Counter-Strike

I recently bought a game called Counter Strike. The game is a lot of fun, but I am just getting used to it. The game is difficult at first and has a real learning curve. It can be really difficult to aim in the game. Essentially the game is a first person shooter game like Call of Duty except it is on the computer. That allows the game to sell for only $15 compared to Call of Duty which typically sells for $60. This allows more people to play the game. There are many different guns and each round pits terrorists against counter- terrorists. There are several different game modes, but the most popular is a game mode in which players have one life per round and they have to eliminate the enemy team. There are also two objectives which can be destroyed and count as a win. Overall I like the game, but there is definitely a bit of a learning curve. I have not really been able to get the hang of it, but getting kills and winning rounds is really fun and cool. I would recommend this to my friends who have a decent computer because the game can be a little taxing on the computer. The price cannot be beat as well. I would recommend this game.

Mortal Combat

For this week’s blog I am going to talk about a game that my friend recently bought. The game is called Mortal Combat. I have never played any of the other versions of this game, but this one is interesting. This game has a story mode where you play all of the different characters. This is a good way to start playing the game because you get to see who you like and do not like. The best part of the game is fighting against friends because it gets very competitive. What I do not like about this game is the excessive violence. I feel as though it comes with the type of game, but some of the gameplay is pretty gross. The fighting however is very smooth and all characters have strengths and weaknesses. The story mode gets harder and harder the more times that it is completed. The benefit of this is that you unlock more and more characters as the game progresses. Plus the challenge of the fight is fun as well. I would not recommend this to a younger audience or people that do not like gore and fighting. I personally would not buy this game because it is too simple for me. All you do is fight in a small map over and over, not my type of game. If you enjoyed the last one, you will like this one too.

Xbox One

So I have decided to switch up the conversation today. In other news I am really excited about the Masters Golf tournament this weekend. It is golf’s biggest tournament and also, in my opinion, the most beautiful. This blog however, is not a sports blog so I am going to talk about a gaming console this week. I am going to talk about the Xbox One. I have always been a huge Xbox fan. I purchased the Xbox One the day it came out. Since that time I have been impressed by the console itself. I have friends that own Playstations and they just as happy as I am. I believe both consoles are good and it ultimately comes down to personal preference when deciding between the two. Both consoles have games come out they are exclusive to that platform. Games such a Halo. So that could be a deciding factor when deicing between the two. I had several reasons for choosing the Xbox One. The first was I preferred the controller over the Playstation’s. Xbox controllers feel much more natural in my hand. Second is quality. The Xbox costs more money than the Playstation, but I found the Xbox to be a more quality product. However, something that I do not like about either console is the cost of games. I believe games are way overpriced. The best way to buy games is for the computer. I personally would rather have a gaming computer than a console at this point because there is so much more available on computers. Consoles also hold back the graphics for computer games. Because games are made for consoles, developers have certain specifications that they must make the games perform at. Computers can far exceed these specs therefore they are held back. If asked the question would I buy the Xbox One again? I would absolutely say yes. There is a different to gaming with a mouse and key board compared to a controller. It is almost a complete difference. I would recommend, and have recommended, this console to my friends and I will continue to do so.

Diablo

Today I am going to talk about a game called Diablo. The game was created by game developer Blizzard Entertainment. The game is very unique. The game has gone through a lot of changes since I last played it. At the beginning of the game you choose one of several types of characters. There is a Mage, Witch Doctor, and Barbarian just to name a few. I chose to play the Barbarian because he fit my play style. The important part of the game and the part that makes it fun is getting loot. Loot drops from random mobs of enemies and bosses. These bosses are usually either demons or minions of Diablo or the devil in English. The main objective of this game is to find and kill Diablo. Near the end of the game Diablo breaks into heaven and it is your task to stop him and send him back to hell. I really enjoyed this game. I found I could not play this story line over and over again however. Recently the game has been updated with new features and loot. I think this game could be worth buying if you are looking for a new experience and play style. I would recommend this game to my friends as well.

