JayblesPlaysGames

Lockdown Gaming

Give a Man a Mask and He’ll Become His True Self

We come to the end of another working week, well those of us that are lucky enough to work a Monday to Friday schedule. I’ve been up to a lot, just not an awful lot of it is solely gaming. Death Stranding has taken a little bit of a backseat recently, due in large part, to the fact I have been trying to teach myself how to edit. I haven’t uploaded it yet but I did announce over on Instagram that myself and my girlfriend are going to be doing a playthrough of The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time. Now I have played Ocarina to death, like the water temple doesn’t infuriate me levels of having played the game, now she on the other hand, has not played the game. It’s going to be a lot of fun getting to experience her first time seeing all the story beats play out. Expect a lot of questions from her about what is going on. I still haven’t settled on a date to drop the first episode but I’m hoping to do it next week.

If you were to put together a Mount Rushmore of gaming, Ocarina of Time would be there front and centre. Its importance in the gaming industry is undeniable. It set up some standards for video gaming going forward, most notably a lock on targeting system, which would be used in almost every subsequent third person action/adventure game from then until now. While it’s not my favourite game in the Zelda series, I actually can’t quite settle on my favourite game to be honest, it’s a pretty even split between Breath of the Wild, Twilight Princess & Wind Waker, I do understand how important a game it is. I don’t get Majora’s Mask. I’ve never understood the hype, or why it seems to top most Nintendo Fan’s favourite game lists. At least I don’t yet. I never owned a Nintendo 64, despite how much I wanted one, until 2017 I never had one of my own. I had the opportunity to borrow my friends and he borrowed my PS1 which meant that I got to play Ocarina of TIme for the first time. I did not, however, get round to doing the same for its successor. I never got round to buying the Zelda collection that was released for the GameCube. Majora’s Mask somehow always just slipped through the net.

A couple of years ago I picked up a 3DS copy of it, slotted it into my machine and fired it up. I still didn’t get it, the game looked great, especially on 3DS, the remaster was handled beautifully, but something about it didn’t quite click. I think the idea of having to repeat sections due to the three day repetition mechanic annoyed me. I came into it with a knowledge of what was expected of me and that annoyed me. How dare a game expect me to play the same section over and over on some kind of loop, without it being because I had fallen into a pit or been taken out by some enemy. How dare a game expect me use its main mechanic to come up with solutions to the problems it has set out for me. How dare a game expect me to learn and adapt. So I stopped playing and put it to one side and eventually, it was traded in for cash, not even another game. But ever since I traded in that copy, the idea of going back to it has grown, the voice in my head that tells me to finish what I started not giving me a minute’s peace every time I watch a video on YouTube that references Majora’s Mask.

Eventually I would cave. I knew I would. The Zelda series has this hold over me that most others haven’t been able to touch. Sure there have been other game narratives that have had me hooked in but something always comes in to pull me or, in most cases, force me away. Zelda has this way of making sure I’m just interested enough to make me want to keep playing until the end of a dungeon, or an extra hour, that turns into 3, and I find myself at that same point with Majora’s Mask. I am currently playing an emulated version of it, I mean it’s free and we’re still in a lockdown (don’t judge). But I think I’m beginning to see its charm. It’s still early days yet but what I’ve played so far I have enjoyed. It’s fun coming to a game as old as this with a fresh set of eyes. Do I know the story beats, of course the game is 20 years old at this point and I’ve been watching The Game Theorists long enough to have most of the plot spoiled like milk left out in the summer sun. But the intricacies of the plot, the dungeons, the character interactions are all new to me.

A lot still remains for me to unpack (as of writing I still haven’t got past the first dungeon) but I’ll keep you updated here. Well that about wraps it up for me this time. You can follow me over on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and of course YouTube where the Ocarina of Time series is going to be dropping very soon.

Cheers and have an awesome weekend.

Lockdown Gaming

The Beginning of Something

I haven’t forgotten about you. I have however been working on an idea that has been percolating for a while now. Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now is game capture, then I got my laptop and I figured I’d get round to it. Last week I finally got round to downloading a bunch of programmes to get it done. After a lot of frustration, mainly because I couldn’t work out what was going wrong with my audio, I finally managed to edit together some footage from WWF(E) No Mercy. It’s pretty lo-fi but I’m quite proud of it considering I’ve never done any editing before. It feels as though it’s going to be a very steep learning curve but I’m looking forward to giving it a proper go. I do have something in mind for what I’m going to get stuck into first though. Keep an eye out for something coming very soon.

