It is the 31/12/2014; in other words, New Year's Eve! The last day of 2014; a year with highlights and just as many sore thumbs and eyesores to have had behold. From the Eurozone expanding with Latvia becoming the 18th member, the so-called 'controversial' XXII Olympic Winter Games, Ebola, a Boeing 777 going missing, Robin William's suicide, anniversaries, to the chaos of Black Friday sales, an Airbus crashing on the 28/12/2014, and the typical last minute tactics of any Government facing possible eviction in 2015.
By the way the perspective that the Government in power in the United Kingdom don't do much until the nearing days of the General Election, or the Race to US Presidency is purely a representation of human nature. Think about it, we as people tend to react most strongly when our lives are endangered, or someone or something we care about undergoes a possibly fatal situation, or something doesn't coincide with expectations. In the instance of the UK Government in power; their authority, power is threatened by the possibility of being passed to another party, ousting the current Government; so the current Government invoke 'intentions' such as actions and 'promises' that provoke the public's following and vote so that when the 2015 General Election takes place, the current Government may hold on to their position of authority and power. Is it really any different from human nature? The answer is: "no, it is not".
Yes that's a lot to remember 2014 for. For better or worse; 2014 is just another 365 days where happenstances occur like in previous years and will occur in 2015, and subsequent years to follow, unless the world comes to an inexplicable halt, which could happen, though I won't hold my breath or prey or beg for the apocalypse like some people may do (and if you are a Doomsday seeker then, that's fine). In truth however, a lot that occurred in 2014 or might occur as the last day of 2014 unfolds disinterests me.
I won't say I'm blind or oblivious to happenstances and events, but I am a complex yet simplistic monstrosity who goes about my life with a tunnel-vision like perspective. To elaborate, the parts of the world that I interact with or interests me appear in colour and invoke my senses of concentration and hearing, the surroundings and people that exist in those spaces are black and white yet still provoke interaction whenever for whatever reason like someone asking me for the time. The rest like panic created by exasperated fears of Ebola and the 10th anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 is silenced TV static to me; while it may mean something or matter to others, it means nothing to me.
What matters to me at this rate is finding ways of distancing myself from the damning reality that is my life for the time being. See; because of my nature and lack of social skills, grimness, and negativity; I have no self worth or value to anyone else beyond the family values. I am unemployed for the time being because the positions I apply to which I feel would be appropriate given my circumstances, aren't biting (fishing: fish show disinterest to the fisherman by not biting into the lure of the fisherman). Even if I were in an employment situation; my outlook and nature won't change; though I must stress this isn't depression, its simply my nature to be consumed by negativity and past failures. To evade my reality; I turn to media such as DVDs, video games in particular, the WWE, TV shows, and my fictional writing. It may seem grim an no way to live, but this is my preference and to me this lifestyle is no harder than breathing.
Naturally the video games that come out in 2014 help to fuel my preferred and safer lifestyle and my imagination. Would I be typing up a fan fiction based on Corpse Party if I never knew of or played a Corpse Party game? The answer is: "no, I wouldn't". Would I have a fictional based concept for Final Fantasy X-3 if I was disinterested in Final Fantasy X and X-2? The answer again is: "no, I wouldn't". Would I try out the offerings from the CastleVania series (especially CastleVania for the Nintendo 64) if the Angry Video Game Nerd episodes weren't interesting and amusing?
You get the idea...
So 2014, what video games stand out like a collection of gold bricks standing in direct sunlight, and what are diabolical atrocities that really should be fitted with a suicide button which we could activate to stop the atrocious gaming experience and save our sanity before it sinks into the grotesque abyss from where the terrible video games spawn from? Well that's a problem, see I don't get to play all the new or upcoming games like the employees of gaming websites like IGN, Gamespot and so on, and I don't have the necessities such as a powerful gaming PC or a PlayStation 4, or a iPad to play the new games that came out in 2014. I can therefore only talk about the games that I owned or played such as Forza Horizon 2, The (Telltale) Walking Dead Season 2, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, and so on.
To make it straightforward; I will list in no particular order the 2014 games that are outstanding:
Alien Isolation (Xbox One)
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3, PSVita)
Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)
Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Japanese release) (PSVita)
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One)
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (3DS)
Out of the list above the video games that truly stand out as personal favourites are:
Alien Isolation - It is unquestionably the most terrifying and pressurising video game I have played (and proudly own) of 2014. It is a triumph over expected disappointment and mediocrity that comes from movie inspired games, and carves its own place in cult classic games. Playing Alien Isolation is enlightening after the damming failures of the Resident Evil series and potential but alas unfinished Silent Hill Downpour.
