Tag: Gaming

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Gaming

Final Fantasy XVI – The First FF I’ve Completed! (Impressions)

Hi all, Andrew here – I appreciate it’s been a while since I’ve written an article, so I hope it’s not too rusty! Anyway, on with the topic – I, as a gamer who’s approaching his 30s, have completed my first ever Final Fantasy game – the recently released Final Fantasy XVI. While I have dabbled and played a bit of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XV, this is the first one where I got to the credits. As a result, I thought it would be interesting to put down my non-spoilery thoughts on what I felt worked well, and what I felt would be better built on!

What I Liked

  • As a rule, I’m generally not a fan of turn-based combat (with exceptions such as Persona), so having a more real-time combat focus was definitely a plus for me, and made the series feel a bit more approachable for a beginner.
  • The graphics were fantastic, with a minimal difference between the cutscenes and the actual gameplay – it certainly makes the best of the PS5 technology, with some breath-taking scenery and set pieces!
  • They used QTEs in a way that make sense – while I personally don’t
… Read More
Categories
Conventions Entertainment Pop Culture Reviews

Pros & Cons: PopCon Indy 2022 Review

Throughout the past weekend, I spent my time in Downtown Indianapolis at PopCon Indy. I cannot believe that PopCon is now in its 9th year as an event as it only seems like yesterday that the Kickstarter for the show was up and running but here we are. Over the last 9 years, PopCon has had its share of ups & downs with, in my opinion, the 2016 edition of PopCon being its best yet. For those that may not remember, PopCon 2016 had everything from a full-on wrestling show, the GFuel E-Sports arena, and also Kevin Smith with his daughter Harley there to attend the premiere of their movie, Yoga Hosers.

I feel that there has yet to be a PopCon that has come close to providing all that amount of entertainment in one weekend and sure, an argument can be made about the prior year with Markiplier coming to PopCon in only their second year as a convention which saw a crazy turnout that not even PopCon themselves expected. Yet here we are in 2022 and PopCon has been trying in some ways while failing in a few others to be as good as they once were.

A … Read More

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Gaming Reviews

The Unboxing of Isaac (May 2022 – Dogma) – What’s In It?

Warning: This article covers a franchise that is fairly morbid and grotesque. If you find that sort of content is upsetting, this article may not be for you.

The Binding of Isaac, the notoriously difficult roguelike game, has gone through many changes and updates over the years. Starting as a Flash game in 2011, it has since gone to Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, iOS, and even the more family-friendly Switch and 3DS platforms. It has also received multiple sizeable updates:

  • Wrath of the Lamb;
  • Rebirth;
  • Afterbirth;
  • Afterbirth+;
  • Repentance

There has also been a physical card game released called The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls, with a new expansion, Requiem, being made. Not satisfied with this large list of accolades, Edmund McMillen and the staff at Maestro Media have announced a limited run of The Unboxing of Isaac – a monthly Isaac-themed subscription box. As a huge fan of the franchise, I immediately signed up for it and felt it would be useful to show others what each box comes with. The first month’s theme is Dogma, and here is what it came with!

Greeting Letter

A suitably morbid greeting card is at the top of the box, making … Read More

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Entertainment

The Mental Impact of Streaming on Twitch

I’ve been streaming on Twitch since before it was even called Twitch, back in the days of when it used to be Justin.tv and my time on the site has had its ups and downs. There are many things people don’t ever really tell you about Twitch and especially the mental impact it can have on those of us such as myself that stream on the platform. I want to say first and foremost that I am not a mental health professional so please, don’t take this as advice or the like.

Ever since the early days of when I would stream on Justin.tv back in 2009 when I started doing a late-night chill stream where I played music (back before anyone cared about DMCA) I noticed myself always being concerned with my viewer count, a number that tends to always stare you right in the face when streaming that shows you exactly how many viewers are currently watching your stream, and always giving myself some anxiety about how I can make my stream that much better.

Even now, I still do this from time-to-time, because it’s those very same numbers that drive me to want to do better and … Read More

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Gaming

Andrew’s Angles – Demo Days

Sadly, this piece will not be about the album made by one of my favourite bands (one day, perhaps I will put something Gorillaz-related together!), but there is something similar between it and my topic of conversation today – they last came out in 2005 (or, near enough). The topic in question? Game demos.

Now that we’re in full swing into the period of gaming with patches, updates, live services, etc., it seems that the average consumer needs to take a gamble with more and more games based on reviews, previews, live streams, opinion pieces, and so on, without actually getting to try before they buy. With standard editions of games generally running from £50-£70 each, that’s quite a gamble, especially with how hectic launch windows can be. Should you pick up Cyberpunk 2077 or Assassins Creed Valhalla? Kirby and the Forgotten Land or Elden Ring? With the size and price of games nowadays, that can be tricky to answer.

