Confessions of a gamer

There was a time and a place I expected every character in a mmorpg was controlled by a guy, mostly because I didn't think women would play games. Now I know that there are women that play games, but that doesn't take away the fact that there are still a lot of guys out there that still play as female characters. It probably won't surprise you that most of these guys have excuses why they play as a female character, but does it really matter? That depends... Men pretending to be women online. This is something I don't find acceptable, when men pretend to be women online and then act like a woman. Roleplaying is one thing, but being an annoying prick is something else. I saw a video on youtube of a guy that plays as a female character in a mmorpg and then chats up other guys, it seems funny but imagine when you just want to clear a dungeon or play in a team to do some missions. I doubt that you're interested in the bullshit of some guy pretending to be a girl. Oh...

Let me first say that this is a rumor, a rumor that is difficult to believe. But if it's true then that's great news for Silent Hills fans! You probably heard before that Silent Hills was cancelled, which lead to a lot of disappointment and also anger. But if Microsoft could bring it back then that would be amazing, unfortunately rumors have the nasty habit of being false sometimes... Why would this rumor be false? Because it's difficult to believe, for example Microsoft would be paying more than a billion (another rumor) for Silent Hills and that seems like way too much for a game that will most likely not earn them that much money. With Silent Hills becoming an exclusive for the Xbox One it would be unlikely that they'll sell enough copies to break even or make a profit on this game, so why would they buy it for that amount of money? If Sony had issues with completing the game (it's rumored to be 80% completed) then how is Microsoft going to fix that? Are they...

I can't help but notice that games are starting to become weirder each year, not that there is anything wrong with weird but it's like developers try to go even crazier than before or trying to be more crazy than other developers with their game. Just look at first person shooters, first you have CoD with some over the top action moments where Battlefield allows you to destroy your environment. Then you have Titanfall where you can sit in giant mechs and run against walls with your character and CoD once more trying to top that with even more special abilities and insane movement over the map. What happened to just shooting eachother in a first person shooter? Since when are games meant to be serious? I doubt they were ever meant to be serious, that's why they're called games and not real life simulations. Eventhough some games do try to take a more serious approach than others. When you started playing games in the time of the plumber that jumps on the heads of ene...

Under normal circumstances I'd say no, but things aren't always normal when you play a game. Sometimes you have to deal with some sad sacks of shit and spending one more second with these people will probably make you want to throw your computer/console out of the window. So maybe it's not so easy to say yes or no, because sometimes things just get frustrating and it's better to leave than to stay in those situations. Sometimes it's better to leave than to stay in a game? I think it is better to leave sometimes, for example when you're having a terrible time and things are going horribly wrong. It's a bit selfish to abandon the team but if there is nothing left to do and you don't have anything to add to the team than there's no point in staying. Another reason why you could leave is when your team sucks, I'm not even talking about not having any skill but when they are annoying douchebags. You have to ask yourself if these are people you wan...

Good news for Resident Evil fans, Resident Evil Zero is appearing for the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. So if you never played the Gamecube version or later the Wii version then you'll get a chance now. It's scheduled for early 2016, so you'll have to wait a little bit longer to play it. Why Resident Evil Zero and not Resident Evil 2? After Resident Evil it doesn't surprise me that Resident Evil Zero is the next game that gets remastered, because just like Resident Evil it's a game that already had decent graphics (for that time) and it's and easier task than working on making Resident Evil 2 look good. But that doesn't mean that this will never happen, I guess you'll just need more patience for that. Assuming that Capcom will eventually do the same for Resident Evil 2 and 3. Is Resident Evil Zero an important game in the Resident Evil series? This game was added later and it's a prequel for Resident Evil, so in a way you don't really n...

I've heard several people call themselves a professional gamer but I doubt that most of them even know what that means. I guess it sounds cool to be professional but when you hear a ten year old kid call himself a professional gamer then it's difficult to believe that. What's probably even more disturbing is how some people actually think that this gets them more respect or make them better than you. It's one of the many reasons why you probably don't want to talk with random players in some games. What is a professional gamer? It's someone that earns a living with playing games, which doesn't automaticly mean that this person is a great player. Some people upload funny videos where they fail or just mess around with friends, there's no superior skill in that but just fun and that's what gaming should be about. But there are professional gamers that earn money by winning a tournament and other prizes with their skills. Usually these people have s...

