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Gaming with Dee
Just a simple blog containing my video game reviews, gaming news, and releases of both Indie and Major game titles through out the year.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Crashing the party, or saving the day?
Alrighty folks it's that time, yep FINALLY the first video in my first ever lets play is up. The top ten will be up tomorrow, and it was hard to pick just 10 bad games for 2014 when there where SO MANY.... SO I MADE A TOP 10 MOST DISAPPOINTING LIST AS WELL. Look forward to that in the following week as well as the downsized top 5 best games of 2014, cause I didn't get to play alot of good games last year as i did't have a pc... Sad i know, anyway enjoy the video there will be more to come, thank you for your time and see ya next time.
Friday, January 2, 2015
New youtube
That's right DEE IS BACK, WITH VENGEANCE!!! To kick off this new year I have not only been searching through all the horrid games and amazing ones i've played to compose a few top tens for you blood thirsty review hounds and gaming nerds alike. *i kid, i kid, OR DO I!?!?!?!?*
ANYWAY look there are two list coming out this year, and with my new pc up and running faster and better than any desktop i have EVER OWNED i'm ready to blaze a trail into the new year that will in hopes NOT END in like a week. *i kid, i kid, i didn't just abandon you guys, my pc broke down, then i fucked up my processor, and literally had to wait till christmas to get a new one cause i'm BROKE.*
Enough about me, back to talking about MY content, there will be more blogs coming, new changes, and more content coming to this blog my tumblr, and my youtube. swing over and watch me fail at tanking if that's your thing at GamingwithdeeEXE. you can just click that, or you can just click the nice little link over there that says youtube updates.
ANYWAY look there are two list coming out this year, and with my new pc up and running faster and better than any desktop i have EVER OWNED i'm ready to blaze a trail into the new year that will in hopes NOT END in like a week. *i kid, i kid, i didn't just abandon you guys, my pc broke down, then i fucked up my processor, and literally had to wait till christmas to get a new one cause i'm BROKE.*
Enough about me, back to talking about MY content, there will be more blogs coming, new changes, and more content coming to this blog my tumblr, and my youtube. swing over and watch me fail at tanking if that's your thing at GamingwithdeeEXE. you can just click that, or you can just click the nice little link over there that says youtube updates.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Beyond Two Souls
That’s
right folks I’m back, back from what seemed like would be the end of my video
game reviewing days. Gladly it wasn't, for those of you wondering, long story
short, when certain people decided they are going lie, and just completely drop the
work they were doing on the blog for me. I was forced to take on all of it and IT DIDN'T GO SO WELL. I stressed myself out and woke up one
morning and just couldn't be asked to even bother worrying about posting
ANYTHING. So I put this on the back burner while I went job hunting. Still job
hunting, but now that I’ve figured out the direction we are going to go in. I’m
back with more content for you to read and enjoy. With that I have some bad
news, ALL of the old projects, dropping them, I don’t have the resources
to finish them (I don’t own the games to finish playing them my Ex owned them,
and she moved to Canada…) There will be one review every week, with and at the end of the month I will play and review a game that everyone hates, and see if there is any redeeming qualities about it. Anyway without further delay,
let’s move on the first review of 2014. BEYOND: TWO SOULS. Due to the nature
of this game I’m going to avoid try my best to avoid spoilers.
Development
Beyond: Two Souls was
developed by Quantic Dream, written and directed by its CEO, David Cage, just
like his other games; Omikron: The Nomad Soul, Indigo Prophecy (my first David
Cage game), and Heavy Rain (haven’t played it yet.) During the games development
it was noted that the voice actor for Jodie (Ellen Page) said the script was
over 2000 pages long. Considering the amount of ways this game can be played, I
can only imagine what the script looked like. Unlike Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two
Souls is not compatible with the Playstation move, and like All of Cage’s earlier
works, it has been called a “Psychological Thriller” and has been stated that
the emotional narrative throughout the game was a key point in the games
development. The game was first announced during E3 2012 featuring a trailer to
debut the in-game graphic’s.
