It seems like the world is awash with multiplayer looter-shooters these days, so I was surprised that Redfall grabbed me the way it did. I like that the setting/enemies are a bit different from the norm, and that the game doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, which is nice for a multiplayer experience.
Granted, we haven't seen any actual gameplay yet, but if things are anything like this slick trailer, I'm in.
I'm still slowly churning through all the E3 2021 announcements I'm excited about here, bear with me please!
I played the new Microsoft Flight Simulator very briefly on my computer last year, and it was impressive. Flying around Sacramento was really neat, and the ability to change the flight conditions and see things look just about how they do in person was incredible.
Still, it ran a bit poorly, and after an update or two, the game wouldn't load and needed to be re-downloaded to get fixed. Not wanting to pull down another 100GB, I figured I'd try the game again once it was released on console - which I assumed would be a more stable, if less graphically intense, experience.
Judging from the video of the game shown during Xbox's E3 event this year (above), this might be the best of both worlds. The game looks beautiful, and is being heavily optimized for the upcoming console release. I can't wait to take to the skies again!
It's been out for a few days, but in case you haven't seen it, I've finally updated my addon for Blender, which allows you to output 3D models to GameMaker Studio 2. The latest iteration of the addon will output models to GameMaker's vertex buffer format, so you can load the files natively, without including a bunch of scripts in the game.
Last night, I finished the first Mass Effect, as part of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remastered re-release of all three of the original games. I'm sort of an opportunistic completionist, so I made sure to do all the achievements. It all took me around 46 hours.
I've played the original game from start to finish a few other times before, but it has been a while, so I didn't remember much outside of the main story beats. I had a lot of fun re-experiencing it, and there were still a few things that I found surprising and noteworthy as I replayed the game.
My biggest surprise was how few mainline missions there are. The number of missions that advance the story and lead you to the end of the game is surprisingly low. They ran longer than I remembered, though, so that was nice. One early mission took me around 2-3 hours as I explored the entirety of the map and completed all the objectives. As I get older, I find it harder to devote that kind of time to games - at least, not without interruptions - so some of the missions took me multiple sessions to finish.
I was also a bit stunned at how clunky - and in the early game, strangely challenging - the combat is. If there is any part of this remastered Mass Effect that cannot hide its age well, it's the combat. Enemies are extremely basic, sliding into cover by just running into it feels weird, and the balance is off; your AI-controlled teammates either require constant babysitting or are an unstoppable force of combat and biotic abilities.
A good portion of the game is the combat, so luckily it doesn't take much time to get used to its eccentricities. But at times I wondered how this game was able to overcome how weird the combat is and become the beloved property that it is today.
If you've played the game using the default male Shephard, or you're familiar with the various promotional materials, you might be wondering who that odd-looking bald man is in the screenshot at the top of this post. Well, I was delighted that BioWare added the option to use a character code to import your old characters from previous play-throughs, and so that's how the game's hero, Shepard, looks in my game.
He is the result of me firing the game up when it first arrived 14 years ago, and in my rush to play, anxiously mashing through the character creator. I figured, once I got a taste of the game, I'd start over with a proper character that looked a bit more like me. But the game was so engrossing, I ended up not wanting to start over, and got used to the way he looked. Now I cannot hear male Shepard's voice without automatically thinking of this weird dude. I like him!
It was nice that BioWare added the option to use a custom character code at the beginning of the first game, so I could easily import this guy from my original play-throughs. It had one odd quirk, in that the skin color was wrong when I entered it the first time, but that was easily sorted out.
My experience with the Legendary Edition is limited to the first game so far, but it's been a good one. The game looks and runs great on my Xbox Series X, and was a joy to experience once more. There were certainly parts that I wish could have been touched a little more heavily by the remaster team, and a few bugs here and there, but despite all that, it's quite easy to get caught up in the sci-fi world of Mass Effect BioWare created.
After you've played one or two Forza Horizon games, the experiences all sort of just meld together. They all follow the same general formula, so you know what expect - but they're fun games with lots to do, so I'm still looking forward to the fifth game in the series, which was announced at E3 this year. It looks incredible!
Taking up the wheel in Mexico is going to be a blast!