So onto what else I’ve been up to over the weekend. Death Stranding is still taking up most of my brain space, I’ve moved onto the next area of the game and started to encounter the ‘Preppers’. I don’t know if these guys are of the same ilk as John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane yet but I get the feeling after meeting a few of them I may meet with some resistance. I also got some rather impressive additions to the arsenal. I unlocked a bolo gun that apparently can be modded to fight the B.T.s further adding even more reassurance that I won’t get too badly ruffed up by them. My personal favourite new in-game toy is my new exo suit legs. I’m running around with an extra zip in my step. Pretty sure if I upgrade them I may be able to go full portal and survive massive drops in them but that all remains to be seen.

I am however still not in possession of Last of Us 2. I am steering well clear of reviews and videos, I loved the first one and actually have that to play through again before I get stuck into 2. Luckily the same friend that very graciously let me borrow both Maneater and Death Stranding ended up with both a physical and digital version (don’t ask). Once I’m through delivering packages across the kind of post apocalyptic landscape that even Max Rockatansky would have second thoughts about tackling, I have another equally bleak world’s story to experience.

There’s also been a couple of very cool announcements this week. EA revealed that they have 7 games to the Switch along with a bunch of other titles, including one that has a lot of people excited. Star Wars Squadrons looks amazing. I cannot wait to get my hand on it. I loved the Rogue Squadron games, and while the dogfights in Battlefront are fun (and I’m not too shabby at them), there has been a definite gap in the market for a strong single player story told in the Star Wars universe using this specific mechanic for a long time. Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed, again, pushing it back to November. I am a little disappointed because I am very much looking forward to it, and what makes this one sting is the fact that it will most likely launch the same month as the PS5 and that’s where all my money towards the end of the year is going (other than on Christmas gifts for my loved ones obviously). Nintendo announced a whole load of new content. From showing off the Isle of Armor DLC for sword and shield, to a new Pokemon Snap as well as a new app designed for kids to encourage them to brush their teeth, the Pokemon Company are gonna be raking in the cash by the truckload. To be fair though I do love the design of the Pokemon on Smile.

The most exciting piece of news for me personally however is EA finally pulling the finger out and giving us a look at Skate 4. I lost so much time to this series that it’s not even funny. I would spend hours skating the same spot over and over and over and over and over…and over again until I nailed that kickflip to bluntslide to landing a perfect varial heelflip out. While the game frustrated me, it also gave me a way to relax my mind when I was having a particularly loud day in my head. From looking at me you probably wouldn’t assume that I can skate, or maybe you would, what with the fact I still dress like Bam Margera, but skating was always my go to when I needed to relax and get out of my head for a bit. The Skate games gave me that same sense of relaxation. So a new addition to the series is,at least from my humble perspective, a welcome one.

So that’s it from me. Apologies for missing Friday’s entry but it meant I could learn to edit videos so there was a positive pay off. Remember you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and now over on YouTube. I’m going to be posting some cool content over there over the next few weeks.

Cheers for stopping by.

Lockdown Gaming

Back Aff Ya Spooky B****

It’s Monday again, another weekend is done and some gaming happened. I’ll be honest I’m still kind of reeling from the PlayStation announcement. I’m still buzzing. I’m desperate for every scrap of information I can get. But there’s still two very important pieces of information that we are all waiting on Sony releasing. The price and the date. We know it’s going to be holiday 2020 but does that mean October, November or December. I’d lean more towards mid November, the PS4 launched around the same time and it puts it front and centre for Christmas. Of course Microsoft have yet to announce the release date for the Xbox Series X but they will most likely launch around the same time. Secondly the price, is it going to be under £400 (not likely), is it going to be £600 (I hope not). I think the best we can hope for is somewhere in the region of £450, it’s still on the expensive side but it won’t price the majority of people out of the market in the run up to Christmas. Regardless of what happens though there is a lot to be excited about.

As for what I’ve been up to, I’ve been playing some retro stuff, namely Mario 64 and WWF No Mercy. I have an N64 but I figured it’s always good to have an emulator or two tucked away for a rainy day so I downloaded Project64 and a couple of ROMs. I never had an N64 when I was a kid but a couple of my friends did, and I took every opportunity to play theirs. No Mercy was always one of the most popular games in my group of friends. Ladder matches in particular could last an hour easily. We were living through one of the greatest eras in wrestling and getting to relive those moments on arguably the greatest wrestling game ever produced. Due to me not having the console though I never got a chance to play Mario 64. I know how important a game it is. It, along with Ocarina of Time, really set the bar for what Nintendo could do with their marquee heroes, and while I have played Ocarina to death, Mario 64 just kind of slipped through the net. I’ve only played a little bit of it and while the controls feel a little clunky compared to modern 3rd person platformers, it is a lot fun. It still has the charm it did when it launched and honestly I’ve played games in the 20 plus years since it launched that don’t look as good or play as well as Mario’s first outing in the 3rd dimension.

