Confessions of a gamer

Why would you spend time playing games when you can go out and scare people? Well some people like to play games and scaring people isn't as funny as it used to be. Besides with all the cool games that are out you really want to spend as much time as you can on your new games! Play some scary games? That would make sense, sure you can play Mario games or go for sport games if you feel like doing that. But I think this time of the year is perfect for scary games, so bring out the Evil Within, Silent Hill or Resident Evil! Scary games are great and really give you the feeling that you shouldn't play more but you really want to know what happens next, I mean you don't watch a movie or read a book and then stop watching or reading before the ending. Of course it goes without saying that you should play these games alone in the dark with your headphones on. Unless you can't handle that... But what if you really want to go out? Well I'm not forcing you to stay ins...

If you see someone in multiplayer with his or her back turned towards you do you take the shot? When someone is afk do you shoot that person? Do you shoot someone who has no more ammo or do you try to fight it out with melee attacks to give the other a fair chance to win? Do you ignore cheap tricks and overpowered weapons in multiplayer? If you do then that would make you a very honourable man or woman, but at the same time I doubt that anyone would do all that. Because the honourable player is usually the dead player! There is no honour in online multiplayer? If you face random players then I wouldn't expect to find that, because a lot of people want to win (because of the rewards you get, for example achievements/trophies or experience) and even if you got nothing as a reward then I'm still pretty certain that most people would want to win the match anyway. The question is how far would someone go to win, would you play dirty or would you try to play fair? For some people...

Yesterday I spend quite some time in multiplayer, but then somehow last night I couldn't get into multiplayer anymore so unfortunately my multiplayer description is going to be a bit less detailed. My apologies but I guess you have to work with what you have and unfortunately that's not as much as I was hoping for. With that being said, let's talk about some Halo 5 multiplayer! Warzone or arena? The first thing you have to decide is if you want to play warzone or arena, because there is a big difference in both multiplayer modes! Warzone is a big multiplayer map where you and your team have to complete objectives, for example capture points or beat NPCs on the map, while also facing another team of players that goes for the same objectives. This creates a big adventure for you and your team, what's really fun is that everything is there. So the vehicles, the requisition drops (weapons, vehicles or boosts) and freedom you want in multiplayer are there. But if you hat...

From the moment you start playing the campaign you dive into a game full of action and excitement, the opening cinematic proves that and further in the game you see more of these intense moments. But I doubt you buy games for just the cutscenes, so what about the gameplay and the characters? Well they're good, it's a bit different but definitely not bad! All for one and one for all? The biggest change that you'll notice is that you're a part of a team, no not just random NPCs running around you but actual team members that assist you and follow your orders. This means attacking a certain enemy, make use of a vehicle or turrent and healing you or another member of your team when you or someone else goes down. That's right you can go down but you're not out! Think of it as Gears of War where you slowly bleed out, so if a member of your team gets to you in time you can be healed and back in the fight, if they're too late you die and it's game over. If a...

I know that's pretty harsh to say but hear me out! This is an opinion from a lot of people, often people that don't understand why some people would stand outside waiting for a game when you can easily download it on your console or computer at midnight or if you want a hard copy you can get it the next day. What difference does it make that you get it several hours later? Indeed, why would anyone do something so silly as waiting in line at a late time of the day for a game that will release the next day? Maybe some people are just weird? Why do people go so far for a game? I guess for some people it's not a bad thing, when you're there with friends or you're social and talk with others waiting in line then time will pass a lot faster. But it still leaves you outside in the cold, if you're unlucky, and the comfort of your house is a lot more appealing when you can get the same game at the same time and immediately start downloading it on your computer or con...

When I first saw the Walking Dead game I didn't like it, the way it's drawn and the controls also looked stupid, but it's easy to make that mistake because at first glance it doesn't look that impressive. But if you give this game a chance you'll learn to appreciate the art style, the characters and the story. No action packed game can give you the Walking Dead experience like this game, besides there's still plenty of action going on in the Walking Dead! When the world goes to hell. You play as Lee and you're on your way to prison, but the cop car crashes and somehow you survive. That's the start of your struggle to survive and the game has no mercy for mistakes or hesitation, so you better be quick or you're dead! Soon after you meet a girl named Clementine and you take care of her from that point, which is quite the task because a young girl is pretty defenseless against walkers. But also other people you meet will respond to your actions, the...

