faction is going to betray you, and you'll lose favor and face them in the last quest. The more land you give a faction, the better they'll like you.

There are 5 spots to give out, but 3 factions - so even if you try to be fair, someone's getting shorted. You can guarantee you'll end up with the two you want by splitting the land at the Nuka World park 3 to 2, and leaving the other out. Also, bring the raider groups that you like to raid with you during quests after Grand Tour in order to gain more favor with them. See the Perks you gain for each of the raider factions under "Power Play Rewards" below.

"What should we do? We keep going! We take over more settlements in the commonwealth. We take what we want, and we keep taking until we own everything. Oh, and let me make something clear. I appreciate what you've done, but don't go thinking we're friends. We ain't. I'd still happily kill you if enough caps were involved."

- Mason, Pack Leader

Home Sweet Home and Consequences of Going Full Raider

You must build up three Raider Outposts in the Commonwealth during the Home Sweet Home Quest - which should be easy if you're familiar with the game's Settlements system. You will talk to Shank and get to select a Settlement from a few places, as well as which faction you'll bring along to do the raid (it's better to do that to gain more favor with one you like). You will lose control over that Settlement permanently (in terms of connecting it to your other Settlement supply lines and being able to build there), so choose wisely. You'll then be building it for the raiders.

You can choose to talk to the Settlers to get them to walk away or to actually raid it, which is really easy even though Minutemen show up. If you attack Minutemen, Brotherhood of Steel or other factions in the process (even if they're defending) you will permanently damage your reputation with that faction.(A reader warned this happened to them below.) You should make a backup save if you're unsure you want to go this route. You're going full raider if you attack, and it's impossible to finish the Nuka World content without the following consequence - permanent loss of standing with the Minutemen.

"It's like dealing with some rotten little kids, lashing out for attention. Better to die in a fight, then live with the consequences of the own stupidity"

      - Nisha, Disciples 

Losing Standing with Minutemen

Peaceful Bullying
This 100% requires speech checks and or paying off the Settlers. I tested this a lot and determined that for each stage of the quest you complete, Preston Garvey will get more upset. There's 0 impact until you start to take Outposts for the Raiders in Home Sweet Home. He'll gradually come to disown you and accept 0 orders, though he won't attack at first. This will stop endless Settlement quests, for sure! If you go the peaceful route and simply bully the Settlements, you'll reach the tipping point with him alone when you set up the second and third Raider Outposts. Again this is even with simply bullying and 0 violence.

Killing Minutemen & Settlers
If you go with violent actions, ALL Minutemen will hate you as you must kill them when they show up to defend the Settlements you raid (including Ronnie Shaw and named NPCs belonging to that particular faction). Keep all this in mind. You're helping raiders, and that goes against everything the Minutemen stand for, so there's no way around it.

Raid On
However, as Kris says below, you will not have an unkillable Preston Garvey attacking you forever. It only lasts a few days. This means the Minutemen could still be used to finish the game. Preston will never be your follower again, and you cannot get his companion Perk. It is a good perk, but so too are the raider perks. You could of course get his first.

Power Play Rewards - Nuka World Ending

You'll only get this far if you actually go all out as a Raider. During Power Play, you'll get to enable the park's power and allow some additional exploration that wasn't possible with everything off. However, you have to fight off the faction that backstabs you because they feel jilted.

As I said above, you can pick which Raider Factions will stick with you by favoring them in land division and bringing them along to raid. What dictates which faction you should side with and who gets to claim what land in the Nuka-World Park is largely taste, but many players will do it based upon the Perks the Raider Factions have to offer. Here's a rundown, copied from my page about the new SPECIAL and Faction perks offered in the Nuka World DLC:

• Disciples Faction - Chosen Disciple Perk. Any kills made with a melee weapon will restore 25% of yourAction Points.
• Operators Faction - Ace Operator Perk. All guns with a suppressor attached will get a 25% damage boost, permanently. Additionally, your character gains a 10% boost to sneak abilities when in the shadows.
• The Pack Faction - Pack Alpha Perk. Gives a +25% boost to melee and unarmed damage. Its additional function is to reduce damage/energy resistance by 25%! This is a further reduction to damage aside from your normal DR/ER and is certainly useful on a ranged character as well.