Death Stranding is still perplexing me. I still have no real idea what the hell is going on. I have delved a little more into the lore through the interviews and mail that Sam receives in game. But if I’m perfectly honest not a whole lot has been cleared up. I have unlocked some grenades, so I’m not going into the wilderness of the UCA (the games version of the USA) completely unarmed. What I did find quite funny is that you can restock your supply of explosives by use of the shower, and rather hysterically, the toilet. The grenades you get through using the toilet are ingeniously named EX 01 and EX 02. A little bit of toilet humour never hurt anyone.

Unlocking these grenades did provoke a noticeable reaction in me. When I was on deliveries before getting them, I would occasionally stumble across the BTs and the fear would set in a little. I was helpless against these paranormal threats. I did everything I could to avoid being caught by them, the result genuinely freaked me out. There was something that disturbed me about the figures that emerged from that viscous, black substance that covers the ground when I was grabbed by one of the floating nightmares. Something otherworldly and alien put a chill up my spine. In talking to my girlfriend about it I brought up the way that Alien: Isolation made me feel every time that the Xenomorph caught sight of me and I went and courageously cowered in a locker, the closest analogy I could think of. But, from the first time I was able to test the effects of my urine filled explosives, the fear was gone. Now while I’m on the trails between cities, when the rain begins to fall and I catch a glimpse of a rainbow hanging upside down, the feeling of trepidation has been replaced by one of general annoyance. Now I know that I can actually do something about the encounters with the BTs, all I want to do is get from point A to point B with no hassle.

So that’s it from me, I’ll be back in a few days to let you know what shenanigans I’ve been up to this week. In the meantime you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Cheers

Lockdown Gaming

The Future’s Bright, The Future’s a Wi-Fi router

It’s the end of the working week and there’s been a lot going on. First off, Death Stranding is still stumping me, I’m beginning to piece together what exactly is going on. I won’t lie though, I still have more questions than answers, but this is one of the things I love about gaming, where you get a story that you become invested in and it sets up shop and occupies your mind. Secondly, I’ve been playing around with Ultimate Team on FIFA 20. I’ve never really been too sold with the idea of it to be honest. The idea of a game mode that is more or less completely built around the idea of micro transactions is my idea of gaming hell. But I know that you can get involved without needing to pay for it so here I am trying to build a squad that isn’t totally awful without investing any money in it, it’s almost like I’m managing a team in the bottom tier of Scottish football.

Now normally I write these posts the night before because I work during the day and it means once I get in I can give them a once over, do some last minute edits, add in anything I’ve missed and then get it posted. But, last night (June 11th), Sony finally gave us the first glimpse at the next generation of PlayStation. This is the closest any of us will get to anything that resembles E3 this year, so I have been waiting with bated breath since the event was announced. Sony did not disappoint, unless you are my girlfriend who was absolutely distraught at the lack of any God of War news. She is desperate to find out how Kratos is holding up after the events of the previous game. From new IPs to remasters to sequels, the first year or so of the PS5’s life looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. The rest of this post is going to be broken down into 4 broad categories; the good, the bad, the undecided and the console itself.

First up the good.

Spiderman: Miles Morales

It’s since been revealed that it is actually an expansion for the upcoming remaster of Spiderman but this doesn’t make it any less exciting. I loved Miles as a supporting character and off the back of 2018’s Into the Spiderverse, it’s going to be great to see Miles get a starring role again.

Stray

Didn’t get too much of an idea of what the gameplay looks like but if it looks anything like the trailer does from a graphical standpoint then it could be a sleeper hit, plus it should be fun getting to shove stuff off of tables and clawing the crap out of sofas.

Returnal

Again this one didn’t give much of the gameplay away but the core mechanic seems to be built around a time loop. Should be a lot of fun.

Little Big Planet

I played the first two and absolutely loved them, not really sure why I never got round to playing 3 but it is such a charming and fun series any addition to the series is always going to be welcome.

Kena Bridge of Spirits

The was one of the first trailers that managed to get my girlfriend to sit up and take notice. The character design looks gorgeous, the setting is beautiful and the little glimpse of gameplay looks like it could be a great addition to the collection.

Oddworld Soulstorm

I grew up playing Abe’s Oddysee and honestly spent more time trying to kill my fellow Mudokons than I did saving them. If this is even half as fun as the other Abe games then this will be a total riot.

Little Devil Inside

This is right up my particular video game street. Quirky art direction, loads of humour and enough charm to talk anyone out of their underwear. Hopefully it lives up to the trailer.

