Game Mode: Happiness (From Black Ops 4 to Rogue Company)

Cheirinn // December 24th, 2020

Across the varying games and the varying modes to play, none has made me feel more joy than the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game mode of Heist. Thankfully, if you are unfamiliar with this game mode, it is rather easy to explain. In this mode, there is a bag of money that you need to collect and extract before the opposing team. This sweet, cold, hard cash is just waiting for you to come and plunder it. But, beware, as it is not as easy as you may think.

For the actual gameplay itself, you start off 5v5 and each person only has a handgun and a small wad of cash. You can use this money to buy other weapons, armor, perks, and even killstreaks. I should say that you can’t just buy everything outright and that you do have to earn more cash as the rounds progress in order to even afford a proper set of equipment. To obtain said extra funds, well, that is the fun part – kill opposing team members, revive your teammates, and extract the cash. Each round ends when either the cash has been successfully extracted or the opposing team has been defeated. It is important to try and maximize your cash inflow so that your team can be advantageous in the next round.

Now, the game is pretty simple to play as it runs like any C.O.D multiplayer. The mode uses the same maps, weapons, and perks as the other game modes, so if you already have a build that you like to run then you can slowly earn enough money to acquire everything you need. However, unlike the other game modes, Heist is extremely fast paced. Each round feels as exhilarating as it does stressful, and the combination of both is just right to add up to pure ecstasy. I don’t know how they managed to do it, but Treyarch really hit it on the nose in designing a game mode that makes you forget about everything else.

Now, I know that Heist may be nothing new as other games have very similar modes, such as Counter Strike. However, C.O.D doesn’t have you lose everything you buy when you die. You also get to keep only your weapons, perks, and unused items for the next round. And, most importantly, Heist doesn’t devolve into everyone just using a sniper rifle every round.

Every. Damn. Round.

Looking at you, Counter Strike.

Looking at you.

You also don’t have to worry about being immediately killed, as you simply enter a downed state in which you can either be finished off by the enemy or revived by a teammate. Heist has just the right pacing and feel to make everyone want to come back and keep playing, whereas I have found similar games can be fun for a few rounds but then start to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

As time progressed, my friends and I slowly moved away from Black Ops 4 and onto other games. We still came back and played here and there, but life had other plans.  Work, school, family. You get the point. But man, the feels still linger of how good it felt to play that mode. Unfortunately, I don’t have the privilege of playing the mode as easily anymore, as South Korea doesn’t have a big Black Ops fandom, unlike PUBG, Fortnite and so on. And, if I even try to get into a game on a US server or other, then I am expected to wait 30 minutes to an hour just to play maybe one game before I am cycled through the system again. And so, I had been painstakingly searching for a game that can bring back that rush for so long.

My hopes were high when the next C.O.D game was coming out – Modern Warfare. Damn, I hoped that it brought some good game modes, and maybe Heist! But boy was I let down. Now, don’t get me wrong, Modern Warfare is great to play – it’s very fun, polished, and has a nice clean feel to it. But the game modes just did not cut it for me. The closest one that gave me some slight nostalgia was the Cyber Attack mode. However, it lacked the progressive purchasing and upgrading that lent to Heist’s flavor and was simply the same thing every round. There was no variety, unlike in Heist. So, I looked towards Counter Strike as I knew it had at least some of the aspects I was looking for. But, as you may have already guessed from my previous remarks, it too fell quite flat. This was mainly due to the gun recoil and the ever-devolving sniper-fest that lay before my eyes.

For so long I felt that all hope was lost.

That was, until I found Rogue Company.

All thanks all to Smii7y, and if you haven’t read my other article about gamers to go watch then you can check it out here.

This baby has it all – character selection, a weapon store, upgrades, skill purchases, revives, etc. It hit me real good. Though the weapon store is quite limited for each character, it still brought back some of the sensation of Heist. Oh, that sweet sensation I had missed so much! They say home is where the heart is. But I disagree. Home is, most definitely, where the game mode is. 

Rogue Company is even free to play and is down-right some of the most fun I have had in a long while. It’s a third-person shooter, as opposed to my usual first-person preference, but the game has swayed my opinion somewhat.

Please give it a go if you can. The developers are updating it as it goes, so be sure to expect some changes along the way; the maps are nice and the shooting feels clean; every enemy downed feels rewarding and earned, and hitting a headshot is all so satisfying. 

Rogue Company is developed by First Watch Games and published by Hi-Rez Studios, of SMITE and Paladins fame.  It was released on October 1, 2020 and is available on PC via the Epic Game store, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and most recently the Xbox Series X/S. It even has cross platform play enabled as well. Try it out and, if you can, go give Heist a go too, if the queues aren’t too terrible. I honestly believe you won’t regret it. And, if it is not your cup of tea, then don’t worry. Go and find that game that brings you the joy that I get when I play these modes.

As always, thank you for your time reading this article. Take care. Clayton out!

The Magic of Skyrim: 9th Year Anniversary

HeyDaniko // December 23rd, 2020

It’s not quite old news just yet but, for those who don’t know, the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim turned 9 years old early last month. Maybe that’s not a big deal to you, but for some of us… wow, it makes us feel old.

Whilst many of the old school Elder Scrolls players may have found Skyrim to be a little lacking, or perhaps too casual, for many of us it was our first real venture into the world of Tamriel. And I say ‘real’ because, like many other players of my ilk, I certainly gave the earlier titles a go, I just was not cut out for the challenge of them. Morrowind was a little too lax on the reins for my personal taste, and after a few hours of wandering around aimlessly, unsure when the fun would begin, I just gave up. It’s certainly a game that I would love to revisit though, now that I have a little knowledge of the local starting area thanks to ESO. And I’ve also heard good things about the mods out there that bring the game a little more up to date. I would also like to revisit a modded Oblivion, although I did get somewhat further in that game before giving up when I got stuck trying to save Kvatch and couldn’t progress beyond.

And so, there were plenty of concerns I had around the time of Skyrim’s release. So many, in fact, that I actually didn’t plan on playing it at all. Had it not been for my love of Fallout 3 and friends likening the games so heavily, I may never have actually picked it up.

Sure, to so many gamers out there, there is no greater sin than a game becoming more casual-friendly, but when so much of the market would willingly identify as casual, it’s really not surprising that more difficult games are now considered cult or niche.

But the thought of a life without Skyrim actually bewilders me a little – a game I have sunk so much time into on two platforms and several play-throughs. A game that I feel has been an absolutely enormous landmark in my most beloved hobby.

So, what makes Skyrim the game that it is today? What keeps people playing 9 years down the line? Well, if your impulse was to say, “the mods,” you certainly wouldn’t be wrong. Mods have been a huge breath of life into the aging Skyrim and something that keeps the PC community playing for thousands and thousands of hours. But not everyone can, or wants to, play with mods. There is a distinct portion of the player base that either play on platforms without mod support, such as the Xbox 360, or just don’t want to “ruin” the fidelity of the game with unofficial content. And yet, so many of these players still play or revisit regularly. But what keeps them playing?

So, before we delve into the modding world, let’s talk a little about the vanilla game. Proving that vanilla is a perfectly delicious flavour, Skyrim really does have an incredible amount going for it. Game worlds are seldom as grand as Skyrim, and I don’t just mean in terms of size. Sure, the world is big, but in the 9 years since we’ve seen games released that are much, much bigger. The world is extremely rich for a barren tundra, the sky box is a work of art, and the environments are incredibly well realised. It’s impossible to not find anything to do in Skyrim. Everywhere you go, something will be happening, or someone will appear, most of the time interrupting whatever quest you’re already on. The freedom to explore and quest at your own pace is truly liberating and something that the Elder Scrolls series has become well known for.

