Open World RPG – Golden Age Gamers

Why It’s Worth Revisiting Just Cause 3

Here are just a couple reasons why you should consider revisiting this blast from the past sandbox of destruction.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

A couple factors led to the writing of this article. Just Cause 4 was recently leaked as being a possible announcement at E3 2018, Playstation Store had a great sale on the XL Edition of the game that comes with all released DLC (under $12 USD); and the recent announcement that Red Faction: Guerrilla is getting a remaster sometime in Q2 of this year. Here are just a couple reasons why you should consider revisiting this blast from the past sandbox of destruction.

The Side Content Is Worthwhile and Enjoyable

As Rico Rodriguez, the world is your playground. Sure, there are main missions that you can complete. But with so many other activities to enjoy like racing in cars, boats, and airplanes, unleashing destruction within a certain time limit, or racing against the clock as you maintain speed to prevent your vehicle from exploding, this game has plenty of fund challenges to master. Even if some may not be for you, the others will more than make up for the ones you find less enjoyable. Plus, every time you complete a mission you earn up to five gears that are used to unlock perks for Rico. Unlike so many previous open world games, this one keeps rewarding you for completing the content.

Do What’s Fun For You

Something that a game like Just Cause 3 is providing you a giant world that let’s you be you. Do you want to liberate all the different towns in the world? Maybe you love the thrill of the wing-suit like I do and jump off the highest mountains just to open it up and see how far I can glide without touching down. I got much more satisfaction out of the side content than the short and obviously padded story missions. And that’s okay, because this game let’s you do what you find fun and keep doing it.

The Destruction Is So Satisfying

Hopping into a loaded helicopter and flying into an enemy military base only to rain down missile after missile never gets old! Usually marked with red and white colors, the plethora of destructible buildings and fuel tanks provide ample opportunity to see light up the screen with fiery explosions. This game has plenty of different vehicles of destruction to choose from. Jump in a helicopter, biplane, jet, tank, or corvette and show your enemies whose boss!

Traversal Is Still Incredible

Since the original Just Cause, Rico has been using a grapple hook and a parachute to make his way around each game. Each game, the mechanic is refined and still provides a great tool of traversal while still being a blast. This iteration in the franchise is no different, and the unlocks you gain that improve your mobility while gliding or parachuting only improve the experience the longer you play.

It’s worth noting that I recently bought a PS4 Pro, and that’s possibly why I had such a good experience this time compared to when I played it when it released. From what I can remember, the game did have slightly unstable frame rate when it launched. Combined with patches and the more powerful console, the I only notice the frame rate dropping below 30 when there was a ton of action on screen. Even then, it didn’t inhibit my ability to enjoy the game immensely.

Have you played Just Cause 3 yet? Are there other open world games that you’ve revisited recently and found them to be just as good or better than you remember? Let me know in the comments!

What Games Do You Enjoy Revisiting?

What game(s) do you find yourself coming back to time and time again?

Author: Nathan Doverspike

As someone who poured easily 120 hours or more into the Witcher 3, you would think that would be it for me? However, every time I want to put this game down for good, I throw it in my system “for one more go.” Each time I do that, I find even more quests, scavenger hunts, and more to do that keeps me playing for hours on end each session. Don’t take that the wrong way: I’m forever thankful that this game keeps providing endless hours of entertainment!

Which brings me to the point of this article. What game(s) do you find yourself coming back to time and time again? Is it a sports game like FIFA, NHL, Madden, or MLB The Show? What about an expansive RGP like Witcher 3, Dragon Age series, or Mass Effect? Or maybe you love JRPG’s like the Persona series, Shin Migami Tensei, or Final Fantasy? Let me know in the comments! I can always use a new classic to return to or start for the first time!

Pros and Cons of God of War (PS4) – The Summit of Gaming

While there aren’t many things to gripe out with this game, here are my pros and cons for God of War for your reading pleasure.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

If the title didn’t give it away already, this is one of my favorite games. Ever. I don’t say that phrase often either. Only Mass Effect 2 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt fit into that category for me in the last 10 years of video games. There aren’t many things to gripe about with this game, so here are my pros and cons for God of War for your reading pleasure.

