Dishonored, Far Cry 3, and lost time

I've been busy...so busy I haven't been writing. I have been running a gamut of games, life, and emotions, I haven't had much time for writing.
No more excuses, here we go. If you haven't played it yet, buy Far Cry 3, i can pretty much guarantee that you won't be disappointed. The story is pretty simple to begin with, fun in the sun with your friends on a tropical paradise, but things turn for the worst when you and your friends are captured by bloodthirsty pirates, and I don't mean the ones with eyepatches. You soon find yourself escaping, only to be told find out that you need to save your friends, and the only way is to destroy pirates.
I have only been playing the story mode, working up slowly towards one heck of a tattoo. As you gain experience you start a tree of skills, some more deadly than others. As you choose which skills you want to use, your forearm becomes more tattooed, and you gain respect of locals and free the islands from powerful drug lords. The skills you use depend on how you want to play, and can help you with hunting, which is an essential part of the game.
You hunt for skins, which then can help build better equipment to hold ammunition, or crafted syringes. Different animals give you different items, and there is a challenge to gain a legendary beasts skin as a final upgrade.
In order to continue your revenge, you need weapons, and the locals provide you with whatever you need, as long as you have the cash. Weapons become permanently yours as you open cell towers, and complete missions. You also can upgrade certain weapons, increasing range or silencing them.
As you defeat bases, you unlock way points you can fast travel to. These have stand alone weapon caches, which you can sell miscellaneous items to to make ammo and weapon purchases.
The actual game play is almost exactly like the second with a change that helps if you are trying to get to cover, or get into stealth mode. It is a slide, that you do while running, you slide, and come up in a stealth position. It's great for sneaking up on bases, or in a gun fight getting behind cover.
The feel of the game is amazing, there are animals roaming, some more deadly than others, and you can choose to do challenges and side missions galore. There a few spots that will have your heart pounding, and some that will have you swearing and wondering why you bought the game in the first place. Overall though, if you want to get a game that will last you a while and is fun, this is it!
Dishonored should be up next, I have more to tell you!
Keep on gaming!

Borderlands, FPS or RPG?

OK, so pending the fact that I am writing sporadically at this point, it seems no surprise that I am writing about a game right before Borderlands 2 comes out. I started playing the first installment about 2 weeks ago, and couldn't stop. With the graphic kills, the insane amount of side quests, and a huge land to explore, I found my self wrapped into the story (or stories if you got the DLC). Plus killing stuff with a rocket launcher that melted people's faces was a plus.
I bought a copy at Gamestop, which happened to have all the DLC, and was used by one of the workers there (thanks, Rick!). I started going through the game with Mordecai, the Hunter since I am a big fan of both sniper rifles and revolvers. At first, I thought the game was a bit over the top. Then, after playing for a few hours, I realized it was overflowing with graphic novel style action and adventure. I really didn't expect the fun and level building that I experienced playing this at first, but as I progressed, I became more engrossed in trying to finish side quests like I did in Skyrim and Fallout.

I find myself working more and more on side quests, as the main story I can usually run through pretty quick, and with the DLC, the action just keeps going. The gameplay is great, but the way the weapons are setup, I am still trying to figure out the best combinations for damage. So far I have found that the sniper rifle doesn't really need any modifiers, as it does unbelivable damage with the Hunter, but more levels may provide more weapons that I may find fun.
Overall I would rate this game a 9, with all of the DLC, the expansive weaponry, the ability to level up and change your character to what suits you, and of course, the blood and guts. The only problem I have is the load time between maps. It does take a bit of time to load, but in the end it is worth it.
I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of ARPG's and first person shooters. Soon, the 2nd Borderlands will be coming out, and I for one will be getting it.
Keep on gaming, and I will be writing again soon!

MW3 DLC, NEW map available soon!