The game was Normand Corbeil’s final
work, as he passed away of pancreatic cancer on the 25 of Jan 2013 (moment of
silence). Composer Lorne Balfe replaced Corbeil after his death as the games
composer, having worked on the sound track for Assassin’s Creed III (To the
games credit the sound track was one of things that DIDN’T suck…). The game
also star’s actors such as Willem Dafoe, Ellen Page, Eric Winter, and Kadeem
Haridson, with their in-game characters sharing resemblance to their voice
actors. (for those of you who where are like, that Jodie looks like Ellen Page,
SHE IS SUPPOSED, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP POINTING OUT THE OBVIOUS.)
Speaking on actor’s, one has to wonder about the budget for a game like this.
Oftentimes most AAA games budget out to around $25 million when it comes to
development cost, with the lowest being around $10 million. It has been stated
that GTA V cost Rockstar a grand total of $265 MILLION. Good thing the game
sold so many copies eh, despite the online not being all that great just yet.
GTA V cost 7 times the amount for Quantic dream’s Heavy rain, Beyond: Two Souls
however not so much, costing around $27 million. A reasonable development price
to be sure, although that particular question is subjected to the person who
spent their hard earned money on the game, and rather or not they enjoyed it or
not. The price is only 7 million more than Heavy Rain’s price, so I guess the
question it comes down to is my opinion on rather or not the game was worth it.
Stick around and find out what I have to say.
Plot Spoiler level (light)
Beyond: Two Souls follows the
timeline of Jodie Holmes (Ellen Page), who since birth been connected to what
is known as an entity named Aiden. After being left by her foster parents, she
is raised by two researchers, Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe) and Cole Freeman
(Kadeem Hardison). Nathan and Cole’s job is to conduct research to figure out
more about the infraworld which
happens to be where entities come from, so the USA can use it as a weapon.
Nathan and Cole conduct countless test on Jodie, none of which are painful or
are meant to cause anyone any harm, in order to help them understand the nature of her connection to Aiden, and help her further develop her control over him.
The plot of the game while scripted,
was developed to be nonlinear, meaning the narrative doesn’t follow a straight
path from beginning to end. The game starts with Jodie beginning to tell you
the story of her life, recounting the events of her past, and how she came to
be where she is. The game jumps from different points in her life, with some
points being when she was younger, and some with her being in her early 20’s
working for the CIA, and even memories of events that happen after she goes
AWOL. Throughout the recounted events you’r allowed to in away control what
direction her life will go in, by the choices you decide to make. As the player
you control both Jodie, and Aiden, with almost all of the game changes choices made by Jodie, very few will be done by Aiden, and if they are they don't change much.
Gameplay & Story Spoiler level (light)
Here is the deal, Beyond: Two
Souls, like David Cage’s earlier games, aren’t knowing for their amazing
gameplay, they are more like interactive movies. There point is to tell you a
story, not to thrill you with engaging gameplay that takes your breath away and
blows your mind. I leaving out a lot of spoilers while talking about the this game because It's mainly just story, that’s
really all there is to this game, and I felt I’d be cheating you out of what I
felt to be an amazing storytelling experience. HOWEVER if you are one of those
people who play games looking for action, wanting to be a force of destruction,
kill people at random, or even just have active free roam, in a heavily
interactive game, David Cage’s games are NOT for you. The point of the game
would go over your head, and you’d hate the game for it having very little in
the ways of actual gameplay. If you are one of those people who love a good
story, and want to be taken on a ride and willing to let the story tell itself
instead of insisting you know how it’s going to end. I suggest you pick this up
and give it a try.