I still fondly remember my first play-through back on the Xbox 360 – two generations ago now. No mods, no console commands – just good old-fashioned questing and grinding. My 360 character must be on around 400 to 500 hours of sheer, joyful, vanilla questing.

But mods are, quite literally, a game changer. For those of you here who are very new to modding, or not entirely sure what the verb is at all, mods are essentially community made content that can either be added to a game or alter something already present. And this content ranges in size and scope from new armours and characters, completely original land masses and community made expansions, to ludicrously ambitious new games made using the base game’s assets.

Suffice to say that once you start modding, it is damn near impossible to return to the vanilla experience. Just the thought of playing without my entourage of followers is a painful experience. Skyrim just wouldn’t be Skyrim without Sofia, Recorder, Lucien, Kaidan and Inigo. And of course, I’m aware that this is way too many followers but they’re just all so charming it’s impossible to choose between them. I also tend to have a modded Serana and Kharjo running with me too. But crank the difficulty to legendary, and this army of followers really begins to do some work.

Skyrim also wouldn’t be the same without my town and village overhauls, my realistic animations, belt mounted quivers, multiple follower mod and, of course, excessively revealing armour.

But shut up, you have some too!

The modding community have truly, for most of us, turned Skyrim into something utterly timeless, and no amount of revamping by Bethesda will even come close to topping what has already been made or modified. For many players, there are modders who have become extremely familiar names and essential to their catalogue. Everybody knows Elianora for her amazing housing mods, Deserter X for some of the greatest armour mods we’ve seen, Caliente for the curvaceous bodies nearly all of us are working with, and Apachii for some really creative, anime-esq hair styles. And then we have the followers such as Joseph Russel’s Lucien, one of the best follower mods available for download right now; Potastic Panda (or Jeannie Lee if you’re a Krewsader) for Recorder – the lovable, if moderately psychotic, universe traveling scholar; DJJohnJarvis’s Sofia, one of my all-time favourite, fully voiced and fleshed out followers, and there are honestly just too many more to keep going.

But all of this shiny, silver tongued praise for modding does, of course, come with a downside, and I can completely understand those who would rather avoid mods all together and simply play the game in its vanilla format to avoid the hassle. Crashes and mod collisions are extremely common, sometimes requiring hours of troubleshooting to fix and, in the worst-case scenario, completely destroying saved games all together. I must have spent as long fixing mod related crashes on my last save game as I spent actually playing the game itself. Not to mention the save games that I have lost due to bloated, buggy scripts cluttering up their data. Thankfully, for us casual mod users out there, the latest iteration of the Nexus Mod Manager, named Vortex, makes things quite a bit easier when trying to track potential issues with your mod catalogue. That being said, plenty of more experienced mod users would still recommend that you make the switch to Mod Organizer 2 for all your Bethesda modding needs.

Safe to say that whether you play with or without mods, there is something extremely special about Skyrim. It may not be the best of the Elder Scrolls series but its quite possibly the best fantasy sandbox that we currently have. If the wait for Elder Scrolls 6 has you stressed out and impatient, well there is simply nothing stopping you from replaying Skyrim all over again, or even tackling Enderal – one of Skyrim’s most ambitious and critically acclaimed total conversion mods.

And if just modding Skyrim over and over again for the better part of a decade has you wiped out – well my honest recommendation would be to check out Elder Scrolls Online, where you will find more than enough content to keep you occupied in Tamriel for another few years.

Thank you kindly, fellow adventurers. I have been Daniko.

From the Archives: An Interview with Mark Hildreth

HeyDaniko // November 21st, 2020

So, back in September 2012 I was lucky enough to get a short interview with Canadian actor, voice actor, and musician Mark Hildreth.

I know that the post may be a little over 8 years old now but isn’t really any less relevant. Mark has even gone on to do some bigger jobs appearing in movies and TV shows all over the world.

Everything beyond this point is from the original post, and I hope that you enjoy it. As always, this has been Daniko.

I’m a big Hildreth fan and I have been ever since my early teens when I first heard him as lead character Heero Yuy in the English dub of the anime Gundam Wing. But his CV boasts some seriously recognisable characters and shows, including Dr. Briefs from Dragon Ball Z, Angel from X-Men Evolution and Sten from Dragon Age: Origins.

From there I found his music, still back in his demo days before his first album ‘Complex State of Attachment’ came out.

I had some brief correspondence with Mark back in maybe late 2006 when I was asked to join his street team – a kind of small following of fans helping to spread the word about his music. Unfortunately there wasn’t much I could do being snowed under with college at the time and getting ready for university at the end of the year.

DJB: First things first really, for those folks out there who might not be familiar with your work would you mind just briefly describing who you are what it is you currently do?

MH: I’m an actor and musician who wants to spread love, joy and compassion to everyone on the planet, especially those who are the most fearful.

DJB: I think like a few of your fans I was familiar with your voice acting work before you moved into music, having grown up very much a fan of anime and video games. But would you say your music is a bigger passion than you acting work?

MH: I love them both differently, but to pick between them is a bit of a Sophie’s choice. Acting is my first love, and is a noble profession inasmuch as you can create a genuine performance and, through the experience of it, people can experience a different part of themselves and thereby have a deeper experience of humanity. Music allows me to tell my own story, which has as special place in my heart because I feel strongly there are important stories to be told for the reasons above!

DJB: How did you find the transition from actor to musician or have you been performing both about as long as each other?

MH: I’ve been acting since I was 5, but taught myself Beethoven when I was 10, so close to the same amount of time.

DJB: How would you describe your fan base? Based on the fans you’ve met or spoken to and the audiences that have seen you play, who do you find your music appeals to the most?

MH: My fans tend to be thoughtful, passionate and open. They’re often very motivated and inspired to see positive change in the world. They’re also really nice!

DJB: If you don’t mind me asking, how is your career going over in Canada and where do you aspire to be in maybe 5 or 10 years?

MH: I’m currently re-building my career starting over in LA! It is going really well, musically I’m killing it about to release a new album and playing with a new band in Hollywood. And of course this is the acting capitol of the Universe so I’m so happy to be here.

DJB: Would it be hoping a little too much for your fans to see you in England or around Europe any time in the near future?

MH: I would of course love to come back to the UK, where I shot The Tudors a couple of years ago, and most of my family is still there so I’d love to come!

DJB: We’ve already touched a little on your acting work, would you mind just talking a little bit about the roles you’ve played and those that people might recognise you from? Any characters, shows or movies you’ve enjoyed and would like to reprise or work you maybe wish you hadn’t taken?

MH: I loved the role of Joshua that I played on ABC’s “V”, because he had such a struggle and was in some ways the most humanitarian character on the show despite the fact that he was an alien!

DJB: How many releases do you currently have and when can we look forward to a follow up?

MH: I have an album out already, and my new album Signs Of Life, will drop at the end of Fall 2012! It will be available on Itunes and many other places on the net, including www.mark-hildreth.com!

Official music video for Mark’s track ‘Siddhartha’.

Mark performs ‘Change of Mind’ on Canada’s Urban Rush.