Halo

This week I am going to talk about the game series Halo. The first game of the series Halo: Combat Evolved was released on November 15, 2001. The game can out on the Xbox and was made by Bungie and published by Microsoft. The game is a science fiction first person shooter. The Halo series, and in particular, the Halo story line have been one of my favorites ever. The Master Chief is the character that you control. You fight to protect the human race against the Covenant, the Flood, and many other threats. The Master Chief is the last of his kind. He is a Spartan, equipped with special armor. He is also genetically enhanced. This process killed many of the people selected for the process. Those who lived became super soldiers. The Master Chief is the last living Spartan and the best of his kind. The multiplayer for this game is very competitive with many tournaments taking place throughout the life of the game. For the average gamer, the online play is casual and fun with an unlimited possibility of replay. As I said the part of this game that I really loved was the campaign. Recently Microsoft came out with a new game that combined all of the Halo games ever made. They game the games updated graphics, but you still have the ability to play on the original graphics. I played this game a lot because it brought back the glory of the old games except they were updated and fresh. I would recommend this game to anyone who has not played it. It’s a great game overall.

Call of Duty

For this week’s blog post I am going to write about the game Call of Duty or COD. The first Call of Duty game every made debuted in 2003. Ever since then the series has grown in size and the game itself is more intricate. I believe I have played every COD since the second one and I have always enjoyed the title until recently. Making a game is always about the money, but I think this game takes it to a whole new level. I believe in recent years they have sacrificed quality for money, which in my opinion is unfair to the fans. I will not be buying the new Call of Duty next year because I believe the quality of the game is no longer there. I would love to know how many other people have stopped playing the game for the same reason. The game always attracts a lot of people because of the quality and playability that the franchise has had in the past. The promise of a game similar to their Modern Warfare title has brought me back for some time now. Call of Duty is a first person shooter that is famous for its multiplayer. Players come together and play in competitive game modes on different maps. There are many different guns, kill streaks, and maps. It is not a complicated game, but there are other features that make the game less appealing to me. I think the game should be simple, but competitive and balanced. I do not think there is a need for a lot of extra garbage in my opinion. If the game maker goes back to their roots I believe they will get a lot of people that bought their game in the past to return. So until that happens, I would not recommend this game to my friends.

Age of Mythology

So today I am going to talk about an old favorite of mine. The game is called Age of Mythology. This game takes you back to ancient civilizations and incorporates all the gods they worshiped at the time. The game is simple, but it has been re-mastered several times. I recently bought this game again on steam, a program, we have talked about, that is designed to buy and store games. They added a better multiplayer feature, coupled with better graphics and improved performance. About the game itself, “Age of Mythology is a mythology-based real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 30, 2002 in North America and a week later in Europe.” You control one of several civilizations including the Egyptians, Norse, Greeks, and Atlantians. In the normal mode, you start with limited resources, villagers, and a scout. You then build more villagers and gather resources. The resources include wood, gold, food, and favor. Favor is gained in different ways by different civilizations. For example the Norse gain favor by fighting. Favor is used to buy power myth units that have special abilities. Some of them include centaurs, giants, and Medusa. Hero’s on the other hand are used to counter myth units. They include notable figure such as Achilles, Ajax, and Perseus. More of these units become available as you progress through the ages. In the last age the Titan age, you can unlock one of the most feared units on the battlefield, a titan. “The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was de-throned by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus.” One of the best parts of this game is the history that you learn from it. I am interested in Greek mythology so this game was very exciting for me to play. I would recommend this game to anyone with a little free time who wants to pick up a cheap game that they can play with their friends.