It's not a good idea to play games late at night but when you play a game you really like then it's difficult to put the controller down and stop playing. Then there are also games where you play with friends and as long as your friends play then you would rather not be the first that quits. But playing after midnight can be quite intense and if you're a loud gamer (screaming, shouting or just making a lot of noise bashing with your controller) then your neighbours will probably also not be so happy with you. Why do you play games after midnight? Well let me first say that I don't start playing games after midnight, it's usually me still playing games and it's often a game I'm having fun with or when I'm in a hurry to finish it. In online worlds like Destiny you also have less players around you, so if you're looking for some piece and quiet while exploring or farming then that's probably the best time to do that. Unfortunately it's not e...

After playing most of the day some AC Syndicate I got a good taste of what this game has to offer and I still think that there are more things left to discover, but for a first impression I got pretty far. AC Syndicate is a unique experience in the AC series because you control two assassins, not at the same time though, and the assassins aren't exactly the same. Jacob is the brawler while Evie is the prowler. Of course Evie can bash skulls in and Jacob knows how to sneak but they both have their own personalities are prefered ways of handling things, in the end it's still up to you to do it. Two assassins. The Frye twins, Jacob and Evie, are pretty cool and the controls are quite good as well. It's not a story about revenge but about rebellion and anarchy, eventhough with Evie you probably keep that to a minimum. It's your job to liberate London from the Templars under the rule of Crawford Starrick and his lieutenants. Then there are also the Blighters, a gang that...

Some people believe that gamers are people locked up in their parents' basement and play games all day, eventhough this might count for some people it's definitely not the majority of gamers out there. Sure there are examples out there of people that play games all day, but for some it's an escape of real life and that can be liberating too! What kind of freedom do games give you? People that are shy can be more talkative online, unfortunately this counts for everyone and that means you often hear people be less friendly online than when you meet them in real life. But that doesn't count for everyone, some people are the leader of a clan our guild online while in the offline world they're not that talkative. The thing is that games can bring people to life, sometimes that's in a fantasy world and others in a more realistic world. Games reach people that aren't always that active in real life, some of them lead lives away from others and don't really ...

The worst type of achievements/trophies are the ones that involve other people, this might not seem like a problem to you but some of these multiplayer achievements/trophies are almost impossible to get because it requires a certain thing to happen or someone that does something and you have to immediately do something else just to get that achievement/trophy. I don't think I have to explain how frustrating that can be and how this isn't fun at all, so stop putting multiplayer achievements/trophies in games! Are multiplayer achievements/trophies really that bad? Yes they are really that bad! For example look at Halo 4 and then look at one of the multiplayer achievements where you have to assassinate 5 people in the air. This requires both you and another player to be in the air and you can only do this when you're close to someone, that person has his or her back turned to you and you press the right button while in the air with the other person at the right time. I don...

I really get annoyed with people that have to compare the graphics, wether that's between console games or between console and PC games. If you play on your Xbox One do you really want to know that the game looks prettier on the Playstation 4? Does it make your dick hard knowing that your Playstation 4 game has prettier graphics than the Xbox One version of the same game? Does it interest you that PC games often have the best graphics of all? When you play on your Xbox One you don't give a shit about how the graphics look like on another console, you just want to see the game and if it looks interesting. As a Playstation 4 gamer you might be interested in comparing the graphics but what does that really get you? Bragging rights? Oh wow super cool man, your version of the game looks a bit prettier than my Xbox One version of the same game. Yeah that will make all the difference when I play it. Give me a fucking break! People find graphics important? Some people find this imp...

This might seem weird to you but with low expectations games usually turn out to be better because of that low expectation, but if the game is crap then you haven't lost much there (ok maybe some money) and the disappointment isn't that big. The worst thing that could happen is a game you've been looking forward to all year, maybe even longer, and it turns out to be a terrible game or just not much fun. That's rough, especially if that ruins the experience of the previous games you played in the series. For example Resident Evil 6 wasn't received that well and some people had enough of the series and moved on to something else. Perhaps that's a bit extreme but it happens. So you should have low expectations for every game? No of course not! I mean games that are looking good, the gameplay is good and the sound is good then why would you be having low expectations? It's more about the games you don't know much about, games that don't show gameplay...