Bugsnax

I loved Octodad. It’s such a weird premise for a game and the fact that they’ve gone and made a game where bugs are actually items of food, well you had me at a strawberry with eyes.

Resident Evil 8

I’ll be honest here, I still haven’t finished 7. It genuinely freaked me out and I was getting creeped out by the trailer for 8. Sign me the hell up.

Pragmata

What the hell even is this game going to be about. I thought it was going to be a Kojima effort, such was the oddness of the trailer. But you know what, I have to find out what the deal with it is.

Horizon: Forbidden West

Now I still haven’t played Zero Dawn past the first few hours. I loved what I had played but I was sort of swept up into the launch of the Switch around the same time and never went back to it. I fully intend to go back to it. Soon. That’s how much the trailer caught my attention.

The Bad

Now I’ll preface these next few with the disclaimer that it’s not that I don’t think they will be good games or successful. These are the games that just didn’t excite me or I just flat out are not interested in.

NO GOD OF WAR

I mean what the hell Sony. Even just a 10 second teaser with Kratos saying “Boy” would have kept us going.

Gran Turismo 7

I’ll be surprised if this launches when it’s supposed to.

Destruction Allstars

Looks like a MOBA with cars. Not really fussed.

Hitman 3

Kind of lost interest in the series years ago, probably won’t be picking this one up.

NBA 2K21

Actually a little surprised that this was part of the announcement to be honest, this is pretty much going to be a 4K reskin of last year’s game with updated rosters. Plus 2K totally killed all their credibility after the debacle that was WWE 2K20

The Undecided.

Ratchet & Clank

I have nothing against the series, I just haven’t devoted any real time to it but this looks fun so I’ll probably pick it up. Or wait until it ends up on PSPlus

Project Athia

New IP from Square Enix that looked interesting at the time but I can’t really remember too much about it at this point in time.

Goodbye Volcano High

Interesting art style but not really sure if it’s a lot of style over substance.

Ghostwire Tokyo

Again not really too fussed with this one but I may still pick it up.

Jett the Far Shore

It looked a little like No Man’s Sky. It’s another one that doesn’t really stand out from the pack.

Godfall

Meh.

Solar Ash

It made me want to play Hyper Light Drifter, it looked pretty cool but will wait to check out the studios previous offering before deciding on getting this one.

Playroom

I played the PS4 Playroom twice I think. If it comes bundled on the PS5 then I’ll probably do the same.

Demon’s Souls

Once again another series I haven’t got round to playing, might pick it up, might not. Won’t lose any sleep over either decision.

Deathloop

This is probably the trailer that has divided my opinion the most. The concept intrigues me. However Sony already gave us a trailer for a game that uses the time loop mechanic. It looks like it could give us a bit of satire and humour while also giving us some solid gameplay. But, I’ve been burned by trailers before, I’m looking at you Dead Island. I’ll wait until closer to release before deciding on this one.

The Console

Let’s address the obvious thing first. Yes, it looks like a wireless router and yes, I was worried I would need to stand it up constantly. However it is probably the best looking machine that Sony has produced and it can be played lying flat. I love the white and black combination. I won’t go too much into the specs of the machine because frankly I have no interest in finding out what exactly a teraflop is and why it has any business doing it. All I need to know is that it has a UHD drive and that I’ll be able to play most of my PS4 games on it. I can’t wait to get my hands on the DualSense. Sony has always had some of the best looking controllers on the market and while the touchpad always felt a little gimmicky on the DualShock 4, it never felt out of place. So come this winter I should be one very happy gamer all round.

All in all this was a great showing from Sony, there were plenty of games to suit all fans, a few glaring omissions with at least one of them being easily explained away, what with Naughty Dog being just over a week out from releasing Last of Us 2. There’s still no word on price or release date which is a shame because it would have been nice to know how bad the dent in my bank account is going to be and when, but that info will come sooner rather than later. The future of gaming is going to be here quicker than we realise and I, for one, cannot wait.

Thanks for sticking around till the end. Drop me a like and a follow on here and you can follow my antics on Facebook and Instagram.

Cheers

Lockdown Gaming

What even is a Death Stranding anyway?

Welcome back everyone, I hope you had a great weekend doing whatever you were up to. As you read in the last post I was pushing on to the end of Maneater on PS4. Well I am very happy to report that I not only finished the story but I have now also added it to the platinum collection. I enjoyed it for what it was, a dumb eat ‘em up, but it did leave me needing something a little more substantial in the story department. Which leads me very nicely onto the rest of the weekends gaming.