Cheirinn Recommends: Gaming Content Creators

Cheirinn // November 16th, 2020

As much as we like to play games, sometimes we just want to sit back, relax, and watch someone else play. Fortunately, there are many opportunities for us to do this, via Twitch, YouTube, or even watching a friend play. I absolutely love watching let’s plays and hearing the jokes and insults fly between the party members. As you can probably tell from my last article, I like to see friendship in games. Friendships that allow us to be weird and funny with each other, and in which games can help us expand that friendship to new grounds.  Here I will talk about a few gamers that I greatly enjoy, and I hope that you can too if you don’t already.  These guys have made me laugh harder than anyone.  The kind of laugh where no sound is coming out and you can barely breathe.  If you’re ever feeling down and out, just watching these gamers for only a short while will have your gut busting and your mood rising.  And so, I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to the following YouTubers for being so awesome and bringing so much joy to my life.

Smii7y

Smii7y, pronounced Smitty, is one of my all-time favorites to watch.  He has the right amount of comedy and gameplaying skill to keep you entertained for hours.  I first saw Smii7y’s videos when I came across his ‘funtages.’  If you are not sure what a funtage is, it is simply a montage of all the funny or interesting moments that he has recorded.  The funtages range from Counter Strike to Rainbow Six and everything else in between.  His comedic timing alongside his style of editing is pure genius. You can clearly tell that he enjoys making content and that his desire isn’t to be the best gamer or to get the highest scores and accolades, but rather making sure that we, the audience, are having a good time and are thrilled to see what comes next. He takes pride in his work and that is something that should be commended in any profession.

Though he does have a good assortment of funtages to watch, he does not limit himself to only one style of video.  He posts a wide array of different games, but mostly videos of shooter or mini-golf games.  He will sometimes give himself challenges that he must complete on his own or with a group of his friends. Most of the time, these challenges are spoofs of real challenges that other, more serious gaming content creators do, or just a challenge that he thinks would be funny and entertaining to watch. His pseudo-serious tone to these challenges is what makes them a blast. Whether he fails or succeeds, it doesn’t matter, as every second is worth watching.

Smii7y focuses his comedy on visual gags and word plays, while also utilizing bits and bounce-offs from his friends. He has chosen a Canadian Milk Bag for his avatar. Yes, a milk bag. But a cute milk bag. He is a genuine comedian and performer and a fantastic gamer to watch.  You could spend hours on his videos, and it wouldn’t be a waste. So, please do the both of us a huge favor and go check him out. You can easily find him on YouTube or Twitch here.

Daithi De Nogla

Daithi, pronounced Daw-hee, is an Irish youtuber and a member of the Vanoss gaming crew.  He is a genuinely nice guy even though he’s also a bit of an idiot. His comedy is mainly from his outbursts and yelling, though he does make a good quip here or there. Daithi is usually the butt of the joke when it comes to his crew, but he is always ready to throw it back at them.  Now, I am not sure if it is Daithi that I find funny and enjoyable or if it is his editor… maybe the combination of the two. But either way, his videos always leave me wanting more.

Daithi plays a variety of games and gets super into each and every one of them.  His high energy is great to keep you hooked and his interactions with other gamers and members of his chat are always a delight to see. Daithi works hard to make sure that the content he provides is enjoyable and high in quality.  He cares if the audience enjoys his videos and is always willing to provide context to his content. As I said, I feel that he is a very genuine dude and would make an awesome friend.  If you are interested in checking him out, you can find him on YouTube right here.

Terroriser

Terroriser, also known as Brian, is also another member of the Vanoss gaming crew. And just like Daithi, he too hails from Ireland. These two boyos are extremely nice guys, and it makes me think that everyone from ol’ Eirinn is a super sweet person. Terroriser is well known in the crew for doing the terminator voice and is sometimes requested to do it for certain occasions. He got his name for his early on goings of terrorizing public games of Call of Duty.  In fact, it is a blast watching him play COD against his crew as he goes around doing mainly nothing but knifing them. The humiliations that he dishes out are enjoyable alone, but when grouped with the outcries of his victims, they become absolutely brilliant.

Brian likes to interact with his audience on stream and is constantly looking at the camera with golden comedic timing. Just like Nogla, Brian is another high-energy individual, though probably more-so.  His quips are funny and will often make you laugh out loud as you watch him go. He may come across as angry sometimes but being loud in the heat of the moment is just his style of comedy.

Brian works hard to make good videos, and he also works hard on making sure that his audience is heard and given his time. He works well both alone and with others, as his videos tend to center around the times that he terrorizes his crew. Hence his name. No matter what video you watch of his, you will have a grand old time of it.

Though there are other YouTubers out there that I enjoy, and others I have left behind completely, these three always manage to make my day a little brighter and my mood a little more jovial.  I’m certain that if you watch these guys, then you too will share the same sentiment as me.  Until then, stay awesome have a great day.

Thank you for reading this article.  This has been Cheirinn.

Daniko Recommends: Some Fun Isometric RPGs

HeyDaniko // November 15th, 2020

Call these titles what you will – CRPGs, ARPGs, Isometric RPGs, Diablo-clones, we all get the right imagery. Maybe it isn’t particularly proper of me to put two moderately different genres into one list, but there is so much crossover in these games that I’d honestly argue you could classify them as either, or both. I believe the only real defining differences between the ideas of the CRPG and the ARPG is how much world exploration and combat they contain. CRPGs tend to be very story-centric, with lots of places to explore, quests to complete, people to meet; everything you would expect from a standard role player, be it isometric or third person. ARPGs, on the other hand, take on a more Dynasty Warriors inspired approach and just throw hordes of enemies at you to dice your way through. Not to imply that they don’t have much of a story, but that usually comes secondary to the volume of combat.

The reason I am writing this article, or list really, is because I just cannot find myself even slightly excited for Diablo IV. This is, partly at least, due to my lack of any love for Diablo III, which I found to be a frustratingly short and shallow experience. But I do admit that the Diablo IV trailer was nice. It was very atmospheric, tense, and haunting. The animation was incredible, as we have come to expect from Blizzard. But Blizzard as a company? I’m really not a fan. Silencing Hong Kong protesters for fear of it hurting your standing in China isn’t a cool move. And it was very, very noticeable. Whether or not I will even play Diablo IV is still up for debate. Chances are, I’ll wait a little while and see what others think. Then, assuming they like it, I’ll wait a little longer to see if its ever on sale, just to pettily avoid giving Blizzard too much of my money. But anyway, this article isn’t intended to be a Diablo or Blizzard bashing frenzy – but a few recommendations for anyone who happens to like the genre or similar games to Diablo in general.

Grim Dawn

Often heralded as the game that Diablo III should have been, Grim Dawn is a gritty, dark fantasy set in a world largely in ruin. While it certainly lacks the polish of a true Diablo game, it makes up for it in immense customisation. Grim Dawn gives you the ability to not only take on one class, but two classes, allowing you to create a dual class character. This opens up an additional 36 classes on top of the base 6.

My favourite aspect of the game is quite probably the questing. The main story itself is really something quite compelling, beginning with mystery and then driving you through epic encounter after epic encounter, through many highly differing environments and just as many unique enemies. It would certainly be wrong of me to say that Grim Dawn is anything less than a brilliantly realised game and something of a genre defining gem.

With its two expansions so far, Grim Dawn is a dense game and one that will not be completed quickly. So, if a meaty CRPG with plenty of quests and content is something that tickles your fancy then this might just be the game for you.