World of Warcraft

This week I was slightly unsure of what to talk about. There was no tech or video games that really grabbed my attention. So, I have decided to talk about an older game that has managed to stay fresh and relevant over many years. World of Warcraft was initially released November 23, 2004. The game generates gross profit of around a billion dollars a year. Not shabby considering the game is about eleven years old now. Over that time, the game has been upgraded and graphics improved. Many people consider the code of the game to be some of the best. There have been many expansions introduced since the game first came out. All of these are huge money makers for Activision-Blizzard and they encourage players to return and play the game. The game itself is truly a masterpiece. There are a lot of incorrect stereotypes about World of Warcraft as well. The world is completely open and traveling through the whole world by foot would take many, many hours. Just to give scope, there are several continents in the game. Exploring every area of the game would be quite the accomplishment which gives credit to the creators of the game. You choose a character at the beginning of the game and choose your faction, race, and specialization. The factions are Horde and Alliance, who are sworn enemies. There are many races which include Orcs, Humans, Tauren, and Undead just to name a few. At the inception of the game, there were sixty levels. Now, players can level up to one hundred. You can power the higher level you are and you unlock the ability to do raids and dungeons. Raids and dungeons pit a group of players against a computer controlled force with bosses. These are a lot of fun and very time consuming. The other main attraction of the game is player versus player. There are many game modes and maps in which the players of the horde square off against players of the Alliance faction. I am not ashamed to say I have played this game a lot even though it has been sometime since my last login. It does get expensive to play and it takes up a lot of your time. I would even give the game a 10/10 just because it is really good.

League of Legends

I have decided to write my blog about a very popular game called League of Legends or “LoL”. This game is popular because it is completely free. There is no catch when it comes to this game. You do not have to spend money to progress or unlock certain game modes. You can however pay money to unlock champions and champion skins. League of Legends is almost always the most popular game on twitch.tv which is a site that allows users to stream themselves playing video games. Now that I think about it, this could be a cool topic for class because companies in the tech industry will sometimes have streams that’s they sponsor on twitch. A few days ago Riot, the people who make League of Legends, had a live stream with commentators for a tournament they were hosting. I was able to watch some of the event and they even had live music which was very cool. This game in particular has brought a lot of money popularity to gaming. The biggest ever prize pool for the game would surprise most people. The League of Legends 2014 World Championship help in Seoul, South Korea had a prize pool of $2,130,000.00. So at this point I am sure I have surprised you with the popularity of this game, now I will tell you about the in-game content. The most popular and competitive game mode for League of Legends is five people versus people on the Summoner’s Rift map. You are the summoner and you play a champion and control him or her on the field of battle. There are three lanes which minions, who spawn at your base, travel upon toward the enemy base. Both bases are defended by towers and by players. Players can kill neutral monsters, minions, and other players to get coins which they use to buy items that boost their ability in battle. Typically one player who specializes in attack damage plays in the top lane. In the middle lane one person who typically goes ability power plays. In the bottom lane two players are situated so that one can “support” the other player. Finally, there is a player who roams the jungle killing neutral monsters and tying to assassinate enemy plays by sneaking up on them. The game can end in two ways. First, the enemy team can surrender after 20 minutes or your team kills the enemy nexus. The nexus is equivalent to a headquarters. I do not have too much information on the lore of the game so I am not sure exactly where the name comes from. After the game has concluded, you gain experience which levels you up and you gain influence points which can be spent unlocking new champions or runes. Runes make you character stronger and would take a long time to explain in full detail. There are other game modes in the game but “5v5” on Summoner’s Rift is where all competition takes place. The makers of the game, riot, relentlessly attempt to balance the game and make sure one champion is not strong than the other or that there are no glitches in champions abilities. This has been just a small glimpse of League of Legends. There is a lot to this game and it can take a long time to understand and get good at. However, this is what makes the game fun and allows the user to play it without getting bored of the same experience.

