Gamers First

Bioshock Infinite arrived. Giddy all over I threw, “literally threw it”, into my console, JAMMED the power button and sat back awaiting the experience of a lifetime. What I got was a beautiful disaster. Welcome to the City in the Sky Infinite begins as the original Bioshock did. A light tower in the midst of the ocean that whisks you away into a gorgeous oasis, only this time it’s in the sky, and splicers are now crazy radicals, and Andrew Ryan is replaced with Father Comstock, the leader of those crazy radicals. Your task? To go to the city in the sky and bring back a girl named Elizabeth to wipe away some debt you have. That should be enough for those who don’t know what Infinite is.   Right from the start I was blown away from the sheer amount of detail Infinite throws at you. I fully believed this City existed and enjoyed taking in its vistas and crazed citizens. Mixing Religious themes with political ones and some Quantum Mechanics, Infinite isn’t short on raising and answering questions, all the while blowing you away throughout its wonderful narrative. It so Prettttttyyyyyyyy After taking in the scenery I eventually found myself knee deep in bad dudes ready to kill me. This is part one of Infinite’s beautiful disaster. Combat just doesn’t feel as tight as I thought it would. The use of an over-shield is partly to blame for this. Enemies seem to fire upon you from all over, in order to counter that pesky shield you have, and not only can you never figure out where everyone is, you CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHERE EVERYONE IS! Seriously, it was very annoying to be running around in circles in almost every battle, that had a group of baddies, just so I could figure out who was shooting me, or discover where that one last enemy was so that I could kill them and be able to pick my next lock. On top of awareness issues, the enemy AI at times was just awful. Granted I was playing it on the standard difficulty, I found at times, all the game could ever manage to do was spawn a huge group of dudes as if to overwhelm me. Anytime there was just a handful, I could easily use bucking bronco and run to each one, melee them, and move onto the next. This never really changed throughout the entire game. Option A lots of bad guys shooting from all over the place, option B just a few bad guys, enjoy walking up to each one and hitting them on the head. On the plus side the powers and weapons are a blast to use. Combining vigors was very rewarding to watch. I only wish there was more of a tactical aspect to the combat to reward using a combo of skills, rather than the run and gun game-play I found myself doing nine times out of ten. Pow Pow.. Bang Bang…. Repeat! There I was shooting, running, shooting, powers, shooting, and then bam! Mission complete. Only not, because in order to make Infinite the fifteen hour game it is, I now have to find three things in order to do the one thing, or go save one person to move forward. This was part 2 of the beautiful disaster that is Bioshock Infinite. Mission structure that screams “Oh this is just to make the game long.” Infinite managed to do that on a few occasions. Heads or Tails?  On the other side of that coin though is experimentation. Infinite tried to use these segments to give you a chance to explore more of the wonderfully realized world and set up some helpful exposition. I just couldn’t fully appreciate it though, since I was so annoyed by what I needed to do in order to progress the main story-line  Where I had been content to take everything in during the first moments, I found myself rushed and annoyed just wanting to move forward. In the end Bioshock Infinite was the most annoyingly great game I have ever played. The narrative and world are so well realized it is a true testament to the greatness Irrational Games. Future developers should strive to release their games so bug free and hope to reach the extents to which the Bioshock games have in terms of narratives. It is because of this I think Infinite is the most over hyped game of the year. It really shows how many games fail where Infinite succeeds. Story and quality are strengths every dev should look to Bioshock for, however gameplay and quest structure were  flawed and lacking. In the end though, when I finally put down my controller, I was blown away by what is a great, albeit slightly flawed experience. Bioshock Infinite is worth a RENT

Brian and Drew are at it again. This week they discuss their initial impressions of Bioshock Infinite (a few hours in) as well as some news from GDC including what’s new with the PS4 as well as some new titles. … Continue reading →

Drew and Brian are back at it this week. Brian has some news about what all went down at SXSW Screenburn Arcade. There are also quite a few updates on games that have come out and games to come like … Continue reading →