Victor Vran

Victor Vran might seem like an odd recommendation to those who have played it – but admit it, you really did enjoy it! The game isn’t particularly long and was designed to be played with a controller as opposed to the traditional mouse clicking of the genre. It’s also quite a shallow and predictable experience with the story being nothing noteworthy. But, after all that is said, it’s a very fun game with some really pleasant pick up and play game mechanics that make it quite casual friendly. Additionally, Victor is voiced by Doug Cockle, the same voice actor as Geralt of Rivia from the Witcher video games. Though honestly given Victor’s profession as a monster hunter, developers Haemimont Games of the Tropico series, could have quite plausibly just used some Witcher III sound bites with the hope that no one would notice.

But we noticed, Haemimont. We noticed.

The game is extremely entertaining at times with some quite comical narration from a malevolent spirit who is supposedly haunting the titular Victor. Like all good loot focused games, there are items of different rarities to collect, including some unique legendries all having their own appearance and theme. The pumpkin hammer is of particular note as it was my personal favourite.

Additionally, if you’re into Motorhead at all, then there is an entire DLC dedicated to them. Just so you know that that’s a thing.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

The Van Helsing trilogy is definitely one of my absolute favourite isometric RPG series, but it’s hard to choose whether or not to recommend the trilogy of games, or the Final Cut of the game, which saw all 3 games melded into one. The Final Cut certainly has the continuity going for it and having one character go through all content is a really nice development, but for some reason the whole game is only around two thirds the length of the trilogy. The first Van Helsing took me around 20 hours to complete, but when I got to that same point during the Final Cut, I was only around 11 hours into the game. And the same thing happened with Van Helsing 2, which took me around 17 hours to complete, then only gave me around an additional 8 or 9 hours of play time in the Final Cut. All in all, the whole trilogy took me around 30 hours to complete whilst the Final Cut took me a little under 20. And I just cannot fathom where those missing 10 hours have gone. So, despite the convenience of having all 3 games in one neat package, I’m going to have to recommend the trilogy if you want, what I would describe, as the proper Van Helsing experience.

But why do I love these games so much? Well, its honestly the characters. Something I have come to notice from developers Neocore Games is that they write character interactions incredibly well. The back-and-forth between titular Van Helsing, and his companion, the ghostly Lady Katarina, is really what makes the game so entertaining. That, coupled with some very fun scenarios, bucket loads of pop culture and meme references, some top-notch environmental design, very fun combat and character development options, make The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing one of my all-time favourites.

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr

It may not be fair of me to recommend this game at the stage I am currently at. For fairness’s sake I will disclose that I am currently only around 5 hours into a game that, I believe, is around 30 hours long. But I am enjoying it immensely and you can watch my play-through here on my YouTube channel if you’re so inclined.

Inquisitor is a highly compelling game with some real guttural combat. Your character feels weighty and powerful, and your weapons feel strong and punchy, but the enemies themselves can still be quite overwhelming if you let them. It’s also the second game on this list to have been developed by Neocore Games. As with Van Helsing, the characters and dialogue really shine in this title. Your Inquisitorial protagonist is accompanied by a motley bunch of companions needed to complete their mission of locating a missing star ship – and the relationships between them are really quite wonderful. Firstly, there is the commandeered Rogue Trader’s Captain Ragna Van Wynter with whom the Inquisitor seems to have a professional, yet sarcastic relationship. And then there is the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest, Omicrom Arkh, whom honestly delivers some of my absolute favourite lines from the game so far.

With knowingly so many hours of game play still to go, I find myself more and more compelled by both the characters’ dialogues and the story itself. So, if either Warhammer 40K or Isometric RPGs are your flavour, I recommend you give it a look in.

 And please let me know, what are you favourite isometric RPGs? ARPG, CRPG, or otherwise.

As always, thank you kindly for reading. This has been Daniko, and I hope to hear back from you.

PS5 Day One: Failure to Launch

OneMoreYear // Novemeber 14th, 2020

Nothing gets me quite as excited as the beginning of a new gaming generation. This time however, it came with a bit of a twist; COVID 19. Both the new Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 launched only two days apart, on the 10th and 12th of November, in the middle of a global pandemic. This has rendered their launches almost unrecognisable compared to previous generations, which saw people gathered in mass, lined up outside their local electronics store for hours on end, just waiting to grab a console the good old-fashioned way.

My personal goal was to get hold of a PlayStation 5 as I have been gaming on Sony consoles since I was just a teenager. Of the three console giants, Nintendo sits in its own unique little category of family fun and portable gaming, whereas with Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation, it always seems to come down to personal preference. Both consoles offer pretty much the same thing, with some variation in their exclusive titles, and I personally just so happen to prefer the titles offered on the PlayStation. Being a huge fan of From Software games such as ‘Bloodborne’, getting a PS5 to play the ‘Demon’s Souls’ remake seemed like a no-brainer. But the battle of the consoles is such a beast that it’s something I could dedicate an entire article to.

Encounter with the Vanguard Demon in Sony’s exclusive first party title Demon’s Souls.

With both the September and the October pre-order windows gone, the only option left to those of us who weren’t quite lucky enough to secure our PS5 was to line up and try our luck on release day. So, I booked the day off work, and thought that I would give it a shot. I have lived in Korea for a few years, and I know plenty of places I could go to try and grab my own. Unfortunately, after my day was booked off, Sony then announced that nobody would be able to purchase a console on day-one due to the risk of COVID, and they wanted to reduce line-ups to prevent even more spreading of the virus…

Okay, fair enough, I guess. The only way to secure remaining systems now was to log onto your local stores’ website and try your luck at ordering online.

This stung for a couple of reasons. The first being that I had booked my damned day off to do this, and the second being that buying in person was my only way of fighting the try-hards who use check-out bots to secure purchases in seconds. When buying online, we barely stand a chance against the scalpers who want to buy up entire stocks and re-sell them on eBay for an incredible mark up.

Anyway, I decided to make a day of it. I got dressed and headed out to Yongsan – a great place in the heart of Seoul, with huge electronics markets. If you are ever visiting Korea and you are a bit of a nerd, I would strongly recommend checking it out. These markets sell everything your heart could desire, from old consoles, to custom PCs, computer parts, audio equipment, televisions, white goods, and much more.

One place that I love going, is a place we know locally as Video Games Alley. A narrow, underground corridor only a few feet wide, hosts stalls as far as the eye can see. Independent retailers sit at glass display units showing all the latest and greatest titles for your consoles, along with peripherals, classics, collector’s editions and so much more. Behind them, boxes are stacked to the ceiling, displaying consoles new and old, and various anime figurines.

Some of the sights at Video Games Alley.

With what little hope I had left in securing a PS5 console, I perused the aisle for 30 minutes or so, trying to spot anything that vaguely resembled a white box. I’ll admit that I was thrown off a few times by an Xbox One S box. Just try saying that 10-times fast. But of course, there were no new PlayStations to be found. I did, however, catch wind of an app called ‘One Store’ that was opening up sales of the PS5 to the public at 2pm sharp – on a first come first serve basis.

I opened the app at 1:58pm, and I could see other people around me also staring at their phones likely as hopeful as I was. When it hit 2pm, I began to spam the hell out of the purchase button for the PlayStation 5 disk edition. I must have pressed that button so many times I that damned near punched a hole through my phone. I had one glimmer of hope when a new page began loading, the screen went white… could this be it?! I started to wonder how on earth I would input all my check out information, in Korean, fast enough to beat the scalpers. As fast as that thought popped into my head, the new page loaded. I was greeted with a picture of a spilled coffee cup, and an error message. Every other time I tried to click purchase, I was told that ‘this product is not on sale,’ and, after 10 minutes, the app finally just listed the consoles as ‘sold out.’