Corpse Party: Blood Drive - Not since the heartbreak story of Final Fantasy X and its continuation in Final Fantasy X-2, have I been truly sucked into the game's world. But then along came Corpse Party: Blood Covered Repeated Fear in 2010, and from then on I have been terrified, sorrowful, amused, delighted, and inspired like never before. I immediately became a fan and I got my hands on Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (both the Limited Edition Japanese release and English subtitled PSN release), and Corpse Party the Anthology: Sachiko no Ren’ai Yūki Hysteric Birthday 2U (Japanese release only), and the Blu-ray set of Corpse Party: Tortured Souls (though I do enjoy the Musume series or the sexually explicit content). Needless to say I pre-ordered Corpse Party: Blood Drive Limited Edition through Play Asia.com. Now I haven't played Corpse Party: Blood Drive because I do not understand Japanese subtitles, but the power of the story and its cast and the unquestionable horror that I do know of makes it tremendous, and I anxiously await if and when XSEED release the English subtitled version just like they did with Blood Covered Repeated Fear and Book of Shadows.
Tomb Raider - I was never interested in the Tomb Raider series prior to the 2013 reboot; sure I played demos of the earliest instalments and later on I tried Tomb Raider: Legend, but it never appealed to me. But in early 2014; with a very thin library of games for Xbox One and reports of how good the 2013 reboot was, I took a punt with the 2014 Definite Edition, and I was very satisfied with my decision. To me this is one of those very rare action-adventure games that does everything nearly flawlessly like Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It really does feel like a adventure and a beautiful, and challenging one at that. What's more it isn't overly overwhelming with game mechanics and complexity like Mass Effect games. Because of this 2014 Definitive Edition; I look forward to the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Forza Horizon 2 - The original Forza Horizon on Xbox 360 was a delightful shift away from the numerous track based simulation racing games, except of course Forza Horizon was still a Forza game which meant it couldn't be just a arcade spin-off, it had to blend both worlds and it so, so fantastically that I knew there had to be a sequel. And what a sequel Forza Horizon 2 is! Seriously this the most entertaining and satisfactory pleasing racing game I have ever played. While it is nowhere near as maniac as my former favourite racing game: Destruction Derby 2, I knew it couldn't be, and while it can't do certain things like Destruction Derby 2, Forza Horizon 2 does many things that it completely wins me over and will for racing fans who have yet to take the plunge into Forza Horizon 2. While it is a very successful simulation racing game with as much energy and colours as 3KG mixture of Smarties, M&M's and Jelly Beans; Forza Horizon 2 succeeds over other racing games like all Forza games do because it allows people to customise the cars and create countless unique designs to play and share with. I for one have jumped onto the opportunities presented, and have spent many restless nights conjuring design ideas for my amusement. Forza Horizon 2 is almost perfect and far more than my high expectations for a sequel to Forza Horizon were, plus with the recent Storm Island DLC release; it provides a very bright future for what may come in future DLC, or for Forza Horizon 3!
Now comes the 2014 video games that I wish never existed after I had played them. Now these games mentioned aren't terribly atrocious like Air Control on Stream, but to borrow a phase from Dave Rudden from IGN when concluding on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of WWE 2K15: "is like seeing Brock Lesnar going from breaking the Undertaker's streak to losing to Hornswoggle during the pre-show in back-to-back WrestleManias.", these games beg the question "Where did it go wrong?" especially when you consider what these terrible games hail from. So here we go; the two (2) worst games of 2014 that I wouldn't wish my worst enemy (who is me) to play, and instead go for the slow agonising death from blood exsanguination and shock as the body's flesh is torn off by heartless and vengeful vultures with the knowledge and patience of a surgeon!
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - While Final Fantasy XIII is a low point in the infamous Final Fantasy series, I couldn't label XIII as a bad Final Fantasy game. I couldn't comprehend there being a bad Final Fantasy game, unless you start talking about spin-off titles like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers and Final Fantasy All The Bravest. I never thought a main and numbered entry of Final Fantasy could be bad, but then Square Enix shoved yet more of the unappealing Lightning down our throats and expected us to go crazy like they have for countless years clutching their privates and groaning ecstatically every time Lightning's name prompted up. Seriously what were Square Enix on when they authorised the go-ahead for yet another game centred around Lightning? Where they stuffing themselves with crack, cannabis, PCP, and every other high legal or illegal until every SANE person died leaving only the morons who thought Lightning was the second coming of Jesus remaining, or were they threatened by some collection of nut-jobs that make Hitler and Stalin meshed together into a abomination of disgusting putrid, look like an angel? Okay, maybe that's being a tad harsh, and sure the game itself completely terrible, its playable and in theory should have worked. BUT the concept of yet another sequel was insanity, and to me personally so unappealing and a deliberate cash-in after the rather unflattering true ending to Final Fantasy XIII-2 which you had to pay for happened. If Final Fantasy XIII-2 wasn't saddled with such a complete f*** up of a plot involving time travel; my reaction to Lightning Returns might have been more positive, but it was and to make the downpour of diarrhoea s*** even more perplexing and above all appalling; Lightning Returns stirred yet more confounding nonsense and laughable bad touches into a soufflé made of whale vomit, feces and a genocide full of rotting bodies blended together, that Square Enix really should've thrown away and destroyed tenfold after Final Fantasy XIV happened. Now as I said, Lightning Returns isn't completely terrible like Air Control on Stream, and while this playable even though it is one of the Final Fantasy series' darkest hours; what I absolutely cannot forgive is the fact Lightning Returns exists when reception of Square Enix was tellingly floundering and the appalling aftertaste of Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 were clear signs not to go further down a troublesome route. Many alternatives were possible and may have been better then what we as fans and gamers ended up with, but instead of sticking with what they knew and would be a safer investment, Square Enix threw caution to the wind again and realised the miracle pulled off by repairing Final Fantasy XIV into A Realm Reborn, couldn't be pulled off for the unfavoured XIII series.