2021 marks another virtual E3 with a week of exciting-ish announcements for the world of video games. I do my gaming on Xbox, PC, and occasionally Switch, so that's the news I've been taking a very passive approach to following. So what am I excited about?
Not much that's out soon, it turns out. But one game I'll be blowing the dust off my Switch for is Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp.
I'm a little sad the cartoon sprites from the original game are going away, but the 3D models look alright, and that music - man, I hope it makes it into the final games!
I've been playing around with Flip Fluids, an addon for Blender that does liquid simulations that (seem to) go beyond what Blender's built-in liquid simulation can do. I've not made anything particularly mind-blowing yet, but I thought I'd post a render I made today just for fun. Behold: some orange-ish goop flooding down a staircase!
I was in the middle of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and about to start the original Saints Row. My Xbox 360 was only about 6 months old!
I've been a fan of Xbox for a while now. I bought a copy of Gears of War on Xbox 360 for my brother, for his birthday - a game I thought looked pretty amazing.
While I waited to give it to him, I became more and more tempted to play it myself. After a few days I caved, bought an Xbox 360, and ripped that copy of the game open for myself. I bought him another copy later.
Overall I think I had two Xbox 360's "red ring" on me. I still have the third one, an Xbox 360 S, sitting under my TV, but it doesn't get much use - virtually all the games I own for it work on my Xbox Series X.
It's a little crazy that the Xbox 360 did so well for its generation, considering the technical issues it had. But the PlayStation 3 had a number of problems as well, and the Wii was almost in a class by itself.
I'm glad the latest slew of consoles are so much better, in any case. Having constant dread over the "red ring of death" was not a good way to be.
I played the original Mafia a lot when I was in college. The game had many faults: it was brutally difficult, driving around was tedious, and it was sort of a technical mess. But it was Grand Theft Auto in the 1930's, and when it all clicked, it was still fun.
So when Mafia: Definitive Edition was announced last year, I was excited. I still have the original PC game discs, and I'd tried to get them to run on my modern machines, but it would never work. Finally, I'd get to relive one of my favorite games of old!
I finally got around to playing it in 2021, and honestly, the game is just great. Even though the game has been rebuilt and changed around a bit, it has all the missions I remember from the original - and everything is much more polished and thoughtful.
Mid-mission save points take a lot of the frustration out of the more difficult sequences, so one mistake doesn't mean you have to carefully redo the entire level. The game physics are also a lot more forgiving - to the point that, if you accidentally flip your car over, you can press a button to right it. Sure, that can break the immersion a bit, but I don't mind. It's too convenient for me to get mad.
This particular game engine seems a lot more robust than the original as well - I played the entire game, from start to finish, without one problem. I even left the game running over multiple days, using my Xbox's quick resume feature to continue from the same point each day.
The game is beautiful as well; the city of Lost Heaven (and its inhabitants) never looked so good! Everywhere you go, there is careful detail to be found - I could go on and on about how much care seems to have gone into this game world. Even though the scope is a bit smaller, it's on par with games like Grand Theft Auto V or Red Dead Redemption 2, in my opinion - and the team who made it should be proud.
The cinematic cut scenes are particularly great. I never found myself wanting to skip them because they are so well done.
I have a few minor gripes, of course. The music, though good, is one of the only parts of the game that seems to have been completely changed from the original. I miss the original music, even though it was quite repetitive.
I also miss the original voice acting - but not nearly as much as the music. The new acting is actually really well done, and by the end of the game I didn't miss the original voice work at all, but if you played a lot of the original (and you remember it), the new voice acting might take some getting used to.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this game, and I'm glad that, thanks to this remaster, it wasn't lost to time.
Now I need to get on Mafia 2 and 3 - both of which I've never really played before!
After the pandemic began last year, I decided I wouldn't get my hair cut again until we had gotten over the hump with it. I wear my hair long anyway - and only get the end lopped off occasionally at home - so it was one part solidarity, and one part laziness.
Now that my wife and I are fully vaccinated, and she's finally been able to safely go get her own hair cut, it seemed like it was finally time for me too.
So last night, I let her have at it, and my hair is about 8 inches shorter now! No more double hair ties. It feels good.