Pros

The Combat Is The Best in The Series

From the minute you were able to throw the ax at an enemy’s head, have it stick in it and freeze them, then lunge forward with a flying punch to the face, I knew this game was going to be special. You don’t get as many weapons in this game as you did in the past God of War games, but they more than make up for it with robust

The Visuals Aren’t Just Breathtaking, They’re The Best

Graphics aren’t everything. Mass Effect 2 looks slightly aged now, but I still think it’s one of the greatest RPG’s ever. But unlike Mass Effect 2, God of War looks leagues better than its competition in a way that the Mass Effect series never did. The fact that I took a screen shot of mud in the game…should tell you everything you need to know about how great this title looks.

Exploring the Worlds Is As Enjoyable As You Would Expect

With so much effort placed in making the visuals some of the best in a video game to date, just as much effort was placed in making the gorgeous locations just as fun to explore. From solving puzzles to defeating powerful foes in the late game content, I never grew bored of any of the numerous caves, beaches, or treks up a mountain. Finding new paths to take as you gain more abilities and progressively better loot was always a great time.

Extra Content After The Story

This is something that I certainly didn’t expect. I had a feeling this game would have a lengthy story for and action RPG, but I didn’t expect it to have a bunch of side quests and content that is unlocked after you complete the story. With all of this content available to complete, this game gives you reason after reason to keep playing, even after the main story is finished.

Bonus: New Game Plus Added

Did you finish God of War and ask yourself: What next? Lucky for you, Santa Monica added a New Game Plus mode that allows you to carry over all of your gear, experience, currency, and talismans to experience the story again. You also have the ability to skip cutscenes, craft new armor and weapons, and even some previously unavailable abilities will be available! The new armor sets add a wonderful twist with positive and negative effects, breathing new life into an already spectacular Game of the Year winner.

The Story

I don’t normally get emotional playing games, especially not ones that feature Kratos yelling and grunting his way through them (of which he does a considerable amount less than the previous titles). God of War redefined my expectations for this series moving forward, offering an incredible story and a very moving ending with twist after twist. I love where the story goes, and the curve balls the developers boldly throw at you until the credits roll.

Cons

Odin’s Ravens

I understand the idea behind having clever things hidden in the environment for the player to find. However, to me the 51 Odin’s Ravens scattered throughout the game are more of a pain than they are worth to find. There are other collectibles like chests, artifacts, and special enemies hidden that are far more interesting and fun to find. Personally, I wish there weren’t as many to collect or didn’t literally blend in with some of the environments to the point of being almost completely impossible to see.

Attitude of Atreus Half-Way Into The Story

This is a minor gripe, since in the context of the story it makes sense. The story is about the journey and how it changes both Kratos and Atreus along the way. At one point, I grew tired of Atreus’s attitude. I understand what the developers were doing with his character, but it didn’t make it any less annoying. Thankfully, his personality doesn’t remain this way for too long.

How are you enjoying the game? Were there any points you think I missed? Let me know in the comments!

The Pros and Cons of Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

Instead of doing a traditional review, I am making the creative decision to do a list of pros and cons for the game (hopefully with similarly positive results like those in this masterpiece of a video game). Not only does this allow me to produce more quality content in the same amount of time, but it also let’s me provide a concise list of what features stood out the most, both good and bad.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

Pros

Art Style-continuing the hand-drawn look of the first game that stands up to Studio Ghibli’s pedigree was a smart decision. This game looks just as good as the original, and possibly even better during battles and in the over-world.
Re-imagined Combat-The switch to a more Tales-like combat style that emphasizes mobility and quick decisions without the ability to pause the action mid-combat paid off. I think it is the most improved aspect in the sequel and a major reason I poured over 70 hours into my play-through.
City Building-Ni No Kuni 2 introduces a robust and enjoyable city building feature that is something other games could implement in the future. While it isn’t necessary to engaged with this system, it is well worth your time if you plan on getting the platinum trophy.
Higgledies-I wasn’t sold on the concept of Pikmin in my Ni No Kuni game, until I realized how valuable they are to succeeding in combat (in additional to be adorable). Having a Hiddledie that can boost your elemental resistance when fighting a dragon can be a difference maker, especially on late game enemies. They can also have abilities like bringing another Hiddledie to battle when they power up (Awaken), transform into a cannon with their respective element, or even boost your attack. With so many different ones to find in the world and create in your city, the variety of combinations is impressive.
Side Quests-Most JPRG’s have fetch quests galore. Thankfully, this game mixes up the objectives required to complete the plethora of quests. From getting specific items, to completing strategic battles where you control four groups of different warriors with different abilities and battle against other groups on the over-world map.
Pacing-Something that should not be overlooked in games is the pacing, whether it’s a story that drags on a dozen hours too much, or has too many points where you can’t progress without completing certain objectives. Whereas the first game did have some pacing problems, often slowing down the progression of the game to a crawl, I am happy to report that the pacing in this game is nearly perfect. It took me about 30-40 hours to complete just the main story, which to me felt like the perfect amount of time.
The Map and Traversal-I included both of these in this point since they are closely linked. The traversal in this game is vastly superior to that in the original, to the point that going and playing the original has been a tough sell lately for me. The map itself may not feel as large as the original game once you acquire all types of traversal, but the layout and getting from point to point is easy and doesn’t require too much additional travel time in between. Also, the Traps (teleport spots) scattered throughout make getting where you need to very accessible.