As a final damming legacy to Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII; Final Fantasy was incepted on December 18, 1987, it is a media franchise that is 27 years old and is commercially and critically successful. It is Square Enix's best selling video game franchise, with more than 100 million units sold, and one of the best-selling video game franchises. It was awarded a star on the Walk of Game in 2006, and holds seven (7) Guinness World Records in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008. Now in 2014, I can legitimately claim that the Final Fantasy series has been in a rut for years, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a clear sign that Square Enix haven't learnt from they're terrible decisions and mistakes.
WWE 2K15 - I am a big fan of WWE, and a bigger fan of the video games because they allow me to create my own Superstars and Divas, finishing moves, logos, championships, and run my own editions of Raw, Smackdown, PPVs, stories etc. WWE 2K14 stands as the best modern WWE video game. The same cannot be said for the several versions of WWE 2K15.
Honestly, where do I begin...?
WWE 2K15 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are definite 'no, nos', compared with 2K14; 2K15 has missing features which is poor, and graphically you have to wonder what 2K Sports were trying to accomplice. If the intention was to make a harrowing 60% complete WWE experience that would scare WWE fans to go for the Xbox One and PS4 versions instead then they have succeeded, except the plan backfires because WWE 2K15 on the next generation consoles is a glass half empty kind of experience. For all the polish and great looking character models, WWE 2K15 on Xbox One and PS4 misses the target by a considerable margin; picture it like a dartboard, 2K Sports were aiming for their three (3) darts for the triple 20 mark hoping to score the magically 180, but instead they scored 112 and have one (1) of the darts puncturing the side of someone's head!
To put it in a nutshell: 25 creation slots is disappointingly low compared to the 100 slots for WWE 2K14 and 2K15 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The inability to create Divas is also disappointing and implies a taste of sexism. No importing songs from the hard drive for character's theme music like you can do on the Xbox 360 version of WWE 2K14 is a damming blow. Missing match types; seriously I loved the ingenuity of 2K14 of altering matches types for K.O. only eliminations, or flaming tables only eliminations, plus the bigger matches such as the 6-man Hell in a Cell and 6-man Money In The Bank Ladder matches (which can also have Divas competing in these match types instead of just Superstars). No championship creations or logo creation. MyCareer is loaded with glitches and is a total waste of time, WWE Day of Reckoning and its sequel (both for the Nintendo GameCube), and WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One) are better story based modes. The presentation of the selected Superstar's Health, Stamina, Momentum, and Signature and Finisher count are unnecessary and make playing a match more like an arcade game (this is meant to be realistic? You don't see health bars for the Superstars and Divas on WWE programming do you?!). 2K Showcase mode is lacking in comparison to 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode on WWE 2K14. Commentary is still bad.
Ultimately the experience both during matches and out is shallow and any satisfaction becomes tedious after a few times. The bottom line is that WWE 2K15 is a real disappointment on par with WrestleMania X8 on the Nintendo GameCube, WrestleMania 21 on Xbox, Legends of WrestleMania, and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (even though it isn't a WWE licensed game). The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of WWE 2K15 are just borderline poor compared to WWE 2K14 and Playing WWE 2K15 on Xbox One or PS4 is a expensive tease more than anything. We as fans and gamers are prompted to 'Feel It'; with a 'Presentation Overhaul' and 'Improved Gameplay', WWE 2K15 is meant to be the new definition of WWE gaming, but instead in feels significantly incomplete and because of this, the game is lying about being the definitive WWE gaming experience. For the true next-gen WWE gaming experience; we have to wait for WWE 2K16 because that should at least be able to complete what WWE 2K15 tried to implement, and include the features that were missing.
Now if WWE 2K15 was promoted like Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros is a prequel and a taste of what's in store for us in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, then I could be fairer on my regards for the lack of content in WWE 2K15. Alas WWE 2K15 wasn't produced or sold that way; it was released like a complete game when it wasn't and sold at full price. At least with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros, Konami were wise to admit that it was a precursor for The Phantom Pain and reduce the asking price. For those who want the best WWE gaming experience; get WWE 2K14 and save money or if you still have WWE 2K14, then don't give WWE 2K15 a second (2nd) thought. These reasons noted above plus my regards in previous posts are the reason why WWE 2K15 as a whole is considered the WORST video game of 2014 along with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
With 2014 during to a conclusion and 2015 dawning; here's what I will be looking forward to in the new year:
Corpse Party: Blood Drive (with English subtitles)
Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient Episode 2
Telltale The Walking Dead Season 3
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Oddworld New n' Tasty (for Xbox One)
The reveal of Resident Evil Zero Remaster
The reveal that Silent Hills will be available for Xbox One as well as PS4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The House of the Dead 5 (seriously its been a while now since HotD4, and the series can't stop at HotD: Overkill)
The Sims 4 (for Xbox One and PS4)
Halo 5: Guardians
Tekken 7
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Okay, this is it for this post and the year 2014. I can't make up my mind what my next post will be about but it will be available to read in the later stages of January 2015.
