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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Ten Ways Call of Duty WW2 Can Bring Back the Franchise

  A New year, A New Call of Duty. That has been the case since 2005. This used to be fine because the quality of the games and the creatively was extremely high but recently Call of Duty Fatigue has really taken hold. I would say since Call of Duty Ghosts (2013/4 years) That the Franchise has struggled but this year is different because instead going farther in the future there going way back, Some would say to there roots. Now I haven't bought a Call of Duty NEW since Ghosts, so I wrote a list of how this New Old Dog can win me back.




1. Change the Name 
We have been to World War 2 four times before this new Call of Duty. Don't get me wrong, I know there trying to get back to basics but this seems maybe a little too on the nose.
Here's five titles for them to use ( Free of Charge)
Call of Duty 5
Call of Duty Band of Brothers (Rumored Co-Op Campaign) 
Call of Duty Fight Against The Third Reich
Call of Duty The Greater War than One ( Maybe Knock on Battlefield?)
Call of Duty Not a Dumb Name

 2. Do Something Truly New


A lots of the problems with Call of Duty is that it has spent so MUCH time in World War 2 it's hard to say what they can really explore. There going to have to give these to new Cod players WW2 classic experiences ( Normandy, Fall of Berlin)  but at the same time add enough new to drag some of us who have played most of the CODS since 2.  I wouldn't personally mind playing French resistance soldier, in Nazi occupied Paris it would almost have a Wolfenstein Feel to it.
3. If You don't do something than blow the roof of the house
 Since were going with World War Two than bring it back with a bang. Do Normandy to a scale it's never been done before. Thousands of soldiers charging the beach. Soldiers dying left and right. If you are going back to World War Two than it has be something great. Make this the Saving Private Ryan equivalent in Video games.
4. Make Some Memorable Characters 




Name One Character in the Last Five Call of Duty Games, I'll Wait
My List
2016/Inf Warfare/None
2015:/Blops 3/ None
2014:/ADV Warfare/ Ironside/ Kevin Spacey
2013:/ Riley The Dog
2012: Old Man Woods/Alex Mason's Kid
Now that we found that to be fruitless. It's time for Call of Duty to start making some memorable characters again.
5. Co-Op Campaign (Rumored)





Would this fix all of Call of Duty's Problems, No but it would definitely be a step in the right direction. A Couple of things to keep in mind about a Co-op campaign. Hopefully it isn't just shoehorned in to add an extra bullet point to the back of the box. Also I hope levels are bigger because last thing we need is two players trying to get through corridor, just getting stuck all of the time. Also a Split Screen campaign would be amazing, Star Wars Battlefront 2 is doing a split screen campaign , so there are no excuses this time COD!  
6.  Multiplayer:Stick to the Ground
Now Call of Duty take a deep breathe. I know you wanna add jet packs, ridiculous customization and perks that turn you into superman but you don't have to do that. Activision no stupid B.S Micro-transactions. If Call of Duty is truly returning to it's roots go back to 2008 where all the DLC was just the season pass and even that has kind of been taken away in recent years (SWB2/Titanfall2).
7. Cool Side Mode

Sidemodes have been a staple of the franchise since 2008 and they used to be great! Whether it was Zombies on World at War or Specs Ops Missions on MW2. There used to be a lot of great/fun  side activities.  I don't think I  want Zombies this time. I would rather have a Specs ops mode set in world war 2. Where you have to save hostages from Nazis or infiltrate a base or heck why not we kill Hitler this time. Also since this kind of rebootish game will zombie main guys be back or not, if they go the zombie route? I don't know what there going to do maybe something new but I doubt it!

 
8.  Don't bank completely on Celebrities
I can tell you what actors played in the last three Call of Dutys but not who they played and that is a huge problem. Don't get me wrong they can have big actors in Call of Duty but recently the actors have over shadowed their characters. I think they need to go back in time where the character really didn't look a lot like who they were playing. Sutherland was Roebuck, where Kevin Spacey was Kevin Spacey. It would simply add that extra level of immersion. It would also let this new Call of Duty game characters stand on their own rather than a real life actor.