You'll Get Two Perks and Additional Rewards

After completing the 'Power Play' Quest, you'll be rewarded with the perks of the two factions that did not turn against you and may give the defeated faction's land to another group. There won't be another betrayal, you've unified the raiders and established a dominant group in the Commonwealth. The two Perks are a great reward, and from there you can accept radiant quests from the two factions remaining. Since my character is a Sniper, I naturally went with Operators and the Pack. A pure melee build would probably prefer Disciples/Pack.

Tribute Chests

Another nice reward are the tribute chests from each of the five zones of the park. Since you're the Overboss, you deserve a cut of what the raiders under you make - this is kind of how your Settlers give you supplies. Only since they're raiders, they will give you chems, money, and weapons/armor directly. Of course, plenty of Nuka Cola as well. Each of the three factions has a set loot table for what they'll give in the tribute chests, but it's hard to track it all down - it doesn't offer end-game gear, just different types of weapons and armor you'd inevitably sell. Nothing amazing, but it certainly helps and you're able to fast travel to the various zones and pick up your loot every so often.

Raider Outposts and Settlements you've convinced to supply the raiders will also pay tribute. This goes in your Overboss chest back in Nuka World. It's yet unclear how often Settlements and Raiders pay tribute to you but is likely related to time played.

You CAN have Settlements and Raider Outposts after Home Sweet Home

You'll have to give up 3 of your Settlements to Raiders to finish the DLC. As far as I'm currently aware, none of this will affect the others. No one has to know you're the notorious leader of a raider gang. When it comes time to setup Outposts, you should just use Settlements you care little about and use them to supply the settlement you raided.

Good Ending: The Open Season Quest

Very early on in the DLC, you can speak to Doctor Mackenzie in the Market in Nuka-Town and get theOpen Season quest. She'll point out how the merchants are all slaves and that you could save them all by killing off the leaders of the three raider factions, which will aggro literally every Raider in Nuka World. This is just a shortcut ending. You can still do a good bit of what Nuka World has to offer in terms of exploration as the whole land mass will still be there, but you'll ruin some of the potential quests and the ability to grant land to the raider gangs. Read the linked guide to see how far you probably should go - hint: at least finish The Grand Tour!

The Last Guardian is No Longer on Hold

I know I've been waiting on this day. Finally after many set backs, excuses, and announcements...The Last Guardian has an official release date.

On October 25, 2016 Playstation 4 owners will face unknown dangers in a strange and mystical land, an ordinary young boy and his gigantic feathered friend must rely on each other to survive in this harrowing story of friendship and trust.

In an interview by theguardian.com with Fumito Ueda, the creator of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus talks, about his hotly anticipated game and his nerves over its release.

When asked about the way in which intimate relationships have figured highly in his three PlayStation games, he shrugs and smiles. “It’s interesting,” he says. “From our side, we didn’t have a strong intent to portray relationships as a theme of our games. We actually tried not to do that. But as a lot of people played through Ico and Shadow of Colosuss, they said, ‘Oh, these games are about building a bond, they’re about trust.’ From my perspective, I just say, here, go ahead, play it – then at the end, the player can come to their own conclusion about what the game is trying to tell them. I don’t like to force feed themes.”

Indeed, it’s surprise about how players have interpreted his past work that led to the pairing at the centre of Last Guardian – the boy and the beast. “Once we were done with Shadow of Colossus there was a moment when I reflected on what we really wanted to communicate and portray in that game,” he says. “For me it was the main relationship between Wander and the girl, but after the release, I read a lot of feedback from players who were touched by the game, and they said that the relationship between Wander and the horse was the most important and appealing – we got the sense that this was what most people felt. I thought OK, if that’s the case, there are a lot of mechanics from that relationship that we could heighten and expand on. That’s where The Last Guardian came from.”

Finally It's Football Season - Madden 17 New Features

I must admit, i'm one of those gamers that play madden wearing my Titan's jersey.  It sucks that when the playoffs start me and my local team are doing the same thing: on the couch watching someone else compete for a championship trophy, lol.  Titans suck but this year I feel we have a good chance at at least being 8-8.  