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. MW3 is going to be.incorporating another map this month, a favorite by all that played MW2. Terminal is going to be available soon, and I for one just want to see how it looks and feels on the new Modern Warfare.
I have been playing some of the new maps lately on 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3, along with Oasis on both Free for All and Team Deathmatch. One thing I have noticed, is that the DLC seems to run a bit better than some of the other maps. Could this be because more time was spent on the gameplay rather than the beautification of the map? I don't think so, it seems that they started packing more into smaller areas while keeping quality as a top priority. While playing through Oasis, I have noticed there are some areas that are not thought out though. In one part, you can hide behind a small potted plant, and if you are seen and shot at, the plant magically absorbs bullets. This could be an easy fix, but whether the company hears about this or not is what will be the deciding factor. I myself could care less, as the game is there for fun for me, though others may want to find the area and figure out what to do with it. I find Aground to be a great map for both snipers and runners. I have tried.both out, and enjoyed the game play in both aspects. I like the fact that there is an open hull you.can run through in the.middle of the ship. This can reduce the sniper positions drastically, as you constantly have to keep your head on a swivel. With some of the other small maps, such as lookout, I get a crowded feel. The map is spread with many different levels, via a hill, or on top of a bunker, one can find themselves getting chewed up and spit out easily. Claymores and bouncing Bettys work well on the map, due to the claustrophobic nature that comes from running through the bunkers. The long open areas provide range for a nice assault rifle package. My personal favorite is the SCAR, using a red dot sight, and stability. Erosion is probably my least favorite map out of all of the DLC. It has long corridors for sniper positions and also tight multilevel corners. Some like this above most of the others, but in my opinion it was the least thought out. There are levels you cannot reach, multiple lines of sight from one interior position that is perfect for sniping. If you and you team can hold the interior tower, you win the game. I find this type of headquarter camping to be no fun to play against, and that's the reason I play games. Getaway is a nice run and gun map. With different levels inside and outside the map, no game ever really gets boring. I like using a shotgun and submachine gun combo on this map, I get range and power just when I need it thanks to the Sleight of Hand perk. Overall, I can't say I was as impressed with this map pack as I was with some earlier versions of Modern Warfare. Hopefully Terminal will bring back good memories, and help prop up some of these maps. My rating 7. Not the worst, but needs something more. Keep on gaming!

The Walking Dead Episode 2 Review

As long as this series continues, I am officially hooked. The fact that the game uses all the choices from the past episodes to manipulate the outcome of the story is brilliant, allowing you to go back and choose a different path to a different outcome.

As I played through, I kept wondering what was going to happen next. There were some unexpected twists that I found both exhilarating and disturbing at the same time, like finding the teacher in a modified bear trap. I thought at first, we can free him easily, just by doing this. But, well...I won't spoil the suprise for you, you just have to play the game. The shocking loss of part of the team was a great twist towards the end. Along with 80% of the people out there, I didn't kill him, but I may play it through again to see what happens if I do. I love the fact that you can see the statistics for every choice made by other players of the game. This can show whether you made a good choice, or strayed from the pack. My sole intention in this game is the.protection of the little girl, Clementine. Playing as Lee gives me the idea that what he is looking for is a chance at redemption from his past, and survival. If you are looking for a story, full of choices, and graphically sound look no further. The build up isn't long, action is peppered throughout to keep the flow just right, and you have to be prepared to make choices at all times. I thoroughly enjoy the animation, a comic book feel sets the game mood perfectly. I do find some of the angles for maneuvering a bit awkward at times, and the ability to see where you are going gets a bit hampered with the style of movement. If you can look past this, the game is sound. There are a ton of choices you can use in communication, and also in some of the action scenes. Overall, I would say this game is about an 8.5 stand alone episode, and a 9 as a series so far. I can't wait to turn the lights out for the next episode! Have fun, and keep gaming!

Skyrim Dawnguard

So much time passes quickly when you have kids. You barely find time for the things you do for yourself.