9. Be a Dude Not a Hero   
In the last few games you have played as a complete god! not in the sense of even being a elite soldier (CIA,SAS) but just plain Rambo. Don't get wrong this isn't worst thing but it I would like it and I think the majority of people would like it if we went back to the Cod 2 or WAW where we were  just privates in the army.



10. Throwbacks
























If you're going back anyway, why not have some old characters show up from time to time. It doesn't have to be a huge thing but a couple of cameos or nods would be appreciated because Call of Duty ora or history. COD does owe so much to it's world war 2 setting




Agree, Disagree? Are not going to buy Call of Duty WW2 regardless of what they do?

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

The Game That Will Change Everything!

Scale in games is usually very small unless your a battlefield but still the games only typically reach 64 players. There is your Planetside 2's of the world, PS2 is impressive but high tech specs, micro transactions keep me out of the game.These games are no doubt a blast to play but still don't itch my massive battle scale rash. Garry's Mod, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator have been where I have been getting my fix for quite a while now. While it's fun to watch the combine get mowed down by Teletubbies. I would find that after spawning 150+ units my PC would start drag or GMOD would crash all together. So with 2017 here, I wonder if there is a game that promises to be the game to finally get me what I want?

 Anyway I think my obsession with massive battles started when young and I watched  Starship Trooper movie (1996). The scale of battles in the movie are awesome. There are so many bugs on screen/ guys getting ripped apart, its truly amazing but we've never really had that in games. We have nice big set pieces from time to time from games like Call of Duty but these set pieces are as a big as ocean but deep as a puddle.



So what is the game that is going to change everything? Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator! This game has done the impossible , it has made RTS level numbers of units run in third person. This is a feat that should not go  un praised, it was also done by one guy. The amount of units on screen is  unparalleled. This game is doing things that have never been done before. That amount of optimization is amazing. This could change the scale of games as we know it! For one UEBS has so much potential. Right now there are Knight units, Gag units, and power units. The game could add aliens, Animals, soldiers from different eras, more maps. This game could literally be as big as rocket league. Also the tech is very impressive, imagine what a RPG could do with this. Imagine a battle with your character you have leveled and customized  against THOUSANDS!  Imagine a World War 2 game where you storm the beaches of Normandy with literally 400,000 guys. Imagine a GTA  game with literally thousands of people rioting. The possibilities for the future of games are truly endless.

I am already planning battles and I can't wait for tommrow to buy this game. For years now I have been simming battles with hundreds and now I can't wait to do it with thousands!

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Ten Reasons Why Skylanders is Good for Adults

   
Skylanders have been around for five years now and are kind of innovators in gaming. They single-handedly created the toys-to-life genre. I started playing these games when some of my buddies got the first Skylanders from a garage sale and then randomly gave me theirs after they were done playing it. I am glad they did that because ever since then I have played all the games up until this point and they're damn good. So here are ten reason to give Skylanders a shot.



1.  The Skylanders games have gotten A LOT better 













Being real the first game kind of sucked. It just kind of felt half-baked. I don't hold first games in franchises too a high standard -- but look at TV shows. The first seasons of Breaking Bad was good, but it's kind of shite when you compare to the unforgettable seasons 2, 3, 4, and 5. Giants was better but than Swap Force came around and change the game literally. Swapforce is by far the best one in the series by a mile. I am currently playing Trap Team and it isn't as good as Swap Force but it does harkin back some of the of the cool forgotten things from giants such as Skystones and some of the characters from giants to.

2. The Story is funny and the cast is surprisingly good
The Voice Cast is excellent. The cast is great whether it be Billy from (Billy and Mandy) voicing the Franchises main baddy Chaos or Patrick Warburton (how I met your Mother) voicing the pilot Flynn who constantly says BOOM! but in all seriousness. The game's plot is typical comical and has a lot of hidden adult jokes.