There are some great sales on the respective online stores, so I was able to pick up a couple of sports titles cheap. First off Fifa 20, I’ve been desperate to give Volta a shot since launch and I’ve just not been able to get round to getting a shot of it yet, which may seem a little unbelievable considering the game launched about 9 months ago and yet here we are. I haven’t had a proper chance to get to grips with it yet but the little I’ve played has been fantastic and I am very much looking forward to playing some more in the very near future. Secondly, after getting to play Super Blood Hockey last weekend, I spotted it going for less than £5 on Switch. So I snapped it up because it was so fun. I think it will probably excel in multiplayer, but as hyper violent hockey games go I could do a hell of a lot worse. Expect both of these games to be mentioned a fair amount over the coming weeks.

Then there’s Death Stranding. I am actually at a loss for words a little bit where this game is concerned. I have been a fan of Hideo Kojima’s for around about 20 years. Metal Gear Solid is as important a series as The Legend of Zelda and Doom are in shaping me as a gamer. I, for a time, was able to complete the tanker portion of Sons of Liberty in under 8 minutes, my only real foray into the world of speed running. Hell, Metal Gear Solid 2 was the reason I finally caved and bought myself a PS2. So when, at E3 2016, Kojima announced his first game post Konami, I was excited. I saw trailer after trailer and the excitement built. Then the game released and, due to, in equal parts, a backlog, a PS4 that sounded as though it was trying with all its might to finally achieve lift off, and a lack of funds at the time, the game launched in November of 2019 and Christmas was right around the corner, I decided to leave it for the moment and told myself I’d pick it up in a sale on PSN or I’d pick it up second hand.

But that sale never came, and the lockdown happened which meant my bimonthly trip to the local game stores would be postponed for a while. It was fine though, I have a backlog that I can’t seem to stop adding to, and when all else fails I could always hook the N64 up and play WWE No Mercy, (let’s face it, No Mercy is a better option than anything 2K have put out recently, better gameplay, better story mode, and yeah it might look like garbage today but it was what we had to make do with at the time and I still love it today.) But in the back of my mind was a little voice saying, “you know you still want to play Death Stranding, you need to know why Norman Redus is butt naked on that beach. Also what’s the deal with that creepy baby, and Guillermo del Toro, and those creepy floating guys…”.

So cut to the day before I put this post up. My girlfriend and I had just come back from a walk to get some supplies, she had decided to go upstairs to do some work which left me on my own, with Death Stranding. From the moment the game loaded up and I was being asked to tweak my settings my jaw was on the floor. The photorealism on display is truly breathtaking, I mean I’ve been to places in the north of Scotland that don’t look as real as this game. I’ve seen people in real life that look as though they’ve been created using CGI and yet the characters on my TV screen look as though they are acting in a Ridley Scott cinematic masterpiece.

I’m not too far into the game at the moment but what I have played has been interesting. I’m not really sure what is going on in the story, but it has me hooked. I want to find out what the hell is going on, what the deal with the things floating about is, why is the baby in the jar important, and who Die Hardman is and why is he wearing that mask. Kojima has always been one of the best storytellers in video games. The way he can craft this huge narrative that has you wondering what exactly is happening and then out of nowhere hits you with an explanation is impressive. It helps that the games he makes are always very well performed, designed, and scored as well as written. Death Stranding is no different. I am so very much looking forward to diving deeper into this one.

Well that about wraps this one up. Before you finish up though drop me a follow over on Instagram & Facebook I share some screenshots and videos of my antics playing the games I talk about here.

Have a great week.

Lockdown Gaming

Whoa Oh Oh Oh Oh, She’s a Maneater

So another working week has come to an end as has Kratos’ quest. Baldur is defeated, the boy and I made our way to the highest peak in the Nine Realms to scatter Fey’s ashes, we finally returned home to rest but throughout the final leg of the journey we may have made some very powerful new enemies. I had forgotten a few of the finer details especially after the reveal of who Atraeus is in the wider mythology of the series, but I helped to make the second experience all the sweeter.

I subtitled the last post Father & Son because at God of War’s heart it really is a story of a parent trying to protect and teach his child. In fact, after finally gaining access to Jotunheim I queued up Cat Stevens’ Father & Son to add a little bit more sentimentality to the beginning of the final leg. It worked, my girlfriend was sat beside me totally wrapped up in the story, cursing me for the emotional gut punch. I will most definitely give the game yet another playthrough, but I’ll probably wait till the sequel is a few weeks away from launch.

So, what to play next? Luckily, that’s an easy one. I was lucky enough to borrow a copy of Maneater on PS4 from my friend. I caught the announcement trailer during E3 2018 and was immediately hooked in. It seemed ridiculous and over the top and I loved it. You have to love a game developer that isn’t afraid to do something as ridiculous as let you take control of a shark and let you eat everything that moves.