A lot of people considered (maybe some still consider it) this to be the best GTA game, a big open world where you could do almost anything and you could even change the appearance of your character. Maybe some people don't care but the story is also pretty good, but you probably play the game to go on a rampage in a virtual city. I guess we all have our own reasons to play games... The best GTA game? Before GTA V this was considred as the best GTA game, not by everyone but a lot of people still like this game and it wouldn't surprise me if some people still play it. The big difference with GTA IV and V is that there are no online options, so these days a game like GTA San Andreas would have a hard time to stand out but the story and gameplay make up for that. The story of CJ (main character) is one of hardship and trying to make something of himself while he gets sucked into more trouble. But somehow he keeps surviving and making it to even more trouble. I do think that it...

I've never been a social type, but it's nice to have friends in your life if you need help or just for fun. But when games became more fun for me and also bigger and consumed more of my time I didn't always notice that I didn't talk with my friends for days and sometimes even weeks. At first they wanted to know what was going on, some were worried and others tried to contact me but when you don't check your phone then those messages don't have any effect. It's when you take a break from gaming or when you finish a game that you realize that a week has passed and you missed several messages. So games didn't really help me stay in touch with my friends, but it helps if your friends like to play games as well and preferably the same games as you. Games ruin your social life? It's possible, but to be honest this is something you do to yourself. Nobody forces you to play the game all the time! But some games are addicting and it's difficult to sto...

Not much at first, at least that's how I saw it but the more you play the more you realize that only a few players can really get everything out of the game. Which isn't that surprising, I mean I get it that not everyone gets every item but I did expect I could at least get my characters or even just one character on the highest level. Wrong! You need friends? Well life is more comfortable with friends but the problem is that your friends don't always like the same games as you, which means that sometimes you play games and you have no friends to play this game with. This isn't always a problem, but in Destiny it is a problem! Oh sure Bungie will tell you that the game is playable solo, but don't let that fool you because playable means not reaching the highest level and not being able to participate in the best parts of the game. With best parts I'm talking about raids, prison of elders and the trials of Osiris. The game won't put you in a team, no you ...

In multiplayer games you often find these two type of players facing eachother, you'd probably think that the team player has an advantage but that's not a guarantee! Some lone wolves can actually play very well thanks to a lot of experience and practice. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that two or more against one will usually end the same way. It's unfair but when you play team deathmatch then you can expect people teaming up, so you might want to ask yourself what type of player you are and do your best in the role you choose. Lone Wolf. A lone wolf doesn't like it when people tag along with him or her, he or she wants to do his or her own thing and that sometimes means playing defensive while other times it means being on the offensive. It's not that lone wolves hate to play with other people, they usually perform better on their own or they're not comfortable working in or with a team. It probably won't surprise you that these players...

With GTA V out on PC the mods are flying around like crazy and this makes some people happy while it makes others mad. Mods are usually meant to make a game interesting to play even after several years, it creates new possibilities and sometimes ridiculous happy accidents. But are mods a good thing? Mods make games fun again? Some people get bored easily with games, sometimes for good reason (for example they've played it for months) and then it's nice that there is something that keeps it interesting. I used mods for the Sims 2, it's a great way to get new items and options in the game. Especially if you've grown tired of the same stuff and want something new. So I'm definitely not against mods, I think that they can add something extra to a game and that's not a bad thing. Just be careful what you add because not everything is good! Mods ruin games? I think it was in Skyrim where someone had so many mods in his game that the game became almost impossib...

It seems to be a trend in some games these days, making your own team. Maybe you're thinking that this is a good thing and in theory it is, but the problem is  that not everyone knows other people who play the same games or in some cases have friends to play these games with. So then the whole make your own team tactic can be an obstacle that prevents some people from playing that game or at least playing it as it's meant to be played. Why do developers leave matchmaking out of some games? I think it's some lame attempt for people to socialize more, to make new friends and not just accept the random people the game throws your way. But what's wrong with that? Not every random player is going to be fun to play with in a game but at least it beats not being able to play at all! Besides isn't it better that you at least give people a choice? Instead of forcing them to go online and try to form a team with strangers, which can be quite an annoying experience if you...

I was excited for House of Wolves dlc, I got up early and installed the dlc which was a lot smaller than I first thought. Then I go online in Destiny and guess what? It's not ready yet! Apparently I have to wait till 7PM (GMT +1) because that's when the dlc goes live, eventhough it's already available for download and you can go online in the game. Why not give European gamers acces to the dlc already? Or is that unfair towards gamers in other parts of the world? Somehow nobody seems to give a shit if we (Europeans) have to wait a couple of more days for the launch of a game, but I guess a couple of hours early acces to dlc is out of the question. Launch dates/times are unfair? If you're from the American continents or Asia then you probably don't know about how unfair this can be, but I think Europeans and probably Africans as well deal with this type of bullshit on a regular basis. Maybe you don't see the problem, who cares that you have to wait two more d...