Gameplay wise this game is scripted as i stated, while there are different ways of doing things, they all end in similar conclusions, events happen or don’t happen dependent on rather you press the right buttons,
or if you press the button at all. When you control Jodie, most of your
interactions will be of this sort. Almost all of your game changing choices come from
Jodie as well. Jodie will have a good bit of combat in her later memories, but
keep in mind this game is nonlinear, so while you may be recounting a memory in
Jodie’s 20’s the next memory could be her teenage years. Other elements of
gameplay will be taken on by Aiden, what are these elements, quite simply Aiden
breaks things, throws things, and fucks with shit. He can choke humans, possess
them, or launch objects at them. In certain memories you will be attacked by
entities, due to the fact that Jodie is quite human, she can’t fight them, so
this task is left to Aiden. While Jodie’s combat gameplay is enjoyable… AIDEN’S
IS NOT… Honestly this could have been fleshed out more, as it felt to me at
times I really wasn’t doing much of anything. I’m trying to keep spoilers to a
minimum but let me just say this, move the thumb sticks in or out to throw or
choke someone, or even kill another entity gets old. If I have to give you any
advice it would be this, DO NOT get hung up on the gameplay, you will be
disappointed, and remain so throughout the whole of the game.
The story is where the game truly
shines. As stated you follow Jodie’s life, jumping back and forth between
different points in her life that cover more than fifteen years of her life.
Throughout these memories you travel through different locations in which Jodie
visited or lived through these periods in her life some being; The lab in which
she lived with Nathan and Cole, CIA base where she trains to work for the CIA
under Ryan Clayton(Eric Winter) who depending on player choices her opinion on
may differ. You visit a war-torn Somalia under orders to remove a tyrannical
dictator, a group of homeless people who despite their lack of means, care for
Jodie, and a native American family who every night lock themselves in their
house to remain safe from a vicious entity that wants to kill them. Jodie’s
life is not a easy one, she is left by her foster parents due to her connection
to Aiden and her father’s fear that she will kill them. Nathan and Cole became
her family, but she was eventually taken away from them… by Ryan… or the CIA,
but Ryan was a prick about it though.
You follow Jodie’s life from her childhood
well into adulthood, as she struggles to live with an entity she knows nothing
about. Early in Jodie’s life she was left with Nathan Dawkins, and Cole Freeman
by her foster parents. They eventually become the only family Jodie knows, and genuinely
care for her. When Jodie was young she spent all of her time in the lab,
undergoing test so that Nathan and his team could gain a better understanding
of Aiden, and more importantly the connection between Aiden and Jodie. When
Jodie is in her teens, Nathan is contacted by the government, that’s right they
want Jodie to do something for them. It seems that the government has been
trying to find away into the world in which Aiden came from, the Infraworld.
Thing is THEY ACTUALLY OPENNED A DOOR, bad news for them, as the entities that
come out are dark, and quickly start to murder everyone in the lab, and what’s
worse, they can’t seem to close the door. You have probably already guessed it,
but if you haven’t, they want Jodie to go into their lab, and close the gateway
they created. Eventually this leads to her being taken away from the lab by
Ryan Clayton who works with the CIA, she eventually joins the CIA where she is
pretty much used as a tool. After certain events unfold that upsets Jodie
greatly, she goes AWOL, ending up with a group of homeless people struggling
with the choice to take her life, or continue living. Eventually she finds
herself on a Native American ranch, helping them solve their problem with a
entity summoned to by their ancestors. The game comes full circle when Jodie
meets back up with Cole who tells her news of her mother. The two of them go to
investigate and you eventually learn the truth about your mother, and why you
were raised by the government. By now a great deal of the game should make
sense to you. (in a effort to avoid massive spoilers I have left A LOT out.) After
speaking with her mother, Jodie exit’s the room only to find out that they have
been caught. Jodie finds herself speaking with Nathan again, who has been
working with the government to create a stable gateway into the Infraworld, he
succeeded, and with the new technology created to contain entities, the same tragedy
that happen in Jodie’s youth didn’t befall this lab. Nathan tells Jodie that
the CIA has one final job for her, then they will cut her loose to live her
life. It seems another nation has created a doorway into the Infraworld, they
want you and your old team to find their lab and shut it down. Long story
short, you succeed, and return only to find out that due to events that
happened in her youth Nathan has pretty much gone bat shit crazy. He is going
to shut down the containment field and the gateway also known as the blacksun
will pass throughout the world. Eventually the Real world and the Infraworld
will become one and death will not matter anymore. After you’ve stopped his
plan it’s happily ever after, or at least you think it is, since Jodie has had
a vision of the future AND IT IS NOT HAPPY AT ALL. As you play the game, the
story bounces around from her childhood to her rebellious teenage years, as
well into her mid 20’s. You may find yourself confused at times, since the
points don’t all start to connect into later in the game. This is ok, you’re
supposed to be confused, this gives you some time to make some guesses about
what happens next.