I’m probably going to do a full blown review of the game so I won’t go into too much detail about the intricacies of the game itself, but what I will say is that it is just a very fun eat ‘em up. I probably take a little too much delight in chowing down on everything the sea, bayou and river have to offer me as I progress and evolve. If most of my loved ones saw me giggling away as I munch on fish and mammal alike, I’m sure I would be asked some very difficult questions about what is wrong with me. But do I give a crap? Of course I don’t. I’m not playing this because it’s hitting me with a commentary on the fragile balance between predator and prey, or about the effect mankind has had on the oceans, (although I do agree that more needs to be done to protect fragile ecosystems). I’m playing Maneater because man tasty om nom nom.

I’m about halfway through the game at this point and while I’ve been enjoying it, it has been leaving me feeling as though I want something more. Something a little bit more story heavy and cinematic. This may also have something to do with the fact that the last game I finished thicker with story than Kratos’ beard and looked better than an E3 tech demo. I’ve got something on the back burner ready to go as soon as I’m done with Maneater and it’s a game I’ve been desperate to play for months now.

Lockdown Gaming

Father & Son

Lockdown continues, although it has eased a little here in sunny (I’m not using the term ironically for a change) Scotland. As much as I do enjoy basking in the sunshine however the siren song of gaming calls to me as she always has. I said before that gaming has always been an escape from the outside world and this week isn’t different. I still plug away on my island, Fruitville, tending to the flowers and my money trees, continually trying to work off my debt to my tanuki master. Knowing I am within 2 million bells makes it all the more tantalizing but once again Daisy Mae appeared bringing with her yet another bottomless haul of root vegetables. I succumbed to her porcine charms and dropped the 200,000 bells I had kept from the previous week’s dip into the Stalk Market. I would describe myself as the ‘Wolf of Fruitville’ but Audie has me beaten to that particular title.

Outside of being the unofficial island planner though I’ve been on a personal quest to find the highest peak in the Nine Realms. I played God of War (4) not too long after it launched in 2018 and instantly fell in love with it. It was very clearly God of War but it was something very different at the same time. I will say I did only ever play the main trilogy and even then only after they were ported to PS3, but I enjoyed them. The story was compelling, the gameplay tough but not off puttingly so, the graphics visceral and gritty. But from the moment you start this game you can tell that time has passed. Kratos feels older, more guarded perhaps. Also who the hell is the kid and why is this area covered in snow. Obviously this all becomes clear soon after the game begins.

I love the switch from Greek to Norse mythology. It makes sense that after everything that Kratos had to endure throughout his exceptionally troubled past that he would up and leave Sparta for a more frigid locale. The death of your entire family, mainly at your own hands would do that to any man. But here he finds himself, trying to live a quiet life in the woods with his wife and son. What drew me into God of War though was the relationship between Kratos and Atraeus. We all knew that he had a wife and daughter before the events of the original game, the story of which was expanded in the prequel games on the PSP and a surrogate daughter of sorts in Pandora in God of War 3. However here he is, young son in tow on a journey to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased wife Fey.

What follows is in my humble opinion the crown jewel of PlayStation’s entire back catalogue. Everything just works. The gameplay is intuitive, the graphics, especially if you have access to a 4K TV and PS4 Pro, although the first time I played it was on a then 10 year old plasma TV that worked better as a radiator than a TV and it still looked phenomenal, are some of the best of this generation. I actually had to nudge my girlfriend at one point to show her how realistic a rock formation on the side of a hill covered in grass looked. The story is simple but tremendously compelling. In a game like God of War the graphics and gameplay get me interested in a game but honestly if the story doesn’t grab me then I promise you, I am not going to care about finishing it. I’m from the generation of gamers that grew up watching Steven Spielberg movies. You know the kind that are visually stimulating but also have the kind of story that made you want to rewind the vhs and start it all over again. That’s what God of War gives you though. It’s not style over substance, its style and substance but with buckets of gore on top of that.

The supporting cast are nuanced and well performed. The game’s exposition is mainly handled by a literal talking head. Mimir provides plenty of insight without feeling overbearing and is genuinely funny at the right moments, my personal favourite being his assertion that Thor is a “fat dobber” (for the non Scots a dobber is an insult that it turns out means penis). The dwarves Brok and Sindri provide you with gear upgrades, extra exposition and more moments of levity in what can be a quite serious game at times. The main antagonist, Baldur does a fine job of being a thorn in your side, cropping up at the most inopportune times. His invulnerability does get in the way somewhat but it does make laying the proverbial smackdown on him all the sweeter when you do finally come out on top. The rest of the cast is filled out by various gods from the Norse pantheon. However don’t expect to rub shoulders with the likes of Thor or Odin here. Santa Monica are clearly building something here. I am so excited to see where the series goes from here, I just need to get the cash together for a PS5 once they launch.