When DC Universe Online came out I was still playing City of Heroes, but I still gave DC Universe Online a chance and that was a good idea because it's a fun game. Just like City of Heroes you can create your own hero and decide what type of powers you have, but the customization options are a bit more limited. A lot of costume pieces you have to unlock in the game and that often means that you'll change your character a lot while playing. Which isn't a bad thing but it's pretty cool if one of your first costumes is going to be the costume for your character, it's kind of your symbol and how others can recognize you. But DC Universe Online is a great game, at least if you manage to fight your way to the top and not stay stuck in one area. Just one of the heroes. In DC Universe Online you play with other people in an online version of Metropolis or Gotham City, of course there are other places where you can go but you usually start there, and make a name for your...

One person might call it tactics, another person will call it cowardice but it usually comes down to the same thing and that's frustration. People that have succes with a defensive playstyle. What is a defensive playstyle? For example campers, people that defend a control point/domination point or people that hang around others and move slowly on the map. It's not the most exciting way to play but you do get succes with it, perhaps that's the reason why more and more people play like this. How does being defensive make you a coward? I'd say that's just an opinion but I would like to add that it's not the type of playstyle that gets you respect or helps you make friends in online multiplayer. Besides is it really fun to play that way? I would be bored out of my mind if I spend most of the match in one area and constantly around other people. But once again that's an opinion, if a defensive playstyle is your thing then go for it! Just don't expect ever...

If there's one thing that sticks out for me when it comes to Destiny it's the fact that things go slow, ok some players get good loot fast but that's a small group and I'm pretty certain that casual gamers who spend a modest amount of time in Destiny don't have a lot of good stuff. It's because the loot drops in Destiny are awful, I really mean awful as in not getting what you want and spending hours, days, weeks or even months trying to get what you want. If you want that and if you like that then Destiny is perfect for you, if you hate that then I suggest you move on to another game or at least stop expecting too much of  the game when you play it! Bungie slows you down? It feels that way to me, I mean I'm four days into the Iron Banner event and I've played over fifty matches and do you know how many armor pieces I've seen being awarded? Just one, leg armor for a titan and the guy that got it already bought that. I see also class items (titan ...

In some games you have the option to report somone, for example if someone says hateful words or is cheating. But what happens with this report and do the developers take your report seriously? It's of course difficult to say without asking them directly and even then you'd have to assume that they tell you the truth. So I'm talking here from my own experience and everything that happened. Reporting someone makes a difference? That's what you would like to believe and I must admit that I wanted to believe that too, but usually it doesn't make a difference. But a lot of reports because of one person does kind of stick out, so I bet that more reports will help as long as they're all because of the same person. If a developer gets thousands of reports of different people then it becomes difficult to handle all of those and I bet that at least half of those are bullshit and just people that rage because someone beat them in online multiplayer. I personally don...

I was super excited to see the trailer for Black Ops 3 zombies and then I got blown away by the trailer, I mean if this was some type of film noir crime game then this would be perfect but this is zombie mode in Black Ops 3? Weird... Stars? No not the Resident Evil kind of S.T.A.R.S. but Hollywood stars that play a role in Black Ops 3 zombie mode, which is cool because ever since the zombie map Call of the Dead it's been pretty tempting to put some stars into the roles of survivors in zombie mode. There might have been more before but Call of the Dead is the first one where I remember seeing some familiar faces. In Black Ops 3 zombie mode you now have Neil McDonough, Heather Graham, Ron Perlman and Jeff Goldblum. Maybe you don't recognize all of the names but I do, then again I spend way too much time watching movies and series. So what's the story? Assuming that there is a story, but from what I could discover in the trailer it's about four bad people (people t...

These past couple of weeks I've heard a lot of hate when the microtransactions were mentioned, this went so far that people would threaten to stop playing Destiny or accuse Bungie and/or Activision of being money grabbing whores. But yesterday you could see for yourself, it's just an option in the game that doesn't give you any benefit and it's just for fun. So once again people make a lot of noise for nothing or is this the beginning of the end? What is the problem? I think a lot of people see the microtransactions in Destiny as the beginning of the end, mostly because they've seen it before in other games where microtransactions ruined the game. But wether you like it or not the microtransactions in Destiny are just emotes you can buy for your character, I don't think that's terrible and you can even get two for free as each account gets 400 silver (the new pay method that you purchase with real money) for free and you can purchase two standard emotes ...