Well in the world of Madden 17, I can change reality and go to the superbowl with my under-rated team.  This time around EA sports have made some improves to make the game more challenging and goal oriented.  Here is what you can expect feature wise. 

Big Decisions

Big Decisions come to you with the right information at the right time. Do you start your star QB with that lingering injury, or go to your unproven back-up with a playoff spot on the line? In Madden NFL 17 on Xbox One and PlayStation®4, Big Decisions begin a new direction in your career mode experience changing the way you approach your gameplay strategy for every match up.

Big Decisions: Season Goal

The first big decision you’ll make as a coach or player in the regular season is to set your season goal.  As a coach, you can decide whether you are going to make the playoffs or shoot low with a 7-win season.  The choice you make has an impact since if you miss your season goal, you have a chance of getting fired, but the harder the goal then the higher the experience point gain will be.

Big Decisions: Injuries

Once doctors have medically cleared a player that was hurt earlier in the season, you can either play him with a lingering injury or sit him to heal to 100%.  If your player plays a game with a lingering injury, then he has a higher chance of becoming reinjured, which could completely wreck the rest of your season.  If you go with your back-up, he will earn extra XP that will help him with long-term development.

While in-game, you’ll see new presentation banners that highlight your injured players.  You will even see a “with and without” comparison banner showing how your team did the last few weeks with your back-up QB compared to your regular starter.

Big Decisions: Acquisitions

Picking up free agents and players on the trade block is easier than ever with the new Acquisitions menu.  You will be able to easily browse the available players by position and compare them to your current depth chart.  Improve your weakest positions quickly by using the position grades that are right at your fingertips.  Expect the commentators during the game to call out recently acquired players when they make big plays.

Big Decisions: Re-Signing

When your players are on the last year of their contract, you can now re-sign them using a more intuitive menu.  All the information you need to decide if you want to retain the player is available.  The more prominent players will be open to negotiations earlier in the season, with the lower rated players available to sign late in the season after they’ve had a chance to prove themselves on the field.  It’s up to you to decide how aggressive you want to be when offering a contract, but giving a contract that is too low carries the risk that they may reject your team and opt to test the free agent market instead.  As you persuade your players to re-sign, the commentary team will take notice and mention it during the game.

Big Decision: Spending XP

Your players progress through the season as they earn experience points (XP) from training and by completing weekly game goals, drive goals, fantasy goals, season goals, and career goals.  You will be able to easily spend this XP to upgrade ratings and traits at the end of each game.  Quickly see who earned the most XP on the defensive and offensive side.  When there are at least three key position specific ratings available to upgrade, the player will show up in the Recommended list where you will be able to easily choose which rating to upgrade.  

When playing as a coach, you will see a breakdown of all the XP you earned that week, too.  You can easily see if you have an upgrade available and quickly take action.

Big Decisions: Cutting Players

During the preseason, you will now be presented with a new menu layout where your coaches will recommend players to cut based on position depth and player skills.  This allows you to make key decisions about player retention quickly so you can progress through the preseason.

Big Decisions: Free Agent Bidding

While bidding for players in the off-season, you will now be able to easily see your depth chart at the various positions so you know who to bid on.  Additionally, you will get feedback on how the player views your contract so you can adjust it to have a better chance of landing him.  Top rated Free Agents will now regularly sign quickly so you can spend the later stages battling over the next tier of players.  This better emulates real-life, where the top free agents move off the board quickly.

Community Requests

On top of everything else we’ve added this year, you’ll see features in the game directly influenced by community wishlists including the addition of the score ticker, full player editing, practice squad and more.

Around The League Score Ticker

Be immersed in Sunday football, with the new Around The League Score Ticker.  While playing your game, you will see score updates occur from games around the league.  For example, if you’re playing a 1pm Sunday game, you will see score updates and stat lines for all the other 1pm games.  If you’re playing a Monday Primetime game, you’ll see final scores tick by for all the other league games.  If you’re playing in a Cloud league with your friends, their played games will be treated like every other game.  The ticker still gives you updates on goal progress when relevant, too.  There is a setting to show everything, just scores, goal updates, or nothing so you can customize it as you see fit.