Until next time, see ya!
Have a great New Year!
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Xbox One - SJBMCPRS Diagnosis
21/12/2013, 14:50 - Tesco Extra supermarket, Yeovil, Somerset, United Kingdom.
This was the moment when I had purchased the Xbox One console. Now a year on; what do I have to say about the system?
Did it reach my expectations? Was it worth the cost? Was it ludicrous to buy at the time?
Answers: Not really, I could afford it so who cares, and yes it was ludicrous to buy an Xbox One when I did.
Okay so the simple stuff is out of the way, next comes the explanations. I learnt like the majority of gaming fans that the Xbox 360 successor was coming in the form of the Xbox One, and it had these technical specifications and these abilities and whatever Microsoft were hyping. My reaction was lukewarm; the Xbox 360 is phenomenal and I wasn't going to get tired of it anytime soon, so I had no real reason to get the Xbox One in the foreseeable future. That said, the lifespan of the Xbox 360 was coming to an inevitable conclusion meaning the next instalments of games I enjoyed on the Xbox 360 such as Need For Speed, Forza Motorsport, Halo, and so on would become available on the Xbox One and not continued on the Xbox 360 (although that assumption proved wrong later on). As more was learnt about the Xbox One, it became a matter of trying to understand what the system could and couldn't do because there was definitely a lot of confusion since Microsoft were going back on what they said, and weren't providing straight answers to particular features that I wanted to know about. By the time the Xbox One was released in the United Kingdom, I had learnt much to my dismay pretty much everything I needed to know and figured it would be something I would get, but not anytime soon because Microsoft needed to do a lot of work and offer more games to make purchasing the Xbox One worth it.
So what the hell happened you might be asking. In truth the key points that interested me about the Xbox One were Forza Motorsport 5, and the fact that my Xbox Live account (strangersparky) could be imported and co-exist on both the Xbox One and Xbox 360, which meant the achievements and (small number of) gaming 'friends' would continue to build up without fault. Additionally the Xbox One controller was supremely comfortable and engaging to use which is something I thought wouldn't be possible to improve upon following the success of the Xbox 360 controller. I also assumed the next instalments to games I enjoy such as Forza Horizon, The Sims 3, Metal Gear Solid, Star Ocean, Devil May Cry, Halo 3 and 4, Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil, Silent Hill and countless more would in time be available on Xbox One (which for the most part is accurate).
Ultimately though it came down to an alignment of circumstances that convinced me to take the plunge. I had the money, there were Xbox One consoles in stock at the Tesco Extra store in Yeovil which I happened to be in that day, I had a coupon for double points on any purchases I made with my Tesco Clubcard, and I felt impulsive. All these added up to me getting the Xbox One despite my previously made decision to wait a while for the Xbox One to get better and offer more choice. In the end I returned home with an Xbox One console, Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, an additional Xbox One controller and two (2) charge and play packs for the controllers; all of which come to the total cost £609!
Now £609 is a lot! But in truth I wouldn't have saved much had I waited a year later because the price for the same configuration wouldn't have been so significant to make me want to smash my brains in with a cricket bat. Let's work it out; according to the receipts I have of the transaction on 21/12/2013 the £609 is broken down like this:
Xbox One console with Kinect: £429
Dead Rising 3: £48
Forza Motorsport 5: £48
Xbox One controller: £44*
Two (2) official charge and play packs: £40*
Total: £609
* These items were purchased in the Game store in Yeovil on the same day.
Now a year on, the price breakdown would work out like this:
Xbox One console with Kinect: £389
Dead Rising 3: £28**
Forza Motorsport 5: £44
Xbox One controller: £39**
Two (2) official charge and play packs: £40**
Total: £540
**These items would have to be purchased in a Game store or on Games online store since Tesco Extra in Yeovil do not sell these items.
The price difference a year on for the same configuration is £69, not exactly mindboggling...
Of course where it matters is of course the Xbox One hardware and software and ultimately this is where the deciding factor lies because as of 21/12/2014, the Xbox One has been improved somewhat and the library of games has grown from the near bare bone providing there was a year earlier. In 2013, there was only one (1) game I cared about having and playing and that was Forza Motorsport 5. Now Dead Rising 3 is a fine game and especially fun in short bursts, but the Dead Rising series wasn't something that I overwhelmingly enjoyed and the problems in previous instalments were present in 3 including the telling signs that Dead Rising 3 wasn't completed before it was released. In truth I got Dead Rising 3 out of necessity because my brothers could enjoy the zombie slaying and be satisfied until something else came out.