Life is strange is one of those games I heard about but somehow never played, until now and I must say that I was blown away! Sure there are no big action scenes and yes there's drama, but it's an amazing story that pulls you into a world where things can change. It's a game that's released in five episodes and you can buy and play the first four episodes now and episode five will come out soon (if I have to believe the message on the screen of the game). Mad Max? No it's not the Australian survivor from the movies and game, this Max is a girl going through some tough times at school in Arcadia Bay. You start the game when she has a nightmare where a tornado destroys the town where she lives, then you wake up in class and realize it was just a dream or was it? Shortly after that you discover you have the ability to rewind time, which helps you make a different choice and help people you couldn't help before. This creates a unique gameplay method that gives y...

When I first saw the game Overlord I was very interested, mostly thanks to my Fable addiction and this game looks a bit like Fable. Ok there's at least one big difference, in Overlord you play as the villain and you can only be the villain. Is that boring? Hell no! It's a lot of fun and your minions (the small creatures that serve you) make this game unforgettable! Overlord and minions. What is an overlord without minions, probably still a bad guy but in this game he's probably not that interesting. Especially when your overlord doesn't really speak but kind of grunts or roars, but that's ok because the minions steal the show in this game. The silly voices and things they do really make you laugh and it's a lot of fun to control them. I would like to add that their survival instincts are probably as good as a group of lemmings but at least you have some direct control over them instead of trying to guide them. You have several types of minions: brown minions...

In online multiplayer there's a good chance you'll meet immature gamers, people who need to taunt you for no reason which can be as simple as teabagging (in case you're unfamiliar with this, it's a character crouching up and down above your corpse) up to the point where people come up with a long sentence of insults just to annoy you. That's not fun and dealing with it is even worse, so how do you deal with it without rage quitting? Be the better man/woman? That's easier said than done, especially when you deal with the saddest sacks of shit this world has ever spawned. How can you not have the urge to break their necks? Well just don't, ignore the immature loser and if this person keeps bothering you then you can always try your luck in another match. Staying in the match until you get angry is a mistake, maybe you don't feel like leaving but I can tell you that staying in the match usually doesn't make you happier. Of course you can make it you...

With your Xboxlive gold account you can pick up Valiant Hearts: the Great War for free, but is it worth checking out? It is! At least if you like puzzles, history and playing as different characters in one game. What I really like is the backstory, reading the historic facts that you can read if you pause the game. But also the game is fun to play, not too difficult and even if you're stuck a hint will pop up after a minute or two if you're stuck. History! I love history and learning more about a period in time is interesting to me, playing a game and learning things is fantastic. Eventhough one game does that better than the other, in Valiant Hearts you can select the articles from the pause menu and choose if you want to read them or not. So even when you don't care about the historic facts you can just play this game and still have a good time. I would like to add that you see real pictures with these articles, some of these pictures can be quite intense and show you...

To put it simple, no we don't need them! But why are they in more and more games? Probably because as long as people pay they stay. Ok that sounds lame but that's pretty much how it goes, because having dlc isn't enough for some people and if developers can make an extra buck with microtransactions then you can bet your ass on it that they'll be included in a game. Microtransactions add something positive to a game? They can, at least if it's something you don't really need and is fun to have. For example buying different colours for your armor or buying an animated expression for your character, that's not something you need but can make your character more interesting and more fun to play with in the game. What sucks if microtransactions give people something that others had to work hard for, for example rare weapons or armor that people can buy without having to spend hours on a mission/quest to get them. It's what people call pay to win. Pay to...

At least that's assuming you played the previous SW Battlefront games and that you're into Star Wars, eventhough someone who isn't a Star Wars fan could still have a blast with this game. The options seems almost limitless and the freedom you get is quite big, so why wouldn't you be excited about Star Wars Battlefront? There can only be one? No I'm not talking about the Highlander movies, it's about the battles between the rebels and the empire. In these battles two giant armies fight against eachother and the better one side does the more the bar will colour in your teams favour (blue/rebels, red/empire). This also gives you an idea how well your side is doing, that also means that if things are looking bad that you have to double your efforts to win eventhough your fate is pretty much sealed when the bar is almost complete blue or red. Be anyone or anything? You can pick your own class in this game, so if you feel more comfortable as a sniper you play ...

When I first heard this title I thought it was a joke, a Far Cry game that takes place in the stone age? How can that be a game? Well it seems it's real and the first trailer shows you a bit of what you can expect in this game. For example hunting mammoths or being hunted by a sabertooth tiger. Then there is also the danger of other tribes that will kill you on sight. In the trailer there are other people with you, so if that means that you get co-op remains to be seen. Are people really excited about this game? Why not? You can play stone age hunter and do your primal things in the stone age, that could be cool. Hunting animals with just a bow and a spear could be a challenge, I mean in the previous games you had your guns but now you'll have to be a bit more deadly with weapons that will most likely not kill with one hit or have rapid fire. I can see how this game is interesting to some people, eventhough some people would probably rather have a Far Cry game that takes pl...