Super Smash Brothers

This week I am going to head back to my childhood. The game I am going to talk about this week is Super Smash Brothers. The first iteration of this game was created in 1999 by Nintendo. In my experience people still play this game. It is extremely fun and competitive. The game itself allows the user to pick a character which they want to play. Some of the options include Fox, Link, Pikachu, and Yoshi, just to name a few. These characters are pitted against each on a map of the players choosing. Players damage each other with items or “smashes”. The more damage you take the farther you will fly when hit. You lose lives or points when you are hit off the map. I played this game as a child and I still play it today until recently…. Nintendo recently came out with their Wii U console. Typically I would not care about the Wii products because they are motion controlled and I do not like that. This console however has actual controllers and you can use the past controllers as well. This year I was most interested in the new Super Smash Brothers. One of my friends got the console and the game and it is just like old times except much more fun. There are new items, new characters, and new maps. Not to exclude updated graphics. The idea of the game is the same, but the feel is different. Abilities can be charged to do more damage and learning all of the characters and items can take some time. I almost always play with friends, but there is an online feature that allows people to battle over the internet either one versus one, or team battles. I found that playing over the internet had a lot of lag and often resulted in the game being dropped altogether. Nintendo is definitely not better than Sony or Microsoft when it comes to online gaming. Their games are often created for children, but order crowds may find some of the games fun. I would recommend this game to anyone especially college students because it will get a lot of use among your friends and it never gets old. The Wii U will set you back anywhere between $230- $300 depending on how much storage you get. The game itself will typically cost around $60, but sometimes you can find a sale. So if you are like me and enjoyed this game as a kid, go out and pick yourself up a Wii U and bring back some memories.

Today I am going to talk about a game that is currently in Beta called Battlefield Hardline. This game is currently available to players on console in a pre- release version of the game. Like I discussed in my first blog, a Beta is typically a free version of the game that allows the developer to test the game and make last minute fixes. It also builds anticipation for the game. People are tweeting and posting videos about the game, thus relaying their experience so far. Now I am going to get into what I know about the game so far. I have not played the Beta, but I do plan on downloading it soon and trying it out. I have however watched videos and looked at the Battlefield website. The game is made by Electronic Arts the same developer as Fifa, a game which I talked about in a previous blog post. Battlefield Hardline takes a turn from the previous four Battlefield games. Instead of being in an actual war, Hardline pits criminals against cops in the classic first person shooter. You can choose to either be the good guys, cops, or the bad guys, criminals. I think this game is a lot like Grand Theft Auto in concept, but the storyline and gameplay will be completely different. Players can choose to play the single player campaign or the “high-speed Battlefield Multi-player. You’re on one side of the law or the other—time to hit the streets.” This game incorporates new tactics that include non-lethal force and obtaining warrants for the arrest of criminals. When playing as a criminal you have grappling hooks and zip lines to scale city buildings. In this game there will be there ability to drives all different kinds of cars and even armored trucks. I feel that this change in game type could be risky for the franchise. All of their previous editions of the game have been war based. This year they have decided to change the main aspect of the game. I am sure the game will still be good because Battlefield has such a great track record when it comes to the quality of their games. They always seem to be ahead of the curve when it comes to graphics and gameplay. It will be interesting to see what weapons and gadgets that they decide to use in this game. Typically there is a fair mix of weapons manufactured in all different countries. I anticipate this game to be one of the biggest titles of the year because of it high reputation and “replayability”.