To be honest I didn't have high expectations when I bought this game, but when your girlfriend convinces you that this game is amazing then it's not a bad idea to listen. This game is the sequel of Amercian McGee's Alice, a game that got a dedicated group of fans that were probably very excited to see the sequel. But is this a good game and what makes this game so much fun? I'm not crazy! You start in the 'real' world, England about a century ago to be more exact, but quickly find yourself back in the madness of Wonderland. It's actually amazing to see how calm Alice stays under all that happens. I guess Alice isn't crazy, but the developers must be when I look at the crazy world and monsters that walk around in it. But it's beautiful in a disturbed way, if that makes sense to you. Your task is to stop a nightmare train from destroying Wonderland, unfortunately it takes a moment to get there but you can catch up with old friends and enemies. Cr...

This might surprise you but I've never disliked a video, why? What's the point? So others can see I didn't like the video? If I don't like a video I don't watch the video, if I did click on a video that I don't like then I'll stop watching that video. But a lot of youtube viewers like to leave a dislike, sometimes combined with a negative comment. This is usually a way for them to annoy others, because why be a normal person online when you can be a sad sack of shit? Don't like it, don't watch it? It seems simple and yet a lot of people feel the need to tell everyone else how they feel about the video. I'd say the majority of the viewers doesn't even scroll down anymore because of the negative comments and other sad attempts to be annoying. Destiny is a game that gets a lot of hate, so it's no surprise that every Destiny video gets a lot of negative attention. These are people that hate the game but will click on every Destiny video j...

When you play online multiplayer games then there's a good chance you'll encounter people you don't get along with, wether that's their behaviour or maybe even your own doesn't really matter at that point but dealing with it probably does. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the other characters on the screen are characters that are controlled by other players and they probably want to have a good time just like you, which means in some games beating you or working with you towards a goal. It's not easy to accept a loss or to work with others, for some it might be easier than others, but in online multiplayer you'll have to deal with other people wether you like it or not! It´s not all about you? As much as you like playing games and having a good time while playing games it's easy to forget that there are many other players out there with similar reasons playing games. But since we can't all be winners it means that some will have to lose, wh...

It's easy to assume that games that are free are bad, but is that really true? As a gold member on Xboxlive you can get a free game every month (Xbox One) or two games (Xbox 360), maybe not every game is of top quality but usually they're fun to play. Besides what do you want to complain about? It's a free game and nobody forces you to play it! Free games are good? What I like about free games is that it gives me a chance to check out a game and then do this without regret, because even if the game isn't good then it's still not a problem because it didn't cost me anything. If you're familiar with buying bad games then you know how much it sucks to spend sixty Dollars or Euros on a game that is absolutely crap. Thanks to free games you discover games that you might have never played otherwise. I used to swap games at school with other kids that also played games, this saved money and together we could play a lot of games. But it's even better when yo...

It seems like a new trick but Nintendo already knew that having more than one playable is a good thing, which meant you could play as Luigi and later also as Toad and Peach. The amount of playable characters increased up to the point where you now have a ridiculous amount of playable characters in a Mario game. But what about the rest? Well Sega has Sonic and friends, eventhough they never went as crazy with the amount of Sonic related games as Nintendo with Mario. But also more recent games like GTA V and Assassin's Creed Syndicate have multiple playable characters, each with their own skills and personality. It's confusing to have multiple playable characters? I've heard people complain about this but in truth I doubt that they're serious, as long as the characters have their own place in the game then I don't see how that's confusing. If all of the characters would look the same, act the same and do the exact same thing then it would be confusing but that...

Have you seen the latest video of the new Assassin's Creed game? It looks pretty cool and offers some faster ways to travel through the game. It´s really cool to be able to travel fast and also the fighting system looks like a lot of fun. But will this wash away the foul taste of Assassin's Creed Unity? Let's hope so... Who is the main character? You play as Jacob Frye, a guy from the street that wants to unite the poor people in London to stand against the elite (in this case also the Templars). In the gameplay video you see him rallying the people and fight together against the Templar oppressors. He seems like a cheerful chap but also quite to the point, why sit and wait when you can do something right now? In the video you also see an ally called Mister Green (probably another assassin) and Miss Frye (probably his sister and also an assassin). Which roles they'll play remains to be seen but it all looks pretty good to me. A faster way to travel? Don't wo...