 3. It's best avengers game out there 
OK, here me out. I have given up on ever getting the Avengers game we deserve but there have been times where I feel I'm playing an Avengers game while playing Skylanders. There is this huge viking lady who has a head slam ability (reminds me of Thor) , A crocodile with boomerangs (Captain America) and a swap force Skylander I made with fire boots, So he launches like Iron man. Either way if need your video game avengers itch filled Skylanders is the best we got. 
  
4. Cameos from gaming Icons
People give the Skylander franchise a lot of crap when it comes to "killing their childhood" by bringing characters outside of their universe. Except for Spyro who technically started skylanders but than his name got dropped from the sequels so yeah......  anyway I think its cool to see these characters in a light that we don't usual see them in. Such as getting to play as Bowser and smash some choppies with his Hammer that is  bad ass. It's like when gamers get mad when their exclusive goes to PC or another console.Who cares as long as more people get to play the game, Is Banjo-Kazooie next possible study abroad game character?
5. It's not terribly expensive to get into anymore
you can pick up some of the older Skylanders for about  a dollar a dozen and they still work in the newest games. This is awesome because when you do get new figures, you'll still have you're harden veterans of your team by your side. They also level up and gain new abilities. It's also very great compared to the competition where you have to buy a $20 level packs just to play content with different figures.  (Lego Dimensions)

6. it can be REALLY hard.



 The Skylander games can be oppressively hard on Nightmare Difficulty. A lot of people say that kids games are to "Easy". I would agree with them for the most part but Skylanders, is infamously difficult. One of my highest achievements TA Ratio wise after hitting 100,000 gamerscore is beating Swap force on Nightmare. There were levels where I lost 20-30 Skylanders. It was like sending pigs off to slaughter. Again the games are a lot of fun and if your characters are always getting better even when you're not. 

7. The gimmicks are usually pretty neat

I'm sucker for gimmicks and Hype Cough (No Man's Sky) but the Skylanders Series does a great job in this department.
 Now I'm going to rate and tell what the gimmicks
Scale
Awesome
Great
Ok
Bad
WTF
 Skylanders: Spyros Adventure: Founding of Toys to Life: Awesome, I think this is a truly innovative game in the gaming industry. 
Skylanders Giants: Make bigger Skylanders: Great (Tree Rex was Awesome!)
Skylanders Swap Force: Being able to swap the tops  and bottoms of skylanders: Again an Awesome addtion to the lore and customization
Slylanders Trap Team: You can now Trap enemies and force them to fight for you: This is a fun wildcard addition to the series. 
Skylanders Superchargers: Skylanders can drive cars? WTF , Sorry guys this is dumb
Skylanders  Imaginators:  You make your own Skylanders! It's really awesome great to see swapforce ideas expanded on.
8. backwards compatibility

















Skylanders are into MILFS, what do I mean by that? Your older skylanders will work will all of the new games. So you don't have to worry about buying new ones, All of the damn time. You also get rewarded for using the older ones such as having them get stronger over the games. Not to mention that there the main characters for the Skylander's TV show and They get full voice rolls in the newer games.

 9. You can Literally 3D print your Skylanders 
In the new Skylanders game, You actually get to make your own Skylanders and this is cool on so many levels. My favorite thing out of this new "gimmick" is that you can actually get them 3d printed and that would be really cool to make my own Skylander and than have it sit on mantle. I might make my my dark souls character Dickwad or make a knockoff Pokemon or Teddy Roosevelt. I don't know the possibabltes are limitless!!!!

10. They got a TV show!
The Skylanders now have a cartoon on Netflix. I watched the first few episodes and to be honest kind of like it. After playing through few of the games and for the skylanders being mute most of the time. It is kind of intresting to see them interact with the world. Also the voice cast is really good. For example Justin Long voices Spyro, Stealth Elf is voiced by Ashley Tisdale and Eruptor is Voiced by Hank from Breaking Bad. Also the Voice of Billy comes back to voice Chaos thats always a treat. 







Conclusion:  I think you should at least give skylanders a try, it's more affordable and better as it's ever been. I think Swapforce was a real turning point for the series and I can't wait to see what they do next.