Full Player Editing

As the commissioner in your league, you now have the ability to customize almost everything about all the players.  You will be able to adjust appearance, ratings, traits, and contract information for the entire league, letting you make tweaks as you see fit to alter players.  Do you want to add one more year to someone’s contract? Do you think Aaron Rodger’s deep passing accuracy needs to be higher? You can do all this and more with full player editing.  It is as simple as pulling up the Player Card for a player and selecting “Edit Player” to begin.  In a Cloud league, other members can keep an eye on the commissioner since each player edited will show up in the Transaction log.

Practice Squad

Each team now has a 10-man Practice Squad that they can control week-to-week.  It all starts in week 4 of the preseason.  Instead of cutting players, you can now easily move eligible players to the Practice Squad where they will develop as you train the various position groups during weekly training.  These Practice Squad players are available in Free Practice so you can test them out down on the field.  At any point during the season, you can pull up a player from the Practice Squad to your active roster or vice versa.  Only players with less than 2 full years of NFL experience are available to move to the Practice Squad so you won’t be able to stash your veterans on it.  The Practice Squad is the place to develop younger players into guys that can have an impact on your team during gameday.  Just like in the real-world, your Practice Squad players are free agents and can be poached by other teams for their active roster.

Dynamic Development Trait

Each player’s development trait is the biggest defining factor in how he develops.  Players with a Superstar trait will stay in the league longer and develop into the top tier talent, while players with the Slow trait will not make it in the league long.  You will now be able to see it quickly on the Player Card with prominent placement and a new icon.  

Since the development trait is such a key part to a player’s success, we want to make sure you can influence it.  In Madden NFL 17, if a late round draft pick has a breakout season and wins Offensive Rookie of the Year, he will most likely go up a development trait level.  Actually, any major season award and weekly award will have a chance of increasing it.  What goes up must come down.  Once a player fails to reach their season goals they have a chance of dropping down a development trait level.  This fluidity makes sure the league is an organic system that reflects player performance.

Regression Feedback

As a coach or owner, you need to have a pulse on your team’s development and you need to know exactly when your team regresses and now you will in Madden NFL 17.  Anytime a player on your team regresses during the season or at the end of the season, you will be prompted with a detailed report so you can calculate your next move.

Player Card Improvements

The Player Card has been bolstered with three key improvements.  The first is a way to quickly see all the attributes for a specific player and how they rank in the league based on overall rating.  The second is a view so you can see the progression history for the player.  This lets you see where all the XP came from and when ratings have been impacted whether through progression or regression.  Last but not least, the player card is now accessible from more areas so you will always be just a step or two from seeing the information you want.

Big Decisions and the Community Requests will keep you coming back for more Franchise.  Play this and more in Madden NFL 17 available August 23rd.

Dragon Ball Super Episode 56 Super Saiyan Rose Goku?

I don't usually post about anime unless an EPIC situation happened.  This is that situation!  Dragon Ball Super Episode 56 was a game changer for the series.

This week's episode opened with Trunks, Vegeta and Goku time traveling to Trunk's alternative future to rid his timeline of the human hating god, Zamasu...aka Black Goku.  Goku is attacked by the human army and confused for being Black Goku by the fearful humans. Trunks calms the conflict and reassures society Goku is a good person and never confuse him with the doppleganger Black Goku.  The army informs Trunks that a familiar face is waiting him at the base.

When returning to base, Trunks discovers Mai, his girl friend not girlfriend, is alive.  Otaku fans you know in anime the boy is too embarrassed to claim a girl as his girlfriend until they are married. Trunks wasn't concerned if Bulma was alive though, lol. After the happy reunion, the Z fighters set out to take Black Goku out once in for all. 

When the Z fighters confront Black Goku, something odd is in the air.  Immediately, Super Saiyan Vegeta charges Black Goku to prove he is the best fighter and do what Goku can't which is kill a threat to peace.  Vegeta becomes concerned as he realizes his attacks are not hurting Black Goku.

At this point, Vegeta falls back to re-evaluate Black Goku's abilities.  As expected, Black Goku unleashes his new stronger form, Super Saiyan Rose.  SSR Black Goku thanks Goku for showing him how to gain more power to rival a god.  In an instant, Vegeta is cut down by an energy sword attack to the heart by SSR Black Goku.  Goku turns Super Saiyan Blue and tells Trunks to take care of Vegeta.