Of course the Xbox One's biggest problem in my mind is the inability to import and play music while playing a game as effectively as the Xbox 360. The Xbox One CAN play music whilst I play a game, but its not mine and my younger brother's music. What the Xbox One can do is play music from apps on the system such as YouTube and Xbox Music, but in doing so the app becomes 'snapped' and takes up a percentage of the gameplay presentation, which if you 'unsnap' will stop the app. Not only don't the apps have the extent of the music we like and have, but the way the Xbox One system has been configured means the presentation of a game like Forza Motorsport 5 is compromised by the window the app takes. It also has to be said that Xbox One is a prescription service that's not included in the monthly Xbox Live prescription, now that's complete and utter burnt and puked on Christmas Day roast turkey dogs***!!
Seriously this was a tremendous problem that put me off the Xbox One system and still does. While monthly updates are improving the functionality of the Xbox One and recent updates now allow a USB to be plugged into the Xbox One so it can play several media files such as mp3s, there is no option to import music onto the Xbox One through a USB or CD to be used later on for whatever purposes. Personally I do not fully comprehend why the Xbox One is incapable of this when the Xbox 360 CAN, especially with a hard drive of about 460 GB. Initially I had hoped that with time this would become possible on Xbox One and the usability of music stored onto the hard drive would mirror the Xbox 360, and that I and my younger brother could play WWE 2K15 just like we play WWE 2K14 on the Xbox 360. But no, and while its no longer a bigi because WWE 2K15 is a total downpour of misery and larva raining upon my expectations, melting my hopes and ambitions like a strip of magnesium held above a Bunsen burner, the feature would be nice for games like Forza Horizon 2 and Dead Rising 3.
To elaborate; on the Xbox 360 we have about 1200 songs on the hard drive which we have painstakingly ripped from writable CDs we filled with our kind of music and unique tracks that cannot be obtained in any way other than to make them yourself. When playing the Xbox 360, we have the choice to play music from the hard drive and 98% of the time we do, and when we have our own music playing; it does NOT interfere with the gameplay or the perception we see and hear. The biggest example of this use is when we play WWE 2K14 and fabricate our own WWE in Universe mode; we have the commentary turned off because it is terrible and instead we provide our own meanwhile we have a playlist of songs playing in the background during matches because without it, the gaming experience stinks. Additionally we have specific songs on the Xbox 360 hard drive for each of our 100 created characters which we've loudened, cropped, and added to as desired. This means we can songs by Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, Three Days Grace and songs from other media such as 'Regalia' from SoulCalibur V, WWE songs that aren't on WWE 2K14 such as Kane's 'Slow Chemical' by Finger Eleven, and lastly songs we have edited significantly such as 'Jes XXIX Relentless Tragedy (SBG Mix)' which is Disciple's 'Someday' with five (5) plus minutes of fabricated tracks from Corpse Party, 'Noel's Theme' from Final Fantasy XIII-3 OST, Dexter, Team Four Star's DragonBall Z Abridged series, Final Destination series, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, CSI, Oddworld Abe's Exodus, GTA III, Pokémon, Top Gear, The Angry Video Game Nerd, and numerous sound effects like explosions, gunshots and so on, spliced over the song (I'm not kidding here, this is some real grade A horses*** here).
The point is this is what mine and my younger brother's music consists of and its one of the reasons we adore the Xbox 360. The Xbox One's inability to have the same functionality is distressing and makes tedious aspects of games that more discouraging. Think of it this way; wouldn't it be nice to at least have the option to play your own music during those possibly weariful elements of gaming such as building up your party in a RPG like Final Fantasy XV, or the option to have something else play in the background instead of the repeating radios on Grand Theft Auto V and Forza Horizon 2?
There is a silver lining in this however because recent updates have enabled me to choose a image or theme to be represented on the Xbox One background just like I can on the Xbox 360, which means I can have a Corpse Party image on the Xbox One background which is nice. With Xbox One consoles being sold with bigger hard drives; there may yet come the day where I can have custom music playing in the background. I just won't be holding my breath because it could be a while before this is realised, if it is actually possible.
Those who were patient enough to hold off buying an Xbox One until more games became available, they may be tempted by the offerings available today and the bright outlook of games coming out in 2015. The thing is from my perspective which is based on a year's worth experience of owning and playing an Xbox One Console; there is yet to be a definitive game that is totally exclusive to the Xbox One. Sure there are great games on Xbox One like Alien Isolation, Halo Master Chief Collection, Fifa 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare and Forza Horizon 2; but ask yourself this: are these exclusive to the Xbox One? The answer is no, nearly every game or oncoming games are and will be available on other systems and while some games perform and appear better on Xbox One than the Xbox 360 counterpart, these still take away the appeal of having an Xbox One when you can have more or less the same experience and satisfaction, and save money having the Xbox 360 versions. I know there are exclusives like Sunset Overdrive that stand out, but frankly I do not foresee many exclusives in the near future.