One of the reasons why I'm not a big fan of PvP is that I usually end up playing against a team of friends or at least people that work well as a team and I'm in a random team. So you can imagine how that usually goes, not so good... But does that mean that matchmaking sucks in games or that I just have the worst luck? It's all about skill? Several developers will say that matchmaking in their game is based on skill, so the better you perform the more skilled people you encounter. I know that this sounds cool and if this would truly be the case then it would be cool. Unfortunately it often doesn't work that way, because there are a lot of matches I played where the other team just crushed my team. I try but when you face a team that has all the best gear, know the maps inside out and stick around eachother while going for the objective then your team of random players will be crushed! At that point I don't believe for one moment that this was fair, in a way this...

After the succes of Goldeneye on the N64 a lot of developers have tried to get close to that succes, often by going for the first person experience like Goldeneye. But Everything or nothing went for the third person shooter experience, but also by making it more like you're playing in a Bond movie instead of just shooting yourself from point A to point B in first person. It's not that you won't be having a lot of shooting ahead of you but there is a story and there is some actual interaction with other characters. What's also cool is that the actor who played Bond (Pierce Brosnan) at that time actually did the voice for the character and some more Hollywood actors gave their voice to some of the characters in the game. That gave Everything or nothing a more movie experience and less of a shooter, but getting back to business it's still you playing as Bond and killing a lot of enemies. So maybe it's not that different? Bond! You play as James Bond and you kic...

I there's one thing that annoys me in online multiplayer its people that don't play the objective, for example someone that camps in a corner of the map in domination and does nothing to capture or hold points. The biggest chance to get people like that is with random players, especially when there is no communication and people kind of do what they want. Which is fine if they hang around the objective and help out whenever they can but unfortunately some people play their own game within the game. Why play an objective based team game when you do nothing with the team? From my experience its usually players that want to boost their kills, especially in domination where people can get a ridiculous amount of kills without reaching a limit. So don't be surprised to see people just sit somewhere racking up kills and do nothing to capture or hold points. Perhaps you think that they help in their own way, but after some time the other team just avoids the camper and does pla...

Patience is a virtue, you probably heard that as a kid but what does that really mean? When you play games it means that sometimes it's smarter to wait a moment or go slow instead of rushing into battle and get shot to pieces by an angry group of enemies. Especially when you play in difficult missions that are made for a team of players and also requires you to play as a team. That seems simple but the thing is that you can easily make mistakes, for example rushing into battle and getting yourself and the team killed. That doesn't help you make any friends and I don't think you feel great about that either, unless you enjoy being the troll that does that to other people online. Why wait when you can move forward? Whenever I play with others I want to move forward, I hate sitting still and staring at other players. Not only does that make me feel uncomfortable it's also boring, if I want to do something boring I'll watch how grass grows and trust me that's ju...

At least that's the latest news around this game. I must admit that I would welcome that, eventhough I'd have to find extra time to play all those extra hours next to the load of other games that launch around that time as well and I don't want to miss out on those either. But I'm not complaining, more is definitely good in this case! More time to do what? The areas are bigger and you have more things to do, the skill trees have now up to 50 skills (if I'm not mistaken) so there's a lot of unlocking to do. If you want to unlock that many skills then there has to be a lot to do, eventhough you could backtrack in Tomb Raider and get collectibles and improve your skills with the extra experience. I don't know if that's possible in Rise ofthe Tomb Raider but I would definitely welcome it, because having to replay the story again just for collectibles sucks! As you saw in the trailers there will be different locations and it doesn't all take place on ...

That's harsh but that's the idea I get when I see these requests online, people that need help in a mission or just want to play with other people in multiplayer but are just ignored or sometimes even mocked. It seems that developers have created a culture where you need to play with other people but if you don't know other people that play that game then you're screwed. Sure you can try your luck online and hope some nice person helps you out or is looking for help just like you and doesn't mind teaming up with you. This seems simple and it should work, but somehow I see hundreds of people online not getting into a team and missing out on some multiplayer rewards. People don't want to help other people? I don't think it's that simple and let's not forget that there are people out there that do try to help as many people as they can. But the problem is that there are so many out there that need help and there aren't enough friendly people out...