Sunday, November 6, 2011

NEW! Part Two: Vidyea Gamez!

I'm not inside my own mind today... VIDEO GAMES!

Yeaaah, I've been playing my fair share of Xbox games lately. Certain individuals in my life would even claim that I was "xbox hogging" whatever this audacious term means, I'm not privy to it and I do not respond to it Yes, there have been a lot of new games that have come out, and I've been playing them! So I'll touch base on the games I've been playing and my thoughts on each game.

First and foremost; BATMAN ARKHAM CITY

OH MY GOD!

My inner 5 year old explodes when I even THINK about this game.

It's a masterpiece, and I'm not exaggerating. This is one of the best video games I've ever played and it's earned a spot in my all-time favorites hall of fame. It's probably hands-down, the best superhero video game ever made and it's story mode alone runs at the 10-15 hour mark which is easily two times larger than most video games that are released today. With the side-quests that bumps it up to over 40 hours. There's so much to do and if you cant' do it all?

Once you beat the game, you unlock the "plus" mode. You can play it again, keep your upgrades and the game is more difficult, but all the side-quests and riddler challenges you've completed to this point carry over so you can continue with your plus play through. When I beat the game the first time, I was just over 40% complete, and then my save file corrupted so I had to start over. It's okay with me, I'm taking the time to try and do more extras so that when I have beaten the game maybe I'm over half-complete.

The ironic thing, to me, is that Arkham City isn't just a great Batman game, it's also a great Spider-Man game.

What?

Yeah that's right, I said Spider-Man game. The Catwoman missions are a great vacation, (so to speak) from the Batman portions. Catwoman has her own distinct play style and she has "theif vision" which is similar to the detective vision that Batman has but its not nearly as comprehensive. Her combat is very acrobatic and she can climb up walls, and use her whip to jump from building to building. She's a spidey-sense, and web shooters shy of being BETTER at being Spider-Man, than Spider-Man!

Activision should take note! Pumping out a new, mediocre game every 12-15 months isn't going to help your cause, take the time to build a PROPER Spider-Man game, the one fans have wanted since the Spider-Man 3 debacle and then you will see them come.

That's what Rocksteady has done with Arkham City. They took the time to build a proper sequel, rather than pumping one out ASAP to cash in on the success of Arkham Asylum, they decided to improve upon Arkham Asylum in virtually every single way. The ways of which Asylum outshines its successor City are minimal, and you have to comb the game to find them.

Overall, Arkham City is a triumph, any Batman fan would lose their shit playing this game and for casual gamers who aren't hooked on pointy eared superheroes, this game is too fun to not enjoy it. Worth your time to check it out, TRUST me.

Then we've also got MADDEN NFL 12

I wrote about the Madden Conundrum a few months ago. However, Madden 12 is the real deal. They've overhauled the game in aspects of the game that haven't so much as been looked at by developers in FIVE YEARS like parts of the Franchise mode, such as post-season activities.

Gameplay itself has been overhauled, Madden 12 plays a lot smoother than Madden 11 and the hits are that much more dynamic. You will find yourself wincing at some of the on field contact, that's a service not only to the great details made on the animation but also the audio as well does a great job of capturing that dynamic aspect of Football.

As you would come to expect from any EA Sports title, presentation is top notch. A step up from Madden 11, the team specific introductions are a great touch that seems much more monumental in a game like Madden where there are only 32 teams than compared to the NCAA Football game that has over double that. Prestentation and gameplay aren't the only aspects Madden has improved though.

The game is much more complete than games past, almost every single game mode has received some due attention. Online Play is much more convenient now with the way they've set up their LIVE mode. The Ultimate Team mode is improved, though it's still as erroneous a game mode as it ever was. Be A Superstar mode has been upgraded as well though the bulk of my time is spent playing the Franchise mode there are a lot of other avenues for Madden to take up your time.

Madden 12 is THE most complete Madden that's been produced to date, current generation, or even last gen as well. As we draw closer to the next stage of gaming  (the next-next gen) I expect EA Sports to stifle the progression of their titles and take their time  (3-4 years) figuring out how to get the most out of the next generation. For now, Madden 12 is a success and although the Curse has hit Peyton Hillis and the Browns hard this year, I won't hold it against the video game!

Part 3 is going to be a movies post but that may have to wait until a later time. We'll see!

New! Part One: Bye Bye to The Verge...

I'm not inside my own mind today... It's been a while so lets get caught up! PLENTY To talk about ... I'll probably span this into a couple of entries. We'll see. ANYWAY:

Where to begin, let's start off with I GOT A NEW JOB!!!

Yes, I got my get out of jail free card.

There was a new pizza place that opened up over a month ago now. On a whim, I figured I would try it because I love pizza more than anything. I ask the woman, (who coincidentally also used to work at The Verge  (( I will call it "the verge" to avoid drawing attention to what it IS)) as well!) if they're hiring full time. She says yes, boom! I dropped off my resume the next day, and was hired the day after that.

Previous instances where I had tried to find another job were  not very fruitful. When I applied for a job at Jungle Jim's to work at their resturant, it took them THREE WEEKS to get back to me and by that time I had already resigned my fate to being an employee of the verge for a while longer (This was about a year ago now.)

So yes, I'm a proud employee of Sam's Original Recipe: Take Out. It's such a welcome change of responsibility. Even though I was sick of pizza places and wanted a change. I was at the point where I'll take anything that isn't a call center. There's this voice in the back of your mind that says you need a change when you're going in to work and you feel like any given day you could snap at any time.

The boss is very easy going and he's great to work for, he's by far my favorite business owner that I've encountered. The Pictou County area is very frustrating to job hunt and this is especially so because of business owners. This is a separate rant in of itself but I'm thankful that I managed to get a job where I don't have to worry about my superiors. All I have to worry about is the job I am doing and that I'm doing it right.

I miss the people, I had made a lot of great friends at The Verge and I miss everyone. There was great fodder in discussion because everyone was so desperate to get their mind off of that place for 15 minutes of their day. I see people on occasion and I still talk to some of my old co-workers from over there so that's good. I miss the people, I don't miss the duties or the bullshit at all.

The Verge had to be the only job I've ever had where you could do your job AS GOOD AS YOU CAN DO IT, and yet, it's not good enough. All you were ever reminded of was, what needed to be done better, what you couldn't do, what you couldn't say, everything was negative reinforcement. There is next to no attempt to boost morale the easiest way they can... WITH A POSITIVE ENVIROMENT!

Now this is virtually impossible to achieve with the structure they have in the project. The standards are the priority, if the site doesn't meet the standards, everyone hears about it. Everyone gets pretty sick of hearing about it because it's just one more thread of bullshit on the bullshit sweater. When you've got over 200 people feeling the same way, it's virtually impossible to keep your head above water in that place. That's why I needed a way out.

So, it's a pay cut, and a loss of hours but for some peace of mind, I'll sling pizza's again :)