Now I'm not deliberately picking on the Xbox One by stating the above, the PS4 is in the same boat and neither consoles are marginally different from the their predecessors in terms of unique offerings. This brings me up to one of the big reasons for purchasing any console from this eighth (8th) generation of video game consoles; the graphics. Getting a Xbox One or PS4 or Will U; you'd expect several things like superior graphics or revolutionary gameplay, but the truth is there's very little to prove that the eighth (8th) generation is a revolutionary step up from the seventh (7th) generation. In some instances there are differences in terms of number of pixels and presentation and gameplay that stand out like with the higher detail models of Superstars on the Xbox One and PS4 versions of WWE 2K15 over the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, or the Kinect on Xbox One to detect sounds and movements made by the player. Ultimately however the differences are few and far between the different versions of the same games (7th gen or 8th) and unless you really care about 1080p, then you don't really care as long as the games and the console of your choosing is enjoyable.
As a side note; I must concede that the Wii U is arguably the best in terms of exclusivity out of the three (3) home consoles but that exclusivity is a key reason why I don't have a Wii U because I prefer simplicity and all the bells and whistles of the Wii U make it unappealing and inaccessible (the Wii U gamepad in particular) to gamers who are used to the yearly instalments of Call of Duty and sports games. If you must have any console from the eighth (8th) generation then I would recommend the Nintendo 3DS family of systems because it offers exclusive games, favourites such as Mario and Pokémon, and portability.
Switching back to evaluating the Xbox One a year on plus since its been released; I have to admit the Xbox One still leaves a lot to be desired and Microsoft has a lot of work to do before I can be convinced that the purchase of the system and its library of games and dedication I have given so far is worth it. Its undoubtedly good and it will get better with time but with hindsight I should've waited until Autumn 2014 because by then the desirable games would have been released or close to be released and the system itself would've been updated enough to have avoided the headaches and disappointment I experienced since I purchased the Xbox One in December 2013.
Thankfully Forza Horizon 2 is the game for Xbox One I've been waiting for since the Xbox One was announced. It really is a ton of fun and it gives me the chance to exercise my creativity with the cars (even if the creativity isn't on par with others). If there is one (1) game that I would recommend for the Xbox One; its Forza Horizon 2. With any luck in 2015 there will be more recommendations like Halo 5 Guardians, and Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, but for now its a start.
Well, ...this is it for my diagnosis of the Xbox One a year on. I look forward to the offerings in 2015 and hopefully a year from now when I do a diagnosis of the system two (2) years from its release; I'll have more positive things to share about the Xbox One.
Before I say 'see ya' I will divulge on New Year's Eve what games stand out, what stink and which are a complete pile of deplorable s*** smothered in a bucket of pus, puke and famine along with such terribleness like 'Pudsey: The Movie'. I will also share what I will be looking for the most in 2015.
Until then, see ya!
This was the moment when I had purchased the Xbox One console. Now a year on; what do I have to say about the system?
Did it reach my expectations? Was it worth the cost? Was it ludicrous to buy at the time?
Answers: Not really, I could afford it so who cares, and yes it was ludicrous to buy an Xbox One when I did.
Okay so the simple stuff is out of the way, next comes the explanations. I learnt like the majority of gaming fans that the Xbox 360 successor was coming in the form of the Xbox One, and it had these technical specifications and these abilities and whatever Microsoft were hyping. My reaction was lukewarm; the Xbox 360 is phenomenal and I wasn't going to get tired of it anytime soon, so I had no real reason to get the Xbox One in the foreseeable future. That said, the lifespan of the Xbox 360 was coming to an inevitable conclusion meaning the next instalments of games I enjoyed on the Xbox 360 such as Need For Speed, Forza Motorsport, Halo, and so on would become available on the Xbox One and not continued on the Xbox 360 (although that assumption proved wrong later on). As more was learnt about the Xbox One, it became a matter of trying to understand what the system could and couldn't do because there was definitely a lot of confusion since Microsoft were going back on what they said, and weren't providing straight answers to particular features that I wanted to know about. By the time the Xbox One was released in the United Kingdom, I had learnt much to my dismay pretty much everything I needed to know and figured it would be something I would get, but not anytime soon because Microsoft needed to do a lot of work and offer more games to make purchasing the Xbox One worth it.
So what the hell happened you might be asking. In truth the key points that interested me about the Xbox One were Forza Motorsport 5, and the fact that my Xbox Live account (strangersparky) could be imported and co-exist on both the Xbox One and Xbox 360, which meant the achievements and (small number of) gaming 'friends' would continue to build up without fault. Additionally the Xbox One controller was supremely comfortable and engaging to use which is something I thought wouldn't be possible to improve upon following the success of the Xbox 360 controller. I also assumed the next instalments to games I enjoy such as Forza Horizon, The Sims 3, Metal Gear Solid, Star Ocean, Devil May Cry, Halo 3 and 4, Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil, Silent Hill and countless more would in time be available on Xbox One (which for the most part is accurate).