At the time of writing I’m not too far away from the end of the game. Aside from a few side quests, including finishing off the Valkyrie side quest, I don’t have a whole lot left to do. I’m not going to 100% it this time, I already have the platinum trophy, a feat I managed to achieve on my first playthrough. I decided to start it over again because of how much I loved watching Kratos and Atraeus’ relationship evolve over the course of their journey across (some of) the Nine Realms. This all ties back to what I said before about needing a great story to hook me into a game like God of War. It’s what brings me back to Uncharted, Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and so many more games even though I’ve played them time after time after time. It’s the same reason people watch the same films and TV shows repeatedly, the same reason people read the same books year in and year out. We all crave a story that grabs us time after time. I know that this isn’t going to be the last time I play God of War, but what I do know is that I’ll love it as much if not more than I did this time.

Lockdown. Now With Added Gaming

So lockdown has been a thing for what seems like half my lifetime at this point. I still have to go to work as I work in the care sector and as such am considered a key worker. To combat the feeling of isolation (I live 45 miles away from my immediate family and about 35 miles from my best friend) I have thrown myself headfirst into my favourite pastime; gaming. The lockdown began on the 23rd of March here, 3 days after the most important game for most people in the last couple of months was released. I am of course talking about the behemoth that is, Animal Crossing New Horizons.

I have sunk about 4 million hours into meticulously planning out and specifically placing each of my island inhabitants (half of whom have been relocated because I had decided I wanted to be the only resident living on the main island), building a park for them to spend time in (which was very quickly moved during the great relocation of month two), planting of fauna (both indigenous and non, which was very quickly ripped up and sold because of the previously mentioned changes of heart), and finally trying to fill up my museum with all manner of fish, fossils (recently completed that one), bugs, and more recently; artwork. The art I feel is a fantastic addition to the museum but I can’t say I’m a fan of having to wait for Redd to show up when he finds the time.

I have spent quite some time trying to figure out how I feel about the overseer of my new island home. Is he a benevolent leader, lender, and friend to all of the anthropomorphised inhabitants of each player’s island paradise? Is he, as is more commonly believed, a tyrannical dictator who demands outrageous payments for little work on his end and extensive effort on your part (because let’s face it, unless you’re sharing an island with a friend or family member, every penny pumped into your island’s economy comes solely from your own pocket), is he in fact the kind of tanuki who would happily force his own children into working unacceptable hours manning one of your island’s only two retail spots? Personally I don’t think that it’s quite as black and white as that. Tom Nook is simply a tanuki who is trying to help you, the player, live your best life on your own humble slice of paradise.

The thing with Animal Crossing is that it is, at its heart, a social experience. The single player experience is fantastic and I can say pretty confidently that there are people out there who are only coping because of being able to interact with their islanders. However, where it really comes alive is when you fire it up and visit a friend’s island. My girlfriend and I, despite living together, have fully had dates visiting one another. We helped each other out with completing our fossil collections; she even likes to leave me little presents when she comes to visit. Now I know that sounds cute, but she I can assure you is evil. She has taken to whipping her shovel out and digging holes any and everywhere she can, and while she does so, she is laughing maniacally. At one point, she decided the best places for holes to be was hidden behind trees. I’ve had to resort to drastic measures and booted her from my island because it was beginning to get out of hand. Vandalism aside, it has been amazing having the opportunity to create this bond with her while playing.

More recently I have decided that my residents are in need of spiritual guidance and as luck would have it, a toga appeared in my Able Sisters store. I grew my hair out, threw on a beard and have since been walking around like Jesus in Galilee. I’ll be honest though, I thought that this stunt was going to wear thin very, very soon. I can happily say though that it has been a week since I decided to accept my divinity and it is still as hilarious a week later (although ask again in a week or so and I’ll tell you if I’m still cutting about claiming to be the messiah reborn digitally).

Gaming for me has always been an escape. An escape from reality for a few hours that has taken me everywhere from swinging between buildings in New York, to battling to save a princess from the king of the thieves, to becoming a champion at the top of the wrestling industry, to trekking through the nine realms while teaching my boy what it means to be a god. Animal Crossing has given me something different, it has helped me cope with being separated from the people I love, and has given me another reason to spend time with someone I love (despite her shovel skills).