I'm not often envious of PS 4 owners but this time it's something I would've liked to see on the Xbox One as well, Final Fantasy X. Of course there's also Final Fantasy X-2 but I'm not really interested in that one, but for the fans this is great news! You get to play as Tidus and in FF X-2 as Yuna again but now on your PS 4. This remastered edition will have smoother graphics and probably also sound better, it still amazes me how they make a good game even better. Are people interested in FF X and X-2? I think it's safe to say yes, because a lot of people haven't been happy with the latest couple of Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy XIII was ok but still nothing close to the legends from the past like FF VII, VIII and X. Well maybe that's just my opinion and the rest of the world thinks differently, it wouldn't surprise me but I'm pretty certain that there are more people out there that feel the same way about Final Fantasy games. Anyway Fi...

Some people consider this game as the best Mass Effect game. Why? Because it was an improvement of the first game and was exciting up to the last moment. Something I can´t say about the third game and the first game was a nice game but the weapons that would constantly overload if you fired too much are a bit annoying. So yeah I think that Mass Effect 2 is the best Mass Effect game, also thanks to amazing dlc likethe Shadow Broker dlc where you have Liara (from the first Mass Effect game) in your team and you can even romance her (again). It´s safe to say that Mass Effect 2 is a great game and a lot of fun to play! Story. Once again you play as Commander Shepard but something goes wrong in the intro, the Normandy (your ship) is under attack and Commander Shepard is killed. What?!!! Yes he or she (you can choose the gender yourself or if you import your data from Mass Effect you get the exact looking character from that game) is killed but is then brought back to life by Cerberus, a...

It´s Mother´s Day! Which means be nice to your mother! But I guess that´s not always easy, a mother that doesn´t understand your hobby or hobbies and wants you to go out and do something. Maybe younger mothers are more familiar with gaming but if you have an older mother (close to fourty when you were born) then it´s difficult to explain what´s so cool about playing games. Your mother and gaming. This is a combination that seems quite unlikely for some people, especially when you have a mother that doesn´t like computers or anything related to that. They don´t understand why you spend so much time behind your computer or console playing games. Of course you can try to explain but does she really understand it? As long as you´re happy then your mother is probaby happy as well, unless you rage like a lunatic when someone screws you over in online multiplayer. Then it might be more difficult to explain why you play a game that makes you so mad sometimes. But even if your mother someti...

When I first had to come up with a gamertag I took chose a name I used in Guild Wars for one of my characters, it´s nothing fancy but at least it was available. But after several years I had enough of that name, somehow people constantly thought I was from England and I wanted something else. So I changed my gamertag and that one wasn´t good either, it was a combination of two words and I used that hoping it would just blend in with the other bad/crazy/weird gamertags. But after some time I couldn´t help but hate my gamertag and I changed it again, this time I´m happier with it but does it really matter? I mean I changed my gamertag twice and spend about twenty Euros doing that, but was it really necessary? Probably not... There is no shame online? When I see certain gamertags then I can´t help but wonder what they were thinking when they chose that, I guess they weren´t thinking at all. Sometimes they think they´re clever by writing it in their native language and then only pe...

When this game came out on the PC I heard a lot of people complain about this game, but it seems that most problems have been fixed and now I hear a lot of positive things about the Elder Scrolls Online. But what is the Elder Scrolls Online and how different is this game from Oblivion and Skyrim? Let´s find out! It´s a big world! Unlike Oblivion and Skyrim you have ten provinces to explore in the Elder Scrolls Online, which means that this is the biggest game in the Elder Scrolls up to this day! But you´re not alone in this world, while on a quest or just walking around in the world you can meet other players who can be on the same quest or also just exploring. It´s up to you if you wish to team up or if you prefer to play solo, because this game is also playable solo. But I think that certain quests are a lot easier when you have a friend that helps you out. There´s a lot to do and a lot to figure out, but it´s up to you what you want to do. Choice. You decide what your race...

Without a raid in the House of Wolves dlc you can imagine that a lot of eyes will be looking at the Prison of Elders. In this three player challenge mode you will have to do your best to survive, otherwise you will fail! Will this be enough to keep players happy and is this an improvement? I guess for die hard fans of the raids this will be a step back, but I think that the Prison of Elders does offer people that can´t play the raids something new. Hopefully something good... What is the Prison of Elders? One of the first things that came to my mind was horde mode in Gears of War, it´s a mode where you survive waves of enemies and sometimes you also have to complete objectives to make it to the next wave. The amount of waves aren´t that many as in horde mode but it´s challenging! You can choose your entry level which is level 28, 32, 34 and 35. So that should keep you busy for some time. But I think a good team will probably clear that without too much trouble. The objecti...