In truth this game like David cages
other games, has hardly anything beyond its own story, which is supposed to be
its biggest selling point. For me even the downsides of this game were
tolerable, the story line is entirely too predictable at times, and Aiden was
more like a ghost buddy, not really fleshed out at all, and serves little
purpose than a bodyguard who protects Jodie from hard, and helps her solve
mysteries. The part that upsets me the most about this game however is it’s
ending, While it makes perfect sense, it hints to a possible sequel. Issue is
that David Cage has never made a sequel to any of his games, so the likelihood
that one will be made for this one is slim to none. However as I said These
things can be overlooked easily as long as you go into this game with a open
mind. It is a David Cage game, do not go into this game expecting excellent
gameplay, and don’t be too upset just because you saw certain parts of the
story unfolding before you.
Endgame
Spoiler level (medium)
As
I stated before, the ending of this game is the part that upsets me the most. I
hate it when games end without answering all the questions, I hate it more when
those games end and hint a sequel, when the developer of said game is not known
for ever making a sequel to his jankball games. (Jankball being good in this
case.) In this games defense a lot of questions were answered through the game
play and in the games conclusion if not all of them. The ending pisses me off
sole because how it ends, and the fact that actually enjoyed playing this game,
and would like another one, knowing there is a slim chance of it actually
happening. As with Indigo Prophecy the game has different endings. All based
around your choices at the end of the game, and during the game. As I explained
in the Gameplay section Nathan has gone bat shit crazy by the end of the game.
After the death of his wife and daughter, he was become obsessed with Jodie and
the Infraworld. Nathan has built a device that has pulled his wife and
daughters souls from the Infraworld, literally keeping them trapped between two
worlds, causing their souls extreme pain. After getting Jodie to use her powers
to allow him to speak with them, he falls off the deep end when his wife begs
him to let her go. He blames Jodie, saying that she said that, despite that
Jodie tries to tell him that what he is doing is wrong, he refuses to listen,
so she leaves. THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE BETRAYED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, SHOCKER
RIGHT no, not at all, I bet you say this coming a LONG TIME AGO. The plan to do
to you what they did to your mom. While you are bound Nathan comes to you and
tells you that he is going to bring down the containment field around the black
sun. Soon after your put in control of Aiden and it’s off to get help. Aiden
manages to get help from Cole and Ryan (in mine I don’t know if Ryan is there
in every play through as choices could change the outcome.) They free you and
it’s off to stop Nathan, or in this case destroy the black sun, as you’re going
to be too late to stop Nathan. After it’s all said and done, you get to choose
rather you live or die. I’ll leave that part up to you to discover, I’ve
already spoiled enough. Just know this, rather you choose to live or die, it
doesn’t change the very end of the game. There will be a scene where you see
the end of the world. Someone open Pandora’s Box and there is no going back. The
hints to a sequel are so obvious yet I doubt we will see one, and that my
friends is what pisses me off.
As
much as I would love to recommend this game to everyone, I just can’t. This
game as well as all of David Cage’s other games are NOT ever everyone else. If
you love David Cages other games pick this one up, If you enjoy playing games
that start off normal then go super jankball pick this game up, If you are one
of those gamers who can enjoy and accept a game for what it is instead of
demanding it change to fit your gaming style and concept of what games should
be, PICK THIS GAME UP, If you love weird super natural shit, pick this game up.