And, with that died any glimmer of hope that remained. I continued to wonder around Yongsan to make the most of my now-wasted day of vacation. Going back outside I found my way to one of the two official PlayStation stores in Yongsan, this one being the smaller of the two. Inside, it looked like your typical PlayStation store – very blue, walls lined with video games and peripherals, but to my surprise I also saw both Xbox and Switch items on sale. This had me wondering if I really was in an official PlayStation store after all. And it was then on my left that I first spotted it: the first PS5 console that I had seen in the flesh, sitting in a plastic display case, which I’m sure for consoles is the equivalent of leaving your dog in the car on a summer’s day. She looked slightly chunkier than I expected, but beautiful, nonetheless. And, I have to say that in person the design is really quite striking. A very bold statement indeed.

Is there any way I could take this one without anyone noticing?

I decided to do one last thing before I left Yongsan, and that was to visit the other PlayStation store. The second is located right next to the train station, practically inside, and is much fancier. Upon arrival I saw that the store was busier than usual. People were lined up, standing on little blue feet stickers on the ground to indicate social distancing. On my right I saw a tower of PS5 boxes, all shiny, white and new – obviously for those with pre-orders. And I have to admit there is a special kind of sting to watching people walk out happy with their consoles, knowing that you don’t get to have that launch day experience. I saw one man clutching his console box, looking eagerly at the wall of games on display wondering what he should buy and play first. It took a lot of strength for me to not just point at ‘Demon’s Souls’ and shout, “This one! Yes, this one! Just take it, man!”

Official Sony PlayStation store, Yongsan, Seoul.

And so, needless to say at this point, I left feeling pretty disappointed. Grieving my lack of a PS5, I wished that I could be holding the DualSense controller in my hands, and experiencing the nostalgic ‘Astro’s Playroom,’ a game pre-installed on every PlayStation 5. Instead I stood there, reflecting on our current global situation. The Corona Virus has changed so many lives in so many ways, and having it create this unusual console launch experience, while obviously trivial in comparison, just adds to the list of ways it affects us. And I feel as if we can’t escape it at times.

And so, on that note I hope that everyone gets their consoles eventually, sooner rather than later where possible, and that there are no defects.

And please let me know how your launch day experience was by commenting below. Thank you very much for reading.

Daniko Recommends: Games With Friends

HeyDaniko // November 12th, 2020

So, I liked Clayton’s article so much that I thought I would blatantly steal his idea and format. He’s very rarely right when it comes to… anything, really. But I certainly agree that gaming with friends is a fantastic experience. For me, the fondest memories I have of shared gaming experiences go all the way back to the original Guild Wars on PC, Samurai Warriors 2 on the PlayStation 2, and Borderlands 1 & 2 on Xbox 360. The games themselves were thoroughly enjoyable in their own right, but what really makes the memories important to me were the people that I played them with.

I started playing Guild Wars back when I was 17 years old. For context I’m much older now. I was a member of several guilds as the years went by but the most important one to me was The Soul Sword Brethren – a group of mostly real life friends including people I had grown up with, some from secondary school and even some from university as the years went on. I played that game for 8 years solidly after all.

And speaking of university, during my first and second years, my friend David and I would play Samurai Warriors 2 whilst drinking utterly bleak amounts vodka before a night out. We must have poured as much into the game as we did into our glasses, as we cleared nearly everything and always went out completely smashed.

Borderlands came into my life at a much darker time. A period in which I felt utterly directionless. I had finished university and was now out in the big wide world; my relationship with my genuine first love had so recently ended and left me in ruin; and I had just failed at having a working holiday abroad in Australia thanks to the start of the 2010 global financial crisis. And so, I was back living with family and working part time in retail. I had begun to question all of the decisions I had made in my life as pretty much everything seemed to play a part in getting me to where I was. Nowhere. Just trapped in a depressive hole of financial insecurity and mental vulnerability. Gaming was all I had to distract me from my grim reality, and the friends that I held close during this time are the people whom I will cherish for the rest of my life. Borderlands was such a big deal because it made me so happy – so truly and honestly happy in a time that nothing else could. Something about that game, and the friends with whom I played, was the one thing that I looked forward to waking up to each day. There were times that we would play the entire day away – waking up around midday and playing a solid 12 to 15 hours before going to bed in the early hours. Other times, our group of like-minded folks in similar situations would even drink together whilst we played, and that was really about as social as we could afford to be. Looking back, despite the horrible time I was having, these memories still make me smile. And the private jokes between my friends and I that were born at this time still find themselves being used today. Just ask me about the “bandits’ day out” or going “digging for fish.” Maybe even about how Darth Vader pleasures himself with the force whilst eating a chicken curry. I know it sounds absurd to you, but to me it’s truly priceless.

So, moving on to happier sands, I’m sure you’re wondering what games I’d like to recommend today. Well, as Clayton took a motley selection, I think I’m going to do the same, although you can expect something of a similar theme running through.

I have purposefully chosen to omit MMORPGs from this selection as I just have too much to say about the likes of Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 and the Elder Scrolls Online. I can save that for another article focussing on the genre itself.

Killing Floor 2

With all my love for Killing Floor 2 you’d find it very hard to believe that once upon a time I really didn’t like first person shooters. And truthfully, I still kind of don’t. Or I at least wish that all the FPS games I play were in the third person. Maybe I just like looking at bums or something. I’m not sure but there has always been something about the first-person perspective that hasn’t quite meshed with me. But that being said, there are some truly incredible FPS games out there. Killing Floor 2 is just one of them. It’s a co-op class-based shooter at its absolute best. Its mindless, it’s gory, it’s addictive, its adrenal, it’s quite literally bloody fun.

Where KF2 really shines is in its class system. There really isn’t a redundant role to choose from as all of them bring something useful to the table. There are 10 “perks” as the game refers to them, and range from the much sought after Field Medic, to the melee specialist Berserker, the sniping Sharpshooter, the explosives expert Demolitionist, the pyromaniacal Firebug, the strong and versatile Commando, the shotgun specialist and ammunitions pack mule Support, the duel wielding Gunslinger, the defensive specialist SWAT and the jack of all trades Survivalist. While most standard games only allow up to 6 players to join a map, anyone running their own private server can choose to up that cap to absolutely ludicrous numbers – provided the server can handle it. And keep in mind that the levels scale, increasing the total number of enemies for every additional player that you add.

Game modes range from 4 rounds, to 7 rounds and 10 rounds. All coming with an additional 5th, 8th or 11th boss round. If you’re just looking to grind out experience and map achievements, then 4 round games are the way you really want to go. Or you can tackle the newer endless mode, which is essentially the 4 round game mode on infinite loop. The only issue here is that there are no map-based achievements to earn on this mode as there is no completing it – it’s all about beating your personal best and seeing how far you can push.

Killing Floor 2 is a solid recommendation from me and one that I would give to anyone into wave-based, horde-like co-op shooters.

The Gears of War Series

Speaking of horde, Gears of War really is the series to thank for the popularity of its genre defining game mode. Despite enjoying the campaigns of most of the Gears games, 4 and 5 certainly standing out as weaker links, Horde Mode has always been where my heart lay.

Gears 2 was the first game to introduce Horde Mode, with very few mechanics. Just you and your friends in a sizeable map against waves and waves of enemies. There really wasn’t much to it, but it was still incredibly enjoyable all the same.