Ultimately though it came down to an alignment of circumstances that convinced me to take the plunge. I had the money, there were Xbox One consoles in stock at the Tesco Extra store in Yeovil which I happened to be in that day, I had a coupon for double points on any purchases I made with my Tesco Clubcard, and I felt impulsive. All these added up to me getting the Xbox One despite my previously made decision to wait a while for the Xbox One to get better and offer more choice. In the end I returned home with an Xbox One console, Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, an additional Xbox One controller and two (2) charge and play packs for the controllers; all of which come to the total cost £609!
Now £609 is a lot! But in truth I wouldn't have saved much had I waited a year later because the price for the same configuration wouldn't have been so significant to make me want to smash my brains in with a cricket bat. Let's work it out; according to the receipts I have of the transaction on 21/12/2013 the £609 is broken down like this:
Xbox One console with Kinect: £429
Dead Rising 3: £48
Forza Motorsport 5: £48
Xbox One controller: £44*
Two (2) official charge and play packs: £40*
Total: £609
* These items were purchased in the Game store in Yeovil on the same day.
Now a year on, the price breakdown would work out like this:
Xbox One console with Kinect: £389
Dead Rising 3: £28**
Forza Motorsport 5: £44
Xbox One controller: £39**
Two (2) official charge and play packs: £40**
Total: £540
**These items would have to be purchased in a Game store or on Games online store since Tesco Extra in Yeovil do not sell these items.
The price difference a year on for the same configuration is £69, not exactly mindboggling...
Of course where it matters is of course the Xbox One hardware and software and ultimately this is where the deciding factor lies because as of 21/12/2014, the Xbox One has been improved somewhat and the library of games has grown from the near bare bone providing there was a year earlier. In 2013, there was only one (1) game I cared about having and playing and that was Forza Motorsport 5. Now Dead Rising 3 is a fine game and especially fun in short bursts, but the Dead Rising series wasn't something that I overwhelmingly enjoyed and the problems in previous instalments were present in 3 including the telling signs that Dead Rising 3 wasn't completed before it was released. In truth I got Dead Rising 3 out of necessity because my brothers could enjoy the zombie slaying and be satisfied until something else came out.
Of course the Xbox One's biggest problem in my mind is the inability to import and play music while playing a game as effectively as the Xbox 360. The Xbox One CAN play music whilst I play a game, but its not mine and my younger brother's music. What the Xbox One can do is play music from apps on the system such as YouTube and Xbox Music, but in doing so the app becomes 'snapped' and takes up a percentage of the gameplay presentation, which if you 'unsnap' will stop the app. Not only don't the apps have the extent of the music we like and have, but the way the Xbox One system has been configured means the presentation of a game like Forza Motorsport 5 is compromised by the window the app takes. It also has to be said that Xbox One is a prescription service that's not included in the monthly Xbox Live prescription, now that's complete and utter burnt and puked on Christmas Day roast turkey dogs***!!
Seriously this was a tremendous problem that put me off the Xbox One system and still does. While monthly updates are improving the functionality of the Xbox One and recent updates now allow a USB to be plugged into the Xbox One so it can play several media files such as mp3s, there is no option to import music onto the Xbox One through a USB or CD to be used later on for whatever purposes. Personally I do not fully comprehend why the Xbox One is incapable of this when the Xbox 360 CAN, especially with a hard drive of about 460 GB. Initially I had hoped that with time this would become possible on Xbox One and the usability of music stored onto the hard drive would mirror the Xbox 360, and that I and my younger brother could play WWE 2K15 just like we play WWE 2K14 on the Xbox 360. But no, and while its no longer a bigi because WWE 2K15 is a total downpour of misery and larva raining upon my expectations, melting my hopes and ambitions like a strip of magnesium held above a Bunsen burner, the feature would be nice for games like Forza Horizon 2 and Dead Rising 3.
To elaborate; on the Xbox 360 we have about 1200 songs on the hard drive which we have painstakingly ripped from writable CDs we filled with our kind of music and unique tracks that cannot be obtained in any way other than to make them yourself. When playing the Xbox 360, we have the choice to play music from the hard drive and 98% of the time we do, and when we have our own music playing; it does NOT interfere with the gameplay or the perception we see and hear. The biggest example of this use is when we play WWE 2K14 and fabricate our own WWE in Universe mode; we have the commentary turned off because it is terrible and instead we provide our own meanwhile we have a playlist of songs playing in the background during matches because without it, the gaming experience stinks. Additionally we have specific songs on the Xbox 360 hard drive for each of our 100 created characters which we've loudened, cropped, and added to as desired. This means we can songs by Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, Three Days Grace and songs from other media such as 'Regalia' from SoulCalibur V, WWE songs that aren't on WWE 2K14 such as Kane's 'Slow Chemical' by Finger Eleven, and lastly songs we have edited significantly such as 'Jes XXIX Relentless Tragedy (SBG Mix)' which is Disciple's 'Someday' with five (5) plus minutes of fabricated tracks from Corpse Party, 'Noel's Theme' from Final Fantasy XIII-3 OST, Dexter, Team Four Star's DragonBall Z Abridged series, Final Destination series, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, CSI, Oddworld Abe's Exodus, GTA III, Pokémon, Top Gear, The Angry Video Game Nerd, and numerous sound effects like explosions, gunshots and so on, spliced over the song (I'm not kidding here, this is some real grade A horses*** here).