So, when I heard about Sony is mandating that some of the game developers for the games on their platforms include demos/timed trial periods for subscribers to PS+ (the paid subscription that allows for users to play … Read More

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Gaming

Unpopular Opinion: Why I’m not playing Elden Ring.

A wise man once said, “If everyone is Han Solo, No one is Han solo.” This is in reference to why Junior Brown doesn’t like Firefly. While he’s wrong for that, The statement did stick with me and I feel like It can and should be applied elsewhere. Also, he’s a fictional character so I shouldn’t let it hurt me as much as it does. I freaking love Firefly.  So as unpopular as my opinion on some games is, I just can’t help but have no interest in the most recent gaming and streaming sensation, Elden Ring. The idea for this article came from a random encounter with an old friend earlier this week. He used to stream a lot but hasn’t done so recently and we talked about how I’ve been going twice a week for our channel here on the Domain (twitch.tv/thedomaingpce if you aren’t already following us there) and how everybody keeps suggesting I play Elden Ring. It’s almost annoying how much I get asked to play this game. I have zero disrespect for it or its community of players, I even have a great deal of respect for the speedrunners out there. However, it’s just not … Read More

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Gaming

Andrew’s Angles – LEGO Star Wars – May The Force (To Achieve 100%) Be With You

So, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has come out! Let me preface this piece with a couple of key points:

  1. I am not huge on Star Wars – to date, I have only seen Episodes V and VII.
  2. I am also not huge on LEGO – the only major kit that I’ve got is the Super Mario Question Block which I built last year.

However, despite this, I feel that the LEGO Star Wars franchise was instrumental in my collector/completionist mindset. For those of you not in the know, LEGO Star Wars was the first in the Traveller’s Tales series of LEGO combined with other popular franchises and since then, there have been many entries in the franchise:

  • LEGO Star Wars (2005), which covered Episodes I-III
  • LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (2006), which covered Episodes IV-VI
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007), which combined the first two games and added in some extra features
  • LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (2011), which is based on the Clone Wars franchise
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2016), which covered Episode VII
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022), which covered Episodes I-IX

Now, it’s all well … Read More

Categories
Gaming

Andrew’s Angles – Are Games Becoming Too Bloated? – A Completionist’s Perspective

I believe it was around Christmas 2020 that I had my first experience of feeling that perhaps some games are becoming behemoths of content – the culprit? Putting 135 hours into Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and deciding that enough was enough after a particular challenging standing stones side activity.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I am a fan of games with lengthy campaigns and enjoyable side content, but in recent times, I have noticed more and more titles where I’ve thrown in the towel after completing the main narrative. My issue with this – it’s at odds with my completionist nature. I’m not going to pretend that I’m some sort of person who needs to get a Platinum in every game I play before I’m ready to move on to the next one – you’re not going to see me get all relics in the Crash Bandicoot series. You’re not going to see me get everything unlocked in online games. I’m not going to play every game on the hardest difficulty. But I am one of those people that does get a sense of satisfaction of getting all boxes ticked, checklists completed, all collectables, well…collected.

I know that this … Read More

Categories
Gaming

3 Reasons to play Stardew Valley if you still haven’t yet

It’s cute, fun, full of depth   –   and if you like the old Harvest Moon games, you’ll love Stardew Valley!

 

 

You’ve inherited your grandfather’s old farm plot in Stardew Valley.  Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life.  Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home?  It won’t be easy.  Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared.  The community center, once the town’s most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles.  But the valley seems full of opportunity.  With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!

 

– “About.” Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe, www.stardewvalley.net

 

Since it’s launch on PC back in 2016, this simple-looking farm simulator RPG has been winning over audiences with its charm. Praise for the music, characters, and the relaxing qualities of Stardew Valley’s gameplay soon led to its development into a multi-platform game with more than 15 million copies sold by last year (2021). To date, I’ve spent hundreds of hours working through the storyline quests, researching and … Read More

Categories
Conventions Reviews

Pros & Cons: Louisville Arcade Expo 2022

Yes, it’s that time of year once again, that time to walk around the halls of another expo and enjoy some amazing arcade games, video game consoles and what I look the most forward to, pinball. It’s time to kick off the 2022 convention and expo season with Louisville Arcade Expo. It’s been since 2020 that the Louisville Arcade Expo has happened which means attendees such as myself have long awaited for the opportunity to get our hands on the things we enjoy, the things that remind us of our childhood such as the sounds of a pinball hitting bumpers or watching as four random strangers together play a song on Rock Band.

I was curious to see if this year would be different and after being able to plan for two years this time, what LAX would have to offer and boy was I not at all disappointed. Upon arrival, I was welcomed by convention owner Corey as he helped me receive my passes for the weekend and I was able to get my hands on some great LAX apparel then it was time to walk into the show floor and the layout is exactly what I expected. A … Read More