Video Game Tuesday: Warmind

This week for Video Game Tuesday I’m covering what we know about Destiny 2’s latest expansion. It’s all about Warmind!

Warmind?: Yeah that’s the title of the next expansion, and frankly the only sure thing we know about this. However there are reports and possible leaks by retailers like GameStop that gives us a look at what it’ll actually contain.

New Enemies: Yay? Frankly I could give less of a shit at this point about new enemies in Destiny 2. They weren’t significantly different from Destiny 1 with only a few additions to the already limited types of enemies. Supposedly the new enemies are called Crypt Exos, which may mean we face things that are roughly “Guardian” shaped and sized and have to fight more traditional humanoid enemies. Again this isn’t really a big change and if anything only more boring.

New Area?: We’re headed back to Mars, whether it’ll include areas from the first game is unknown but highly likely given what we know about the backstory of this expansion which is supposed to deal with the Clovis Bray facilities we last raided during the Dust Palace strike in Vanilla Destiny (If you played on the PlayStation at least). Again I don’t particularly care at this point, but even if just is the same map, which wouldn’t surprise me and I wouldn’t put past Bungie to just copy paste into Destiny 2. Frankly while Mars was an interesting location, like all of Destiny’s various locales it was fairly with sparse enemies. At least if they copy paste the map from Destiny into Destiny 2 we should be able to use our damn Sparrows.

Raid?: Nope, we are supposedly getting another “Raid Lair” activity. This is highly disappointing. At least the Dark Below gave us the Crota raid even if it was ,and still is to the best of my knowledge, a buggy mess.

Horde Mode?: Another thing we are supposed to be getting, and frankly again really disappointing. Firefight hasn’t changed all that much since the Halo ODST days and Prison of Elders wasn’t all that different from that mode Bungie first made in 2009. I’m expecting nothing more, and just more disappointing stuff.

Story?: Supposedly we’ll be getting a story, but again I find that I just don’t give a fuck anymore. None of my friends regularly plays Destiny 2 anymore and I’m not suprised in the least, because it’s a freaking terrible game.

That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday.

Retro Game Friday: Red Faction Guerilla

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a game I got for free! It’s Red Faction Guerilla!

Plot Synopsis: Alec Mason, a mining engineer, arrives on Mars Tharsis Region to reunite with his brother Dan and begin a new life. While on work detail, Dan testifies about the Earth Defense Force’s (EDF) cruelty to the Martian people and asks Alec to join the Red Faction, of which Dan is a member. Dan is soon after gunned down by air support from an EDF assault team. Alec is rescued by Red Faction guerrillas and reluctantly becomes a freedom fighter.

Plot: The plot isn’t super amazing, but it’s pretty good. That being said the real draw of the game was it’s gameplay.

Characters: They were fairly bland, even Alec isn’t that interesting and that’s always a bad sign for a story.

Gameplay: The gameplay however was quite fun and allowed the player to destroy any building they pleased including bridges or catwalks, which could lead to lots of fun. While the story mode isn’t super interesting it did have an open world that allowed the player to go around destroying any building they wanted. The Nanite Rifle in particular was an amazingly fun gun to use, although ammo was very scarce unless you cheated and enabled infinite ammo.

Art: Not amazing, but not too bad compared to Gamecube or Nintendo 64 era games in terms of aging.

Music: Sorry don’t remember a thing about the music.

Overall: If you can get this game cheap, you definitely ought to try it out for a few laughs.

For those who like: Third Person Shooters, Open Worlds, Destroying Everything.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Anime Sunday: Gundam Tekketsu no Orphans Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m taking a look at one of the break-out series of this Fall 2015 season. It’s Gundam Tekketsu no Orphans Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: The year is Post Disaster 323. More than 300 years after a great war between Earth and Mars known as the “Calamity War”, Mars has been successfully terraformed and colonized by humans. However even with the technological advancements, the humans on Mars crave freedom against the government of Earth and seek to improve their livelihoods. Furthermore, while most of Mars’ nations have received autonomy, the planet is virtually dependent on Earth for economic development. A young orphan named Mikazuki Augus is part of a group of children who work for the civilian security company Chryse Guard Security, entrusted with the safety of the Martian Princess Kudelia Aina Bernstein, who has plans for her nation of Chryse to secure independence from Earth.

Plot: Where to begin with this one. Well I guess this is Sunrise’s take on what the atrocity we call Child Soldiers. It shows the absolute brutality that is ever present in their lives and what they have to do to survive. It’s not a pretty picture making this one of the most grim Gundam series ever. It’s most certainly not for kids. I thought Gundam Zeta was bad, and I’ve heard that Gundam Victory is so depressing that I can never actually watch it for fear of it affecting my personal struggle with Depression. Gundam Tekketsu no Orphans takes all that and tops it by a huge margin. I’m a little surprised that they got the go ahead to actually make this series. Now this isn’t to say the series isn’t good, in fact everything I’ve just mentioned makes this series one of the best Gundam series I’ve ever watched. There is nothing cheesy, there is very little humor and it’s purely serious to a degree that is refreshing after Reconguista and AGE.

Characters: Orba and Mikazuki, called Mika by many, are the show’s male leads and while Kudelia doesn’t show much of her face in this episode I hope to see her develop into a strong character. Orba is cruel and vicious to those who raise his ire, but is loyal and protective of those under his command and protection, which is mostly a bunch of kids younger than him. Mika is his best friend and the ace pilot for this Gundam series. Mika has very little emotions show on his face, in fact I’ve rarely seen such an emotionless character. This makes them incredibly strong leads and great foils to one another. Kudelia will be an interesting wrench to throw into the mix for them and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Art: It’s amazing, and while it’s not ufotable quality it is the best quality animation Sunrise has produced in years. Reconguista was a travesty and looked like it was produced in 1970 rather than 2013. AGE wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t nearly as good as this.

Music: The musical score is amazing and epic. In addition Man with a Mission performs the opening theme and does an amazing job with it. It’s not the first band I’d have picked for this series, but it’s not the last either.

Overall: This is looking like it will be one of the best Gundam series in decades and is a must watch for all Sci-Fi and Action lovers.

For those who like: Drama, Action, Sci-Fi, Mecha, Gundam, Amazing Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Great Artwork, Excellent Musical Score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate it?