Gears of War 3 in particular was where the mode really peaked for me, and most of the audience it seems. My friends and I spent countless hours on Overpass, fortifying the stairs and murdering anything that dared come up the centre of the map. And it was wonderful. The real charm of Gears 3’s Horde Mode was the freedom to play in any way you saw fit. If you wanted to build a base at any pre-selected location and phalanx it to high heaven, that’s exactly what you could do! If you wanted to fill the map with decoys and turrets whilst running around with a sawed-off shotgun to remove some faces – that was plausible too! Bloody hard, but doable. Overpass was most notably the best map for bunkering down as it was possible to build an extremely defensible base with only one-way in. And that route was usually fortified and guarded by turrets, laser wires and four testosterone and energy drink-fuelled players. The amount of time my friends and I put into Horde Mode on Gears 3 must be up there with some of the most played games in my Steam library.

Gears 4 further built on the game mode by allowing you to fortify any position you wanted and build anything absolutely anywhere, which was really the only way Gears 3’s Horde mode could be improved upon. It also saw the introduction of classes – each specialising in different fields such as engineers for building, scouts for collecting resources, and heavies for massive damage. It really was a huge improvement across the board, only really let down by your classes levelling exceptionally slowly and the maps losing some of the charm that Gears 3 had.

But, the big selling point of the entire Gears of War series has always been the co-op campaign. And this is something I strongly advocate for any game that can feasibly do it. I have great memories of my first ever play-through of both Gears 1 and 2 with my friend Chris – just the two of us binging the story and revelling in all its gory beauty. I have equally fond memories of the time I introduced my friend Callum to the series, and we completed the first two games in just two sittings over two days the weekend before Gears 3 released. I then went and bought my copy of Gears 3 as soon as I was able, and we ravaged our way through that too. The third instalment even upped the comradery by introducing 4-player co-op to the campaign which was a strong shout in my opinion. Even Judgement, the lesser loved spin-off of the Gears series, was thoroughly enjoyable in its own right as long as you played with friends. And despite the fact that the 4th and 5th instalments have fallen short of people’s expectations, they’re honestly still excellent cooperative games best enjoyed with a mate or three.

Minecraft

Okay, I know it stands out as a strange one, but hear me out. Or don’t. If you’ve gotten this far then cheers for at least being on the site analytics. You can go now.

But seriously, Minecraft is a f*cking good game! Sure, it’s got a reputation as a children’s game but that’s because it’s basically digital Lego. Have you seen what adults can do with Lego? Have you seen Legoland? Far too many people don’t even know about the redstone mechanics of Minecraft that make it possible to build functioning electrical circuits and, if you’re really nerdy, working computers in-game. But what makes both Lego and Minecraft more fun? Friends! Journeying off into the unknown with nothing but a sword and 10 uncooked pork chops, just you and your friends against the wilds of Minecraft is a genuinely exhilarating experience, and I’m becoming more and more aware of how much this sounds like a joke to anyone who hasn’t actually played the game.

Minecraft is not only a creative sandbox, it’s an action adventure game in a randomly generated world bigger than Neptune. The world that I have been hosting for my friends is nearly 5 years old at this point and still being regularly explored and built upon.

The reason I put Minecraft on this list is because its such an easily overlooked game by anyone over the age of 8. It’s a highly relaxing experience when you want it to be; its an epic adventure when that’s how you’re feeling; and a great bonding experience for gamers of all ages. I truly believe that if you discount Minecraft purely for its visuals then you are doing yourself a huge disservice.

So, tell me, what multiplayer games do you have the fondest memories of playing? And what are some games you think people overlook for the wrong reasons?

And on that note, I thank you kindly, good readers. I have been Daniko, and its been a pleasure delivering this article to you.

Cheirinn Recommends: Games With Friends

Cheirinn // November 11th, 2020

When playing a game, what makes it memorable?  The graphics?  The story?  The gameplay? Characters, etc.?  Though all of these are particularly good aspects of a memorable game, I believe that the most important one is friendship.  It doesn’t matter what the game is, how it looks, or the mechanics behind it, what’s important is that we can spend the time to play a game with those that we enjoy being with the most.  Playing co-op or multiplayer is a thrill, even if we do have to play on a screen that’s cut in half or fourths.

Though we may move on from our friends or maintain the relationships, what we look back on the most is not the game itself, but the time that we spent bashing each other with jokes or burns.  The joy of gloating when you kick their asses, and the bitter-sweet taste of getting it dealt right back to you the next round.  Games aren’t about getting the high score; they’re about connecting with the other people holding the controllers.  Besides, who will you be able to show your high score to if all you do is game by yourself?

With the advancements in technology, we can now easily garner new friendships and establish gaming communities. We can talk, play, and laugh while enjoying what we always have enjoyed – gaming with a friend.  Like the great Bob Ross always said, “Everyone needs a friend.”  So, why not call a bud or two, go buy some drinks and snacks, and forget about your worries while you sit back, laugh, and enjoy the moments you have together with a good game.  And remember, whether the game is utter crap or not, these moments may just stay with you and that is what gaming is all about.

So, now that we’ve gotten the sentimental part of the article out of the way, let’s move onto the real reason you’re here – my gaming recommendations.

Below are a few games that you might enjoy with your mates. I know I do.  So, sit down, buckle up and get ready for the most mediocre explanation of each of these fantastic and amazing games, subjectively, that you too should enjoy playing with the people that you call friends. Hopefully the feeling they have for you is mutual, but if not, you can win them over with these sweet, sweet games and with your sweet, sweet … semi-decent gaming skills.

Ultimate Chicken Horse

This game is as the name says, ULTIMATE!  Your goal – f*ck over your friends!  A great game for up to four players, you can play this game online or together on a console.  Though the game starts off slow, it gets exponentially heated as you slowly build up the level.  Starting off, you will be given a blank map with a start and a finish with nothing in between.  Fortunately for you, and unfortunately for you, the game is generous with giving you objects to place to help you make it to the end while also providing objects that will lead to your ultimate demise.  It is a race, to both get the items you need and to get to the end point.

You could be friendly and help each other out, building a network of bridges and ledges that can safely lead you and your friends to the other side.  But there is no such mantra as “everyone’s a winner” in this game.  If everyone makes it across, the game rejects your attempt and rewards you with nothing.  The only way to win is, as previously stated, screwing your friends over! Kill them. KILL THEM ALL! Or not, I mean, only one has to die for you to get any points. Beware as you plan on killing your friends and remember that they are also planning the same. Be mindful of who is taking what and where things are being placed. There is a surprise around every corner.

This game will get your heart racing and your blood boiling.  You will likely hate each other while loving every second. Laughs and insults will fly, and your night will be grand.  So, saddle up your horse, choke … I mean feed your chicken and get ready for a wild ride.

Stick Fight: The Game

Simple, hectic, guns, snakes, guns, death, guns, more snakes, and sheer awesomeness. Stick Fight is a great fighting game that utilizes the greatest thing to ever exist – guns! There are also spears and swords, but those are inferior, and no one cares about them. Guns are where it’s at!

USA! USA! USA!

Though the game is great to play, it does have a slight learning curve.  There’s no tutorial or instructional screen and understanding the controls and buttons require you to go to the settings and key bindings. But after that little speed bump, you’ll be able to chaotically hack it out with your best buds.

The game does not have an end and is just an ongoing cycle of maps and weapons that fall from the sky or appear in tiny packages.  If you are unable to grab a weapon, do not fear. Your stickman, just like you, should have some readily available organic weapons – arms and legs. So just punch and kick your way to victory.