Cons

The Story Until The Last Chapter-I want to be very specific about this point. The last chapter in this game is phenomenal, and has a giant twist that I honestly didn’t see coming. However, until then I feel the story was slightly underwhelming and that a few of the story beats that should have been momentous instead fell a little flat. Still, overall it was enjoyable and the last chapter made up for all the previous areas that didn’t have the impact of the original game.
Strategic Group Battles-There are battles in the game where you are able to choose four groups of warriors, each with their own individual stats, strengths, and abilities, and are asked to complete objectives that normally include defeating the enemy groups. There isn’t a ton of variety in these battles, and to fully complete the game you need to grind out a minimum of 50 of these (something I am slowly working towards completing). They aren’t always exciting, sometimes have very high level requirements, and occasionally leave me wishing this feature wouldn’t have been relied on as heavily as it is for the side quests.

Those are my Pros and Cons for Ni No Kuni 2. Hopefully you are able to find these helpful and informative. Are there any that you feel I missed? What do you think of my choices? Let me know in the comments!

Four Reasons Why Horizon Zero Dawn is One of The Best Open World RPG’s

Horizon, in my humble opinion, is the best open world game that has come out in years, and here are four reasons why.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

Horizon Zero Dawn was the biggest surprise of 2017 to me. It didn’t come out of left field like Shadow of Mordor did in 2014, where I knew almost nothing about the game and absolutely loved it, but it did something I feel never fully accomplished: it made me want more even after I was completely done with all of the main and side content. Horizon, in my humble opinion, is the best open world game that has come out in years, and here are four reasons why.

The Story

Not know for their stories, open world games usually rely on their world-building and interactive environments and interesting characters. That’s why this is my first and most important reason for this game being so good. The story starts slow, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t quickly speed up after the tutorial ends around hour 2 or so, and won’t let you breath until you finish the final mission. In total, I would say I spent about 20-25 hours on the story alone, and loved every minute of it. Every twist and turn, every revelation, every boss battle was enthralling and engaging unlike any other game I’ve played in a long time.

2. The World

The world of Horizon is beautiful, and when I say beautiful, I mean look at the screenshot I took above. That is the game running on a normal PS4 on a 1080p TV. No PS4 Pro needed here, the game is a treat to look at. It’s photo mode really allows you to capture the beauty of the game by letting you take stills of the game in motion. You can even move the camera as shown above so Aloy isn’t even in the picture. The sunsets and snowy mountains aren’t the only highlight of the game either.

3. The Creatures

The nature of the mechanical beasts is a massive spoiler, so I won’t dive into that whole plot. What I will say, though, is that they are so much fun to hunt. Yup, that’s right, you get to hunt giant mechanized dinosaurs and sabertooth tigers in a video game. The giant beasts that inhabit this land are dangerous, and some are downright terrifying to fight. An ability you unlock later in the game makes them even more awesome, but you’ll have to play the game to find out what that mechanic is and how much better the game gets after you unlock it.

4. The Combat

While this is the last item on the list, it could have easily been my top choice as well. That’s what makes this game so amazing: there isn’t just one thing it does well. It does everything almost perfect, mixing so many awesome concepts and mechanics together. The combat is so satsifying. Sliding between a metal T-Rex’s legs, going in slow motion, firing arrows into its underbelly, and regaining your footing only to watch, for a split second, your arrows explode and send giant chucks of armor into the air before dodging incoming missiles and planning your next attack on the monstrosity. That’s just one example of how fluid combat is throughout the game.

I love this game! I put over 40 hours into it, and I am just over half way done with all of the side quests! That isn’t including the upcoming DLC planned for the game, that sends Aloy to a whole new area with new beasts to slay. Hopefully after reading this, you’ll go and at least watch some YouTube videos of it and eventually give it a shot. After all, who doesn’t want to ride around on a mechanical bull and slay giant T-Rex monsters?