The point is this is what mine and my younger brother's music consists of and its one of the reasons we adore the Xbox 360. The Xbox One's inability to have the same functionality is distressing and makes tedious aspects of games that more discouraging. Think of it this way; wouldn't it be nice to at least have the option to play your own music during those possibly weariful elements of gaming such as building up your party in a RPG like Final Fantasy XV, or the option to have something else play in the background instead of the repeating radios on Grand Theft Auto V and Forza Horizon 2?
There is a silver lining in this however because recent updates have enabled me to choose a image or theme to be represented on the Xbox One background just like I can on the Xbox 360, which means I can have a Corpse Party image on the Xbox One background which is nice. With Xbox One consoles being sold with bigger hard drives; there may yet come the day where I can have custom music playing in the background. I just won't be holding my breath because it could be a while before this is realised, if it is actually possible.
Those who were patient enough to hold off buying an Xbox One until more games became available, they may be tempted by the offerings available today and the bright outlook of games coming out in 2015. The thing is from my perspective which is based on a year's worth experience of owning and playing an Xbox One Console; there is yet to be a definitive game that is totally exclusive to the Xbox One. Sure there are great games on Xbox One like Alien Isolation, Halo Master Chief Collection, Fifa 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare and Forza Horizon 2; but ask yourself this: are these exclusive to the Xbox One? The answer is no, nearly every game or oncoming games are and will be available on other systems and while some games perform and appear better on Xbox One than the Xbox 360 counterpart, these still take away the appeal of having an Xbox One when you can have more or less the same experience and satisfaction, and save money having the Xbox 360 versions. I know there are exclusives like Sunset Overdrive that stand out, but frankly I do not foresee many exclusives in the near future.
Now I'm not deliberately picking on the Xbox One by stating the above, the PS4 is in the same boat and neither consoles are marginally different from the their predecessors in terms of unique offerings. This brings me up to one of the big reasons for purchasing any console from this eighth (8th) generation of video game consoles; the graphics. Getting a Xbox One or PS4 or Will U; you'd expect several things like superior graphics or revolutionary gameplay, but the truth is there's very little to prove that the eighth (8th) generation is a revolutionary step up from the seventh (7th) generation. In some instances there are differences in terms of number of pixels and presentation and gameplay that stand out like with the higher detail models of Superstars on the Xbox One and PS4 versions of WWE 2K15 over the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, or the Kinect on Xbox One to detect sounds and movements made by the player. Ultimately however the differences are few and far between the different versions of the same games (7th gen or 8th) and unless you really care about 1080p, then you don't really care as long as the games and the console of your choosing is enjoyable.
As a side note; I must concede that the Wii U is arguably the best in terms of exclusivity out of the three (3) home consoles but that exclusivity is a key reason why I don't have a Wii U because I prefer simplicity and all the bells and whistles of the Wii U make it unappealing and inaccessible (the Wii U gamepad in particular) to gamers who are used to the yearly instalments of Call of Duty and sports games. If you must have any console from the eighth (8th) generation then I would recommend the Nintendo 3DS family of systems because it offers exclusive games, favourites such as Mario and Pokémon, and portability.
Switching back to evaluating the Xbox One a year on plus since its been released; I have to admit the Xbox One still leaves a lot to be desired and Microsoft has a lot of work to do before I can be convinced that the purchase of the system and its library of games and dedication I have given so far is worth it. Its undoubtedly good and it will get better with time but with hindsight I should've waited until Autumn 2014 because by then the desirable games would have been released or close to be released and the system itself would've been updated enough to have avoided the headaches and disappointment I experienced since I purchased the Xbox One in December 2013.
Thankfully Forza Horizon 2 is the game for Xbox One I've been waiting for since the Xbox One was announced. It really is a ton of fun and it gives me the chance to exercise my creativity with the cars (even if the creativity isn't on par with others). If there is one (1) game that I would recommend for the Xbox One; its Forza Horizon 2. With any luck in 2015 there will be more recommendations like Halo 5 Guardians, and Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, but for now its a start.
Well, ...this is it for my diagnosis of the Xbox One a year on. I look forward to the offerings in 2015 and hopefully a year from now when I do a diagnosis of the system two (2) years from its release; I'll have more positive things to share about the Xbox One.
Before I say 'see ya' I will divulge on New Year's Eve what games stand out, what stink and which are a complete pile of deplorable s*** smothered in a bucket of pus, puke and famine along with such terribleness like 'Pudsey: The Movie'. I will also share what I will be looking for the most in 2015.
Until then, see ya!
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