One thing to remember is that this game requires you to use your keyboard and mouse, the mouse being of utmost importance as your aim is reliant on the location of your cursor. Like I said, there is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you will be having a blast.

Strange Brigade

Maybe you don’t want to fight your friends? Maybe you want to have a good old-fashioned co-op game? Something that has endless hordes of monsters coming at you as you complete the missions. Then this game is for you. Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter that relies on teamwork to solve puzzles and gather collectables. Though not extremely difficult to complete, this game does contain many moments of joy and excitement to fulfill your desires. A good voice acting crew and a beautiful design, this game provides everything you are looking for in a good co-op game that isn’t too demanding.

My favorite thing about this game is that even though there is an excellent campaign, there is also a horde mode that is both challenging alone and with friends. You could easily spend hours here with endless waves of monsters constantly coming right at you. Customization of your weapons, though limited, is still satisfactory. The sounds are fantastic, and the feeling of getting your headshots … ecstatic! Strange Brigade is generally an all-round solid experience if you just want to sit back and enjoy some good old-fashioned monster slaying and treasure hunting. Working together to complete your goals is more than enough to give you the serotonin you need from a good game.

Of course, there are many more good multiplayers out there, and there are many more that I hold dear. But these three are the ones that I thought you would probably want to look into if you haven’t done so already.

We’re not on this world long, so why not enjoy it as best you can!

This has been Clayton and thank you for reading my article.

The Elder Scrolls Online

HeyDaniko // November 10th, 2020

Seems funny to ask this question in what I am certain is to be the first of many articles dedicated to this game, but what’s left to be said about a 6-year-old MMO in 2020? An MMO that had an infamously hideous launch back in 2014, followed by a radical turn around in 2015. A comeback second only to Final Fantasy XIV in its miraculous majesty?

Well, other than, “Its bloody brilliant,” I don’t really know what else to tell you.

If you played ESO back in its early days and threw in the towel you certainly wouldn’t be alone. Arguably one of the most anticipated MMORPG releases ever, being a part of the Elder Scrolls universe as it is, ESO drew in tens of thousands of applicants for its closed testing phase, which garnered a largely favourable response.

So, what exactly went wrong when the launch build went live?

Well, the subscription for a start. Now subscriptions to MMOs are something that I personally do not like, and many successful MMOs and other online games, in fact many online services in general, have proven that you really don’t need to charge a subscription to be both sustainable and profitable. At launch ESO was a 50-dollar game with around a 50-hour campaign assuming you didn’t do much of the zone questing; which I would argue you really should because it’s actually much better than I expected. ESO’s launch subscription was comparable in price to that of World of Warcraft in most countries – a game with countless thousands upon thousands of potential hours of play time. People call it WoW for several reasons; you see. So, how on Earth do you expect to contend with the market leader by charging the same amount and yet providing a literal infinitesimal fraction of the content?

You don’t.

You just don’t.

It’s silly to even try – something Zenimax Online Studios thankfully figured out around a year later.

ZoS decided that since the subscription thing wasn’t really working out for them, that they would actually… keep it. Not get rid of it, they decided to just make it optional. Meaning, as “optional” does, that it wasn’t mandatory and you could just choose to maybe… not pay it. Of course, they slowly sprinkled on some incentives on top, and thus ESO+ was born – an optional premium service for a now buy-to-play game. But what exactly does it offer? Well, in my personal opinion as this entire article is, ESO+ is a subscription service done, mostly, right. Its still optional, and of course that’s a win; it includes all of the game’s DLC, only excluding the most recent expansion pack at any point, which at the time of writing this article is around 150 dollars retail right there; it offers you bottomless material storage – something many consider to be a little game-breaking by MMO standards; and double account wide storage space which most MMO players can certainly get behind. All for around 10 dollars a month, so at the very least it’s certainly one of the more palpable attempts at “recurrent user spending” out there.

But is it worth it? Well, if you have some disposable income and you play daily, then absolutely. But if you live pay cheque to pay cheque then you may have other, more important things to invest in. Like food.

The big argument is the bottomless crafting bag which is quite blatantly what ESO+ is entirely about and what, easily, around 80% of its subscribers consciously know they are paying for. The issue is that there is no unsubbed equivalent, not even a capped material storage, which is something many other MMOs offer. In my experience, a capped material storage of 250 of each item is usually fairly standard. Guild Wars 2 even goes beyond by allowing you to buy upgrades to that initial 250. But ESO has nothing. Absolutely no bloody material storage whatsoever unless you subscribe to ESO+. And, honestly, I find that a little unfair. So please, ZoS, just have a think.

But let’s lighten the mood a little and talk about things that the game does well again. The solo experience is probably the best that I have encountered in any MMO (and I’ve played around…7), feeling very much like a single player RPG at times if you ignore the masses of others around you. The dungeons are extremely fun and creative, and the raids (‘trials’ as ESO names them) actually have an easy mode, which is fantastic for scrubs like me who just want to experience the story without tearing any hair out or going grey too early.

And the story really is something worth experiencing, which might sound like a joke when it comes to most MMOs, but I can promise you that the writers really did do a bang-up job of making the plot compelling and the characters, mostly, memorable and entertaining. From the tender suffering of Varen, to the cruel banter between Abnur and literally everyone else, I often found myself laughing, weeping, deliberating and ultimately caring. I wanted to know what came next for the heroes, and so every expansion has been an utter joy to “delve” straight into. It certainly feels a little different to the traditional single player games of the series, and honestly plays more like a Dragon Age game, but once you get used to that it really is a highly addictive and uttlerly completely charming adventure.

Exploration in this game is a gem of its own. Everything looks absolutely stunning, and now with the added depth of field options the world looks even better. The sheer scope of the different environments to sink your teeth into is honestly a little overwhelming at times. There are countless places I want to explore next and just cannot bring myself to narrow down the selection. Everything is impressive, from the bitter icy tundra and forests of Skyrim, to the sprawling deserts of Hammerfell, the fresh grasslands and European architecture of High Rock, the humid swamps of Blackmarsh, and, my personal favourite, the majestic savannas of Elsweyr.

But easily one of my favourite experiences with the game so far has been with its community, but that’s not to say that you won’t find any toxicity whatsoever. It’s the internet; it’s rife. But overall, most ESO players seem to be extremely accommodating and welcoming people – much more eager to teach and explain than berate or bully. But please remember that this game has a population of nearly 14 million players so perhaps I’ve just been incredibly fortunate.

So, to my fellow ESO and indeed other MMO players, what do you look for in an MMO? What keeps you coming back to your MMO of choice?

I’ve been Daniko and thank you kindly for your time.

In Retrospect: The Dragon Age Trilogy

HeyDaniko // November 9th, 2020

Dragon Age: Origins (2009)

 I’ll preface this article by saying that despite being 11 years old at this point Dragon Age: Origins has aged remarkably well. Its graphics were never really the prettiest, especially when compared to Bioware’s other gem from the same era, Mass Effect. But in many ways its departure from focusing heavily on appearance and instead on story, combat, environmental design and mechanics may well have had a part to play in its slow ageing. Origins certainly feels traditional in that its combat is slow, with emphasis on thinking ahead and playing strategically. But “traditional” doesn’t necessarily mean “dated.” During my replay of the entire series just under a year ago, I never once felt like I was playing a game far removed from its halcyon days.

The first of the series, Origins was, and very much still is, a universally praised and adored game. And so, for me to sit here and just tell you that its good would be a waste of everyone’s time. Instead, I would like to do what any games journalist or blogger should do and tell you why its so good. How is it so good? What does Origins have many games seem to have lost in the decade since?