Lara Croft is back and dare I say better than ever! Without a doubt she must have been hanging out with Nathan Drake a bit to learn the ropes, but man it paid off. Tomb Raider is the best kind of reimagining. Offering a human story full of gut wrenching death sequences and a story filled with mature themes about what it takes to survive. Lara Croft, you just kicked Nathan Drake right in the crotch. Nothing but a flesh wound. Tomb Raider kicks off with Lara Croft as green as you can get. Her first expedition, no dual pistols, new hair fx (Oh yeah, nothing beats realistic Croft hair floating in the wind), and more! In perfect TR fashion things go wrong, very wrong. Before you or Lara can get comfortable you crash land on an unknown island, are captured, hung upside down among other dead bodies, and forced to fight or die. That is the reoccurring theme throughout TR. Lara is constantly forced to make hard choices, and those choices are what come to define her as a person. Emotionally charged is an understatement for this game. You and Lara will both be exhausted by the time you beat the campaign.  Tomb Raider’s greatest strength, and weakness, is the amount of time spent defining Lara as a real person, and what she has to go through to become the Tomb Raider we know. This is done with perfection, but at the cost of taking away from the other characters featured in this story. However, this wasn’t their story anyways so it doesn’t take too much away from your experience.  Lara’s journey takes you from her first kill to becoming the worlds greatest human hunter. This transition, as it usually is, happens in just mere seconds, but I felt it was handled better here than in other titles such as Far Cry 3. After escaping captivity, killing your very first human, and getting the crap beat out of you, TR sets you free on a island full of mystery and dark secrets. Flowing hair… check…. sad face check…. ready to kick ass…… oh yeah! Tomb Raider takes notes from Batman Arkham City when it comes to exploring this island. Certain areas will be off limits until you have acquired a new piece of gear, such as a climbing axe, rope arrows, etc. There is a lot to see here and the progression of the story does a great job offering you chances to back track in new ways. This was the only game I have ever ended up back where I started and without even realizing it. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Thanks to plane crashes, helicopter crashes, and intense “on rail” sequences you will probably never realize you’re back at the same camp you started at. Just like Lara, this island constantly changes throughout the game. Anything that happens in the game’s cut sequences will be left over somewhere on the island afterward. The developers did a great job really bringing to life the island and it’s inhabitants. Stopping by a campfire to upgrade Lara and her weapons also offers you a chance to fast travel. Traversing this island is so cool (seriously best use of zip lining ever!) that i never onced used the option to fast travel. With so much to see and discover you can easily find plenty to do here. You will hate dogs…. Keeping up with the trend right now in gaming, Lara’s “go-to” weapon is a bow. From fire arrows, to rope arrows, to using arrows to jam into bad guys’ eyes, Lara Croft’s bow is the finest use of the weapon in a game yet. Headshots with this thing are perfectly executed, they’re even complimented with a subtle and perfect sound cue. This won’t be the Lara you remember, but it’s not supposed to be. Crouch down, take in each segment with a sense of stealth, and you’ll find yourself having more fun with that bow than you did in Crysis 3 or Far Cry 3. Tomb Raider redefines who Lara Croft is and how she becomes a survivor. Layered in a mix of Uncharted-esque climbing, with some solid stealth mechanics, and some highly mature sequences (every death sequences to Lara is a tough one to watch) Tomb Raider is well worth your money and I cannot wait to see where Crystal Dynamics take my favorite Croft yet. TOMB RAIDER is a worth your hard earned cash, it gets a BUY!

Growing up outside of Austin in a small town I often found an oasis in Film and Video Games. Watching Arnold annihilate bad guys as Conan the Barbarian is unforgettable. Playing Tetris and Castlevania on the original nintendo, just as… unforgettable. Never in my years would I imagine playing countless video games on a number of systems, going to the University of Texas, being introduced to Austin, graduating, moving to NY, moving back to Austin, getting married, and finally after all that going to my first SXSW show just a few days ago. Why did I wait this long?!?! SXSW Interactive was an experience I wish I would have attended much earlier. Sitting in and listening to the Developers of Gears of War Judgment talk about their upcoming game was amazing. Talking with the minds behind the sound in Tomb Raider, equally great. I have always said I wanted to create a Video Game blog and get big, just so I could go to E3. Never knowing I had a little mini E3 in my backyard. The best part, it’s free. I don’t have any previous experience in any other conferences, this was my first. I can say without a doubt that I will be back year after year and I couldn’t have asked for a better “first time.” The Interactive section of SXSW this year featured indie developers from Austin as well as San Francisco and more. The games they’re creating for mobile devices and the arcade side of console gaming, look to be a great way to kill time wherever you are. From strategy based games that you can play on your browser, to puzzles, and more, this year will be full of possibilities to just game. Most of my time at the conference was spent sitting at the Geek Stage taking in the latest from comics, to the future of games, the upcoming Gear Of War game, and how Tomb Raider found it’s sound. For all those who listen to Gamers1st podcast then you’ll get to hear about everything I experienced. For anyone reading this article, I thought I  would share some highlights. Seriously who doesn’t like Baird. Said no one EVER! GOW Judgement looks to be bringing back everything we love from the series with an emphasis on intensity. They hope to have your “palms sweating” and “knuckles white” in both the campaign and multiplayer. Through adding “tower defense” sections in the single player, new modes that mimic that of King of the hill in multiplayer, and adding Free for all, GOW Judgment, looks to be making that idea a reality. Judgement is certainly shaping up to be a solid entry in the long running series. I look forward to playing it in the coming weeks. Sound in video games doesn’t get the credit it deserves. That is exactly what I got from Tomb Raiders conference, on how they used music to aid in telling Lara Croft’s emotional story. This was one of the best moments for me throughout the conference. Learning how they created an 8ft contraption that created the unique sounds in TR was eye opening. The device itself was oddly beautiful. Everything was covered during their forty five minute conference, from how they wanted to make you feel alienated and alone, to how they introduced simple techniques when you needed to feel comfortable and aware.  Truly an entertaining and great little lesson in game sound design. MECHSSSSSS Outside of the Geek stage I dabbled in some games hitting the free to play market. Hawken looks to be something for every mech lover. I am not one of those, so playing just one round was enough to let me know this game will be great for anyone looking to go to war against other mechs online. Yeah… It is that awesome. The standout for me was Loadout. A free to play game from Edge of Reality. This game was a blast, I waited numerous times in line to get multiple play throughs and each time rocked. With a style that feels like Team Fortress, only crazier, and the opportunity to customize and create to your hearts desires. I can say without hesitation, I look forward to spending countless hours with this one in the near future. Eventually my time with the Interactive section of SXSW came to an early, albeit sad close. I was able to spend a section of my weekend immersed in something I had never experienced before, which is insane seeing how I blog about games and am madly in love with them, but nevertheless it was my first time and  great one at that. I look forward to attending as many conferences I can from here on out and waiting another year to do it all again at SXSW.