In the event coming out in November, known as Dawnguard, the first DLC of Skyrim, we could be expecting a huge new world to explore in the Northern region. The possibility lies in some of the leaked information concerning "snow elves". Information concerning the DLC is closely guarded, due to the great amount of followers, and the time being put into the game. It will first be available on the XBOX 360, then for the PS3 and PC. With excitement growing, I am sure Bethesda will bring to light more information, and continue to leak a few bits for everyone. On another note, it has been rumored that the Witcher will be available on consoles soon. Reports are sketchy right now, but tomorrow's summer conference will tell more. With E3 right around.the corner, game companies will be unveiling new games, and information regarding Dawnguard and the Witcher may be more readily available.

Diablo 3 is here!

Well, it was inevitable, and 12 years in the making, but Blizzard Entertainment finally released Diablo 3 today. I have not picked up a copy myself, as I have some other games that I am waiting patiently for. For all of those that are faithful followers of the game, happy gaming!
I was not a huge fan of Diablo in the past, not because I don't enjoy playing,  but dungeon crawler games were all I used to play on the PC back in the day.
I am interested in story line, my character creation, making choices that are detrimental to how the game could end, and the overall feel of accomplishment i get when helping out NPC's.
I hope Diablo 3 does well, Blizzard has had some fine games in the past, and hopefully more in the future.

Elder Scrolls Online Update

<p>More information is being leaked out concerning this game, some of which I am compiling from sources. There is a list of some of the different things that will be in the game, I found this list on neogaf.com, which tells a few of the things about the game.
I find it interesting how the timeline is set 1000 years in the past, but most of the cities that are currently in Skyrim and Morrowind are in the game. In my opinion, the old cities of the dwarves, the game elven cities, and some old forts should have been mapped out as the cities instead. I feel this would have followed the lore of the kingdoms more. If Zenimax Online have followed the trends of such mmorpg's like WOW and Guild Wars, there will be some sort of DLC or a secondary disk to follow up with providing more quests, a change in power of some places that have been cleared out, providing new passages in dungeons, and new challenges. What I am interested in the most with this, is how the timeline will match up to the lore we already know. In Skyrim, some of the Daedric temples would have multitudes of followers inside, and the College of Magic would still be whole and intact. Just a few points to ponder over, and some things to consider.

Finding time for blogs and games

It is hard at points to come up with good content for people to read. Time has turned into microseconds where I can get a few lines in, before another part of life needs my attention. I will keep trying to review games the way I want to, but bear with me, life is always full of suprises.

I have restarted Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim again, and I must say that I missed it. Currently I am level 6 and moving up quickly, even if it is an hour at a time I get to play. I keep working on my blacksmithing (as usual) and also my sneak ability. I usually don't use the sneak option too much, I usually use the tank approach the first time playing through. On this approach, I will be using more of a Rogue technique. Stealth and the shadows will be my friend.

When I first started playing RPG's and D&D the rogue, or the ranger were the two classes I used the most. As I progressed, I tried out different classes, and am still a fan of the Palladin. Healing and having powers that can help others, while staying true to their beliefs. I find Skyrim has the opportunity to make this class, using all of the approaches that are described, and also by choices you can make throughout the game.

I like the fact that you play how you want to build your character. It really takes the game to a new level. Not many games give you this option, and Bethesda knows this. This company has been on the leaders in ARPG's. They know what they need to make a game worth your while, and to keep you playing for a long time.

From the looks of things, Dishonored looks to be another smash hit, and I can't wait to play it. I am sure some of you have seen trailers, screenshots, and read about it in other places, but I will give you more on this game at a later time.

For now, keep gaming, and remember to follow me @sauroke on twitter, email me, or hey follow the blog, there will be a ton more coming!

What game to review next?

I am always on the look out for a new game to review. My next purchase may depend on what you as readers have to say. I was looking at <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=rpgactionrevi-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B007FMSH4M&IS1=1&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>
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, Max Payne III, or Starhawk. I know there are a ton of great titles out there, and I could use a bit of input.