And truthfully, the short answer is “good writers,” or at least writers who were undeniably passionate about their project. The world and story of Origins are brilliantly realised and paced, and the characters evoke genuine emotions – from Duncan’s father-like-admiration, to Alistair’s loveable goofiness, and Loghain’s extremely slappable face. We care. We care so bloody much! We invest in our love, and in our hatred. We want to see more. And the fact that our decisions actually shape the world around us makes us want to care and invest all over again, just in a slightly different flavour.

Backtracking slightly, ironically, to my earlier mention of pacing and planning, I whole-heartedly believe that Origins is one of the most believable rise-to-power-and-fame fantasy stories out there. Nothing feels rushed or out of order. Your actions shape the world in real time, and everyone acts accordingly. After every playthrough, and I’ve had 3 or 4 at this point, I find myself wishing that the game was longer but having to remind myself that its only as long as it needs to be. And this desire for more of the same is likely the largest contributor towards why I so absolutely hated Dragon Age II the first time I played it.

Dragon Age II (2012)

 

Which brings me neatly onto the much less neatly packaged sequel.

I have a lot to say about Dragon Age II, but I’m aware that most of it is just ranty noise that a few hundred thousand people have said before, so let me summarise; DA2 was certainly a disappointing sequel which felt much more like a spin-off and utterly divided the fan-base, but was it actually a bad game?

Well, if you’d have asked me 8 years ago, you’d have heard nothing but swearwords and the mad ravings of a scorned geek. But having so recently revisited the experience and knowing full-well what I was in for, I can honestly say, and I never thought I would hear myself say this, but “no.” It’s a genuinely decent game, but it sits thoroughly in the shadow of a predecessor that set the bar so damn high that no matter what followed, it was always going to disappoint.

All main points of criticism that the game received, both at and after release, remain valid, but I strongly believe that had the timelines of Origins and DA2 been reworked and reversed, then DA2’s story would have been met with a much warmer reception from both fans and critics.

To touch on some of those criticisms, one that I am totally onboard with is the opposition to time skips being used in a game that was advertised as “an epic set over 10 years.” This narrative device is frustratingly contrived at the best of the times, but in DA2 it just felt painfully lazy. And dishonest. But what did we expect? How do you write a decade’s worth of story material? Well apparently you write about a week or two at the start, then another week or two in the middle and finally, after another nifty time skip, you wrap it all up with a few climactic days. On top of that, nothing ever seemed to change during these skips. No one ever aged, bought different clothes or even wore a different hair style. Not once. If a helpful black screen hadn’t so graciously explained to us that events were now 5 years further on down the road, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that it was just the following Tuesday.

Another point of contention amongst the fan base was the change in combat mechanics, but I was very much in favour of these alterations. While Origins was a delicately paced, strategic take on role playing combat, DA2 was a much quicker, hack and slash more akin to a Dynasty Warriors or Devil May Cry game, but with role playing elements. And I loved it! It was by far my favourite part of the game, especially during the era that I pretty much hated every other aspect of it. The strategic elements of the combat were still very much present but in many ways much less necessary than in the previous title. But for too many fans this was just too big of a departure from what they had been expecting.

The final major bickering point of DA2 isn’t really an opinion as much as it is an extremely common observation – but far too many of the area designs were identical, almost identical or just outright excessively reused throughout. And for a game that had almost its entire plot set in a singular city and its suburbs, you’d think that some level of stress would have been put onto making sure that every cave and every tunnel was a different experience. Sadly, however, they all just blended into one. “Secret” hiding places weren’t exactly secret when they were all located in the exact same sub section of the under city, and you’d definitely think that bandits would stop hiding out in a particular cave after the second or third time the hero and his troupe of chums came murdering their way through. There were only around three or four different dungeon and basement environments, which may have flown under the radar had their exploration been optional. But when a countless number of quests repeatedly send you into identical maps, the recycling starts to become glaringly obvious, especially when many of these quests were unskippable story missions which had a real penchant for highlighting the lazy design.

In summary, DA2 is undoubtedly a flawed game but it does have just enough redeeming qualities to tip the balance ever so slightly back in its favour. For some, at least. The story is dark, fairly interesting and honestly a little something different from most other role players out there; the characters are charming and memorable; the combat is absolutely brilliant and it plays a very important role in setting the stage for what comes next.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

 

There really is no way to adequately summarise Inquisition other than to say that it was another divisive release in the series, but much less so than its predecessor. DA:I is nothing short of a Marmite experience with its players either falling utterly in love with it, or vomiting at the first 2 minute loading screen. Thankfully, I found myself in the former category.

Personally, I found Inquisition to be an epic experience, with a truly ambitious plot that manages to confuse and intrigue in equal measures. And at release it seemed like many critics felt the same way with a sterling array of positive reviews. But as the years went on I couldn’t help but notice the public opinion turn slightly from favourable to somewhat indignant. I often wonder if this was inevitable as people quite rapidly fell out of love with Bioware – firstly after Mass Effect: Andromeda failed to live up to the original trilogy, and secondly after Anthem even dared be born.

In the beginning Inquisition was hailed strongly as the game that DA2 really should have been, with the one major criticism it seemed to face being that it felt very much like a single player MMORPG experience. And in many ways I completely understand, especially as an Elder Scrolls Online player which often feels much like the same game, mechanics-wise. The world of DA:I is quite expansive, but often empty in a way that feels like other players should be populating it. More recent comments have been made about how the plot is confusing and too reliant on a particular DA2 DLC for context, which again isn’t untrue. Truthfully though, if you’re paying attention, and have been since Origins, then the story really isn’t that big of a head-scratcher. Yes, it gives you quite a few things to think about and brings back much of the politics of the first game, but if that’s not your flavour then role playing games maybe just aren’t for you.

Inquisition is a huge game. On my first playthrough I found myself breaking 100 hours just from exploring as much as I possibly could and ensuring that I didn’t miss anything important. And better yet, I actually enjoyed it. I never felt like the exploration was excessive and that I would rather be doing something else. Every map was something different than the last, something new and exciting to investigate. Exploration could even be rewarding with quests to find and characters to meet. I’m sure many will disagree with me and I welcome your difference of opinion, but if there is one thing that DA:I certainly cannot be accused of, its suffering from the same lazy and recycled design efforts as Dragon Age II.

Combat took a slightly different approach to both of the earlier titles and somewhat successfully seemed to marry the two. It was certainly much quicker in pace than Origins but pulled back on the reins a little when compared to DA2.

Of all its qualities however, my favourite aspect of the game was, and remains, the characters. Even the player character themselves, though left completely customisable, has a real sense of self thanks to the script writing and voice acting. Lightly put, you play an unlucky bystander dragged into someone else’s war by nothing but sheer misfortune, and end up forming and leading a holy army on a quest to save the world from a giant tear in the sky. And more often than not the dialogue even reflects on that with your character having the option to be utterly bewildered by this situation they have found themselves in, or, as I chose, to be a confident bad-ass and seize the moment like a real champion of justice and testosterone.

The rest of the cast are extremely diverse with everyone having something you’ll undoubtedly like and dislike about them, making them seem extremely human. Supporting characters are also incredibly charming and unique in their own ways with many memorable NPCs that you may even only see once.

And so I conclude with two simple yet poignant questions to the Dragon Age fan-base. Firstly, what were your ups and downs to the trilogy? And secondly, what do you truly want from Dragon Age 4?

I’ve been Daniko, and thank you kindly for your time.