However if you’re into fast pace games, games that are actually you know games,
and not interactive movies, games that have more action, or don’t care for
story, this isn’t the game for you. For me this was a great game, and if you’re
looking to try something new, I’d recommend this game. It is worth at least ONE
play through, and with that, I’ll give this game a rating of Play it. Asking
you to finish it would be asking to much, some people just can’t be asked, and
that’s understandable. Play it then trade it in or keep it for your collection.
This
is the first review of many to come in 2014 I want to thank you for your time
and support, coming up next will be my top 10 best games I played of 2013,
which should be up sometime this week. Thank you again for your time hope you
enjoyed the my thoughts, and understand that this is just my opinion, you are entitled
to your own as well, and I will see you guys next time.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Push backs
Just a small update on what is going to happen. At current i have to push the update i stated earlier back, I didn't imagine there would be so much to read and catch up on. New game releases and demo's to play, and reviews to type. I will have a update by the end of this week, i just got caught up over the week in with the job hunt, getting things taken care of and what not. Anyway the update is coming along with it is a list of changes and content to look forward to, and of course before i introduce the new reviews and updates, we will finish off the older ones first. Thanks for your patiences and your time, and as always i'll see you all next time.
Friday, August 2, 2013
What happened during the break
For those of you who don't know, The last few months have been crazy for me. With all the stuff i've been doing trying to fix my pc, going with my family to North Carolina, getting an appartment (we will be moving in Aug 17) Looking for a second job, and being sick for the better part of last month. It's been alittle rough, but none of it was in vain. Come sunday we will resume all regular projects and scheduled projects. Gaming news will be posted when there is actually gaming news to post. I tried daily but then came across a issue where sometimes i couldn't give a shit about what was going on as it didn't seem important enough to even waste your time reading it.
Tomorrow Gaming with Dee and Extended content will have a update to explain what new post will be coming. To be informed of the updates just follow my Tumblr or Twitter.
Tomorrow Gaming with Dee and Extended content will have a update to explain what new post will be coming. To be informed of the updates just follow my Tumblr or Twitter.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Video game news and Updates for June 21, 2013 is available
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, the
Gaming news and updates for the 21st of June 2013 is up. I speak in
depth on my views concerning Microsoft’s reversal and what this means for the
video game industry and us a gamers as well as consumers. If you interested in
reading more there is a post here on this site just below this one. If your
interest in reading my thoughts concerning the matter head over to
For alerts on updates follow me on my Twitter and Tumblr:
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Microsoft may decide to Reverse the Policies used in the Xbox One
In a stunning, yet expected, announcement from Microsoft, it seems the features of the Xbox One that pretty much turned the console into a brick, are being removed. Seems the outrage from their fans, or in my opinion the small number of pre-orders they saw coming in, prompted microsoft to pull a full reversal of the DRM policies used in the Xbox One.
What does this mean you may be wondering. well my silly little friend it means several things
What does this mean you may be wondering. well my silly little friend it means several things
- No more 24 hour confirmation
- All disc will work without having to be "installed" just pop it in and play.
- Internet connection is only required at setup.
- All downloaded games will function with our without a internet connection.
- No restrictions on used games.
- Region locks have been dropped
Most importantly it means that the Console wars are back on in full swing. An the Xbox One despite it's horrid name, undesirable look, price tag, and refusal to work unless the kinect is connected, is becoming a move viable game system. I find it odd that not but a week after E3 we have this HUGE reversal by Microsoft. If they are smart and want to gain back consumer trust, they will say something like this in a official announcement.
"We thought what we were doing would be the next step in revolutionizing the game industry, but after listening to our fans feedback we see we were clearly wrong. It's always been our goal to give our fans what they want, this is our attempt at taking the first step in the right direction."
A little to hopeful? yeah i thought so, but a man could dream right, we will just have to wait and see just what prompted such a major turnaround for them.
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