Goku and Black Goku fight intensely until Black Goku hits the crap out of Goku to prove he is in another class of strength.  As the show wraps up, Black Goku poses to do a kamehameha to end Goku's life, then Zamasu shows up in the sky and lands beside Black Goku!

The whole time we thought Black Goku and Zamasu were the same person.  Now we know Black Goku is someone completely different, but Zamasu reveals he does harbor hatred to humans and plans to kill every human especially Goku.  Wow! Told y'all it was an epic turning point for the series.

No Man's Sky: Fast Way to Learn an Alien Language and 10 Million Credits in an Hour

Alright some of your are tired of grinding looking for monoliths and knowledge stones in an effort to learn a new language.  Here is a quick and easy way to learn the language.

1. You want to reach level 3 standing with an alien race which you can do by doing activities.
2. You want to get at least 250 carbon or isotopes.
3. Interact with an alien or trader at a station.  You will have three choices when talking to the trader based on your level 3 standing.
4.  Whenever you have the option to get the new word, then get the new word.  Whenever you have the option to get fuel or isotopes, then get the isotopes or fuel.
5. Farm those options of requesting a new word and asking for fuel or isotopes to replenish your resources.

This isn't the fun way to learn a new language if you're an explorer, but you can farm these interactions as a sure thing.  You're welcome!


Earn Credits
You can make super fast credits too if you find a station that is buying constructed items at double price. You can find those same items on the ships that enter the station and turn around and sell them for double XP.  Pay attention to the stars to know which sells best. If you find a station that has good items buying like this, then you can easily make 10 mil in less than an hour. It's a little slower on non populated stations but still works.

It's not about falling, it's what you do when you rise that counts!

"It's not what you do when you fall down.  

It's what you do once you get back up that counts the most."

August 13, 2016.  Mo Farah's performance in Rio's 2016 Olympics was inspirational.  Early in the 10K race, Mo Farah was tripped up by another competitor.  After being tripped and pushed to the side, Mo fell to the ground falling from first to 15th.  As Mo tumbled out of the frontline, Mo watched others pass him by but remained calm.  Mo picked himself up, got back in line and battled against 35 opponents to achieve the come back from behind victory and take 1st Place.

It goes to show that being a competitor isn't about falling down accepting defeat or dwelling on unfair turn of events/circumstances.  Being a competitor means accepting change, adapting and getting up when you fall. Truly was a heart racing and inspirational race.

No Man's Sky: Game Changer for All Games

It's been a minute hasn't friends. Back to the game that will change the video gaming world: No Man's Sky.  I have to admit, I enjoy the heck out of this game.  There is so much to do and explore here that you can invest in this game for years.  From the beginning you are presented with the challenge of resolving the crisis of repairing your crashed star ship on an unknown planet.  You have to scan the planet's surface to find the resources you need repair your life suit and flight equipment. After you are back on your feet and your ship fully healed, you can begin your journey of space exploration.

This is where the fun begins.  Each planet you explore has different wildlife, resources, hostiles and condition that you must conquer to survive and thrive.  The one aspect about this game that I love and others hate is the sentinels.  Sentinels serve as ethics police for the game.  Sentinels will detain you if you over-mine resources or attack innocent creatures of the planets.  Sentinels serve as a motivator to make you respect the planet and only take what you need not over-mine your business for greed.

Once you begin your space journey you will encounter star wars in which you must take a side, galactic pirates, adventures to follow the path of Atlas or navigate your way to the center of the universe.  It's all good fun that really adds depth to the storyline and challenges your journey by choices which have results.

I found the ground game to be the best challenge.  Other than the sentinels, you may be attacked by animals and plants. Also, I like how you get to meet different races and you are challenged to understand their culture by learning languages and special items to increase you standing with their alliance.  The more you increase your standing with each diverse race the better your experience and rewards will be with the game.  I like how developers tried to foster cultural learning and diversity for gamers.

I am still learning all the aspects of the game and best way to play since it's new an unknown but so far I am giving it a 10 out of 10. The game treats me right, and makes me want to come back and play to learn and grow.