Link’s Awakening Nintendo Switch Review

So you’ve stumbled across my blog which is amazing and thank you for getting this far. I’ve been wanting to find some way of channeling my intense love of gaming into something creative, so what does any self respecting gamer with no real qualifications do? That’s right, they start up a Twitch account. However, due to a distinct lack of money for the proper equipment and a lack of space for a proper set up anyway, I decided to start up this blog. Which you are now about to read and (with any luck) enjoy

So now that I’ve got that bit of self indulgence out of the way, The Legend of Zelda : Link’s Awakening. Yes, yes, I’m aware I’m over 5 months late to the remake of the Zelda game that is (checks notes) the most reissued handheld Legend of Zelda title to date. Not sure if that’s because the game still holds up or if its down to the fact that the original was released nearly 30 years ago.

This version of Link’s Awakening is not just a reskinned reissue of the 1991 original however. Nintendo have gone back and rebuilt the game from the ground up. There were murmurings of mutiny around the games announcement over the fact Nintendo were going to charge full price for another HD remake. But let’s not kid ourselves here, if Nintendo had actually slapped a new coat of paint over the GameBoy version we would have paid whatever Nintendo wanted, such is the impact that Link’s Awakening had on more than one generation of gamers.

The main reason why so many people hold Link’s Awakening in such high regard is that, at its heart, it’s a very fun game to play. Thankfully there weren’t too many drastic changes made to how the game itself plays.

First off, in the off chance you’ve never had to play any of the early handheld Zelda games, the Switch has more buttons than a GameBoy, a lot more. This means things like the shield and the Pegasus Boots are mapped to shoulder buttons once collected, and there are two open slots for any of the multitude of items that Link picks up along his quest. I tended to keep Roc’s Feather mapped to one of them because jumping is a necessity through a lot of the game.

Aside from these additions there isn’t a lot more to be said. It is really a handheld Zelda at heart which means combat is fairly simple, press button to slash, hold button to spin, kill the things trying to kill you. It’s kind of beautiful in its simplicity.

As I mentioned before this is more than just a HD reskin of a 28 year old game. The handheld Zelda games have always been quite distinct compared to the home console titles; with the GameBoy titles all having their own style and the GameBoy Advance and DS titles taking some cues from Wind Waker (A Link Between Worlds is a bit of an outlier here but shh you never noticed that).

It’s interesting then that Link’s Awakening somehow manages to be sort of a hybrid between handheld and home console style. It has the overall polish that you need when playing it on a TV but is quirky and has the kind of chunky feel that the GameBoy titles have. Link feels like he’s about half the size of the trees so despite the scale being a little off, when played handheld it never feels like you need to strain to see anything displayed on the screen.

The character design is cutesy without feeling overdone, each of the inhabitants of Koholint feel unique and although their faces are relatively basic everyone feels expressive and part of a bigger world. Nintendo have this knack of making games that look like they’re made from real world textures, both Yoshi’s Wooly/Crafted World are prime examples of this, and Link’s Awakening falls into this bracket. For me it feels like the entire game has been made from porcelain, there’s almost a shine to everything in game; the people, the plant life, the buildings, the pottery all glisten in Koholint’s soft sunlight.

Now if you were to ask anyone what they love most about a Zelda game, I guarantee you the most popular response will be “stop bothering me, I have no idea what a Zelda is.” However if you ask someone who has devoted a considerable amount of time on the series, many will wax lyrical about the music. Link’s Awakening has taken a page from Breath of the Wild’s book and kept the music minimalist without feeling non existent. There’s no full orchestra blasting out the main theme (think violins, cellos, and piano) but the music that is present sticks in the memory.

The sound effects have had an overhaul too but it’s pretty standard Zelda fare here. This isn’t a criticism, there’s only so many times you can here Link shout “hyah” without it kind of becoming white noise.

I’ll preface this with a SPOILER ALERT but at this point the Switch version is almost six months old and the original was released back when everything Bryan Adams was doing he was doing for you . While it’s not the weakest story (I’m looking at you Legend of Zelda), it is a little light on plot. The ending is something that’s always bothered me, the whole *does dreamy voice* it was all just a dream thing in anything always feels like a little bit of a cop out. However when the game is this charming and enjoyable it is forgivable.

For a game that is approaching its third decade, Link’s Awakening is still as enjoyable and engaging as it was nearly 30 years ago. I will most definitely be firing it back up in the very near future for a second (and no doubt third, fourth, fifth, twenty-ninth) playthrough. As I stated before I am biased because the series holds such an important place in my life as gamer, but honestly if you are looking for a gateway into Zelda you would do a lot worse than Link’s Awakening.