I know that most people sit when they play a game and that makes perfect sense, but when you´re a die hard gamer (more than 8 hours on a day) then this is unhealthy to say the least. So if you can´t stop playing games what could you do? Play games while you´re standing up? Well you could try that, but I doubt that will be comfortable. I guess it also depends what type of game you´re playing. It´s not weird to play games while you´re standing up? It depends what type of game you´re playing, for example with the plastic guitars it makes perfect sense that you´re standing up while playing Guitar Hero or Rockband. But also Kinect games often require you to be moving around and not sitting on your couch, which means it makes more sense to stand up while playing a Kinect game. It might not be the most comfortable way of playing a game but it´s healthier, especially if you play a lot of games. It might be weird to play Destiny, Evolve, Resident Evil or whatever game you have while standin...

If you wondered why you´re spending a lot of money on the season pass then wonder no more! It seems that in the dlc for Arkham Knight you can play as Batgirl, this is a story before the Arkham games and before Batgirl became Oracle. Which might be interesting for some fans, ah who am I kidding? It´s interesting for a lot of fans! Playing as Batgirl is a good thing? I think it is, because we played as Batman, Catwoman and Robin in Arkham City + as Nightwing in the challenge maps. So it´s nice that we get the chance to play as another important character in the Batman universe. I don´t know what story you´ll play as Batgirl but it might be the moment where the Joker shoots her or where it leads up to that moment. Unfortunately that´s not a guarantee and it could easily be something else. Does that mean that the Joker might make an appearance in this dlc? Who knows... What else do you get with the season pass? As far as I know you also play as Batman in a story mission against...

I first played this game in the late 90´s, which was a lot of fun and I had played other types of strategy games like Age of Empires. But Anno 1602 is more detailed and is more about trading and keeping your colony happy, of course you can also wage war with other colonies or the inhabitants of the Island. Usually you can live peacefully and have a great time with trade, but if you desire war then that´s something you can also get! It´s actually a simple game and easy to learn, but at the same time detailed enough to give people with a love for strategy something to keep them busy. Start simple. At the beginning you only have one ship and you have to pick an island to start your colony, this is important because if you pick a bad island (for example too small or not enough resources on that island) then that can cause problems later. Of course you can always expand to other islands but it definately helps if your first island is a good island! You begin with basic needs and make ce...

What type of people are PvP players?  Usually the type that plays to win because why else would you play PvP? Maybe for fun? Perhaps because his or her friends also play PvP? Or is it because it´s the perfect place to be an asshole to others and get away with it? Let´s take a closer look at some of the people you can encounter in PvP matches. Winning is everything? This might surprise you but some people are obsessed with winning, I sometimes also have this strong drive to win and I get upset when my team isn´t making an effort to win. One of the things that annoys me the most in PvP is when I´m in a team that doesn´t play the objective, for example in domination when my team doesn´t help capture and hold points. I see so many people camping in spots just to get a lot of kills and half of the time failing with that. It´s not the objective and it usually doesn´t lead to victory and what´s worse is that it doesn´t help the team! Of course it´s more important to have fun that to w...

I´m not talking about how realistic games can look, I´m talking about how so many games get a remake or a sequel. It probably wouldn´t surprise you that a lot of these games aren´t that interesting or it would probably be better if they were left alone. That doesn´t mean it´s all bad, there are definitely some good games out there that deserve to get a polished up version and there´s nothing wrong with that! But when it happens a lot for almost every game that was popular in the past then that means we´re not getting many new games, at least not games worth mentioning. What´s wrong with a remake? In a way there´s nothing wrong with that, but at the same time it does feel like it´s doing something bad. For example you could remake the old Star Wars trilogy and make those hack and slash fight scenes look amazing and brush up all special effects while you´re at it but nobody is doing that. Do you know why? Because the fans would go crazy with rage, even if the movies are star...

Sometimes people that don´t play games ask me why I play games, because they don´t see the point in wasting time on that. But isn´t that the same with almost everything else? Why do you play tennis? Why do you watch movies? Why do you work in the garden? Probably because you like that or feel like doing that? Why do some people hate games? Usually these are people that have never played games and hardly know anything about it. They hear a bit hear and there and they already have their opinion ready. Gaming is for nerds, gaming is for losers, gaming is a complete waste of time. I guess you could say the same about almost every other hobby, but guess what since it´s a hobby it means that you do that for fun and doing something for fun doesn´t seem like a waste of time to me! It's easy to judge gamers and I'm pretty certain there are some bad examples out there but that doesn't mean all gamers are assholes. Otherwise that would mean that if one athlete uses drugs that they...