Microsoft HoloLens

I am going to take a different turn in my blog this week. Instead of reviewing a game, I came across a product I could just not pass up. It intertwines with the theme of our course because this product is marketed on social media. The product is called the Microsoft HoloLens. I can really see this product being the next generation of computing and gaming. So you can see exactly what the product looks like here is a link- http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us . The product looks like glasses in that you can still see through them but, there is a screen in front of your face. This allows the device to put images in your line of sight. Some of the features I have seen include being able to "open", in sorts, a television screen anywhere. It allows people who are building a prototype the ability to see what they are building before it is done. I honestly think it is extraordinary. I do not usually get so excited about products like this, but this device takes computing and gaming to a different place. It is on the forefront of technology. One day, I would like to see contacts that do what the HoloLens does, except without being seen. The only huge downside I can see from that is people could lose touch with reality. It could also be addictive and cause depression when the product is not on. It could literally change the world how we see it every day. This first iteration is very interesting because I can only see people wearing this device at home or at work. I think it will allow the masses to become more productive. When Dr. Burton asked us in class if we interacted with brands online I thought to myself that I really did not. I had not been on Facebook for some time before I had to for this class. I do on occasion check Twitter. I was on Twitter the other day and I saw the HoloLens promoted and I simply could not resist. The promise of a revolutionary tech product was too much for me to pass up. I liked the post and then watched a short two minute video that explained the product to me. I think this is a great example of how certain people can be targeted on social media for products. I can say I do not bite for these promoted tweets often, if ever, but, this was a great example of a tweet being advertised to the appropriate audience. I will follow this product farther into the future. I expect it to be well received by the public. Maybe this shows that Microsoft can lead innovation in the tech industry compared to Apple. In my age group particularly almost everyone prefers Mac to PC. I am one of the PC hold outs. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can target young people in the college market and get them excited about a non-Mac product.

Fifa 15

In this blog I am going to be reviewing and talking about a different video game each week. I will also be talking a little about marketing strategy that these game developers use to gain market share and make gamers aware of their game. In this first blog I will talk a little about how many companies attract people to play their games. One of the first ways is ingenious. They release the game before it is ready to a certain group of people. These are called alphas and betas. This allows gamers to play the game while also sending feedback to the makers of the game so they can make the game better for the actual release. The players get to play a game before it comes out which makes them happy, while at the same time, they will make videos and post them to YouTube so that the general public can view these videos, which builds hype. Some smaller games which are played on the computer may make use of a service called Steam. Steam is a program a user downloads and then plays games off of it. It keeps a library of games which is nice so that you know exactly what you have and it tells you when you need updates. This service also has sales. Putting a game on Steam is a great way to extend product life. It can bring new life to a game, or be the life for a not-so-well known game. These are two great tools to build hype for a game and increase revenue. I will continue to talk about different alternatives in future blogs. So let’s get to Fifa 15. Fifa 15 "is an association football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts." This game brings all of the best clubs and soccer players from around the world and allows players to control them. The consumer is able to play player versus player or player versus computer. One of the best parts of this game that I am going to touch on the most is Fifa Ultimate Team. So what is Ultimate team? It allows the user to create a team of players in any formation they want to. There is a live marketplace where gamers can buy and sell their players for coins which are earned through playing matches. This market functions almost exactly like a real market and responds to supply and demand. It also fluctuates depending on the time of day. When more people are online and trading cards prices are different from when less people are doing the same thing. It is not as simple as it seems to build your ultimate team. I have been playing Fifa for a long time and I have never even come close to getting the best players in the game much less the best team overall. This is what makes the game fun, the difficulty in getting certain "cards". Of course if you are lucky, you can acquire these cards in packs. Much like baseball cards or Pokémon, Fifa Ultimate Team also uses a digital card system. The packs are random and can help or hurt your club by buying the packs. You can hit a home-run or lose coins by buying the pack. Packs have a gambling feel to them and they can become addicting to buy. So how does Electronic Arts capitalize on this? Well you can use more than in game currency to purchase packs. Players can also use money to buy Fifa Points. So what can Fifa points do for you? Fifa points allow you to buy packs. So Electronic Arts makes money hand over fist selling content which costs them absolutely nothing to deliver. Once the game is created, they capitalize on people buying these packs. Overall Fifa 15 is a fun game I have played it myself and would recommend that anyone play it. There is a huge global following and the game is very competitive. EA also makes other sports games such as Madden which I may get to in future weeks.