Is The PS Vita Right For You?

Planning on picking up a new portable console? Toying with the idea of picking up a Playstation Vita? If you are, and you stumbled in here looking for peoples opinions, then let me give you my two cents!

I’m not gonna lie! The Playstation Vita is great! I love my vita! It’s a powerful game system, and the graphics are superb! In fact, Vita games look as good as PS3 games, and sometimes better! The only drawback? There’s not a whole lot of games being released on it, aside from indie games! AAA titles don’t get released anymore for Vita. The folks at Playstation announced a few months ago, that Exclusive AAA titles won’t be making it to Vita. Which means you are pretty much stuck with Indie games, and the occasional console game tossed to us(Usually Lego or something from Tell Tale Games).

As for exclusive games, well there’s a few good ones that came out before they quit making them. Uncharted: Golden Abyss, killzone mercenary, call of duty black ops declassified, resistance: burning skies, little big planet and that’s pretty much it!

Sure, there were a few other titles like Assassins creed: Liberation, Arkham Origins: Blackgate and such, but they are also later released on console.

So, is the Vita worth buying? At the time of this writing, the going price on Amazon was 167 bucks. That’s a lot of cash for something that is pretty much dead in terms of new exclusive content. Why waste your money? A Nintendo 3DS is currently 196 bucks, so for 31 extra bucks you can have a portable system that’s still heavily supported. Does it look as nice as a Vita? No,  most 3DS games don’t look as nice as Vita games. Still, they DO look good! Plus they have 3D! There’s also tons of exclusive games being released regularly.

So, while the Nintendo 3DS isn’t the most powerful portable game system, it is the better option in my opinion. Even a Nintendo DSi would be a better option honestly.

Another option, if you have way too much cash on hand is the NVIDIA SHIELD Portable which will only set you back about 500-600 bucks, but will also let you play PC games and Android games on it. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the price of admission, since PC games are better played on larger screens. They weren’t made for hand held gaming normally.

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Uncharted 4 – PS4 Game Review

I’m just going to cut right to the chase! Uncharted 4 is incredible! It’s easily the best game of the franchise and in my opinion it’s the best game currently out on the PS4! In fact, I would go so far as to say that Uncharted 4 is the best game I have ever played! Now, granted that might change next week when Home Front Revolution is released, but at the time of this writing, it is the best game I have ever played!

The first thing you need to know, is that this is supposedly the final chapter of the Uncharted series. I say supposedly, because franchises have a habit of continuing past their final chapter(I’m looking at you Mass Effect!). Since it’s the final chapter, I guess Naughty Dog Games wanted to take the series out in style! The brought back all our favorite characters like Sully, Nate and Elena, then went and introduced a few more!

In terms of gameplay, it doesn’t really stray from the tried and true Uncharted formula. So, expect to be climbing cliffs, jumping across rooftops, finding collectibles and stumbling through tombs and ruins in order to achieve your goal. It however did add one new gameplay mechanic, and that’s an all-purpose grappling hook that will allow you to swing across chasms, jump punch enemies, pull items and reach hard to get places. It’s so handy that you will wonder how Nate got around without one before now!

The game really does have everything! On top of all that, there’s optional dialogs which give the game almost an RPG like feel to it, and keeps the gamer looking around for those “Optional dialog” moments. They could be anything from a companion with a speech bubble just wanting to chit-chat, to some interactive chairs that lead to a brief heart to heart discussion. Then, there’s also that kinda cool easter egg!

Vehicles are also now a major part of the game! Past entries in the Uncharted series had vehicles, but they never played as big a role before as they do now! Also, the driving segments are much more enjoyable than they were in Uncharted, Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3..Although Uncharted 3 had horses! I miss horses!

If you are curious how much time you should set aside to play this masterpiece? Well, the game is fairly long! It took about 14/15 hours of gameplay to complete, but I spent a lot of time hunting down collectible treasures. Still, it took me longer to finish it, than it did to complete any of the other games in the series. Your time frame maybe less, or even longer, but that’s a general idea of the length of the campaign. Plus, once you finish the campaign, you have a Multi-Player mode that you can participate in! Be a hero, or a villain, and swing around maps collecting treasures and blowing up your enemies! Use your treasures to hire sidekicks, and other nifty upgrades! I have only lightly dabbled in the MP mode, since I am more of a single-player/story-mode gamer, but from what I have seen the MP mode is very well done, though I did encounter a bug which freezes the game during the introduction/tutorial of the MP mode.

When all is said and done, this really is a must own for the PS4!

 

 

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Unofficial Uncharted Timeline

Uncharted 4 is due out very soon! This got me to thinking about Uncharted, and made me go through the franchise and get caught up, so that it’s all fresh in my memory, and thought I would share with you what I interpret the order to be in the franchise.

This is in no way an official timeline, in fact many of stories outside of the main game series can be read/played in any order. They don’t specify what period the tale takes place in. I just prefer them in a certain order based on the lack of certain characters and so fourth.

So, without further ado: The Unofficial pre-Uncharted 4 timeline(or the best way I prefer to experience the saga)!

Uncharted: Eye of Indra (Motion Comic) – I generally assume this is the first story in the Uncharted setting, since it has Eddy Raja and Nathan Drake as friends, where as by the first Uncharted game they are bitter rivals.

Uncharted: The Fourth labyrinth – This book never really specifies when it takes place, and doesn’t really have anything to do with the series. The book follows Nathan, Sully and a new character named Jada as they search for 4 ancient labyrinths!

Uncharted Comic – Another stand alone story, and no real time frame is stated but since it has Drake meeting Chloe for the first time, and still working with Flynn, one can safely assume it takes place before Uncharted 2. It feels like a story that fits in right before the golden abyss.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss – This PSP Vita game has a whole bunch of new characters not present in any other Uncharted medium!  The game could literally take place anywhere in the series, though I like to assume this takes place right before the first uncharted game. That way all the console games fit nicely together.

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune – The game that started it all! Nathan meets Elena for the first time as Nathan and Sully go on a quest for a city of gold! Available on PS3, or in the remastered collection on PS4.

Uncharted: Among Thieves – Features Chloe and Flynn working together again…just like old times! Available on PS3, or in the remastered collection on PS4.

Uncharted: Drakes Deception – The gangs all here and Cutter too! Chloe, Sully, Elena and Nathan all work together to seek out the Atlantis of the sands! Available on PS3, or in the remastered collection on PS4.

Uncharted 4: A thiefs End – Not a lot is known right now about this upcoming PS4 game. We do know Nathan and Sully are both in it though, and apparently it’s the last game in the series. It’s also a safe assumption that it will follow the events of Uncharted 3: Drakes deception. All of the core games play in chronological order with the exception of a few flashbacks….There’s no reason to assume this will be any different.
NOTE: I never played Uncharted: Drakes Trail, as it was on a European website, and existed before the first game came out. It was an ARG as far as I know, that detailed Elenas search for Uncharted prior to the first game. Still, I haven’t played it..so can’t be sure..so not adding it to the timeline.

Oh PSN, Where for art thou PSN?

Image via Wikipedia

It’s been nearly a month since PSN was hacked and taken offline. SOE has stated, that PSN as well as their other MMORPGs, will remain down, until they are confident that this does not happen again, and of course people are complaining about it left and right.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t enjoy the outage anymore than you. I do however understand the need for, and realise that the world doesn’t revolve around me and my gaming needs. I would like to hop on to PSN and play a little Black-Ops, I would like to Download the next chapter of the episodic Back to the Future Game and I would like to play EQ2. However, I also would like my information secured, and I believe that takes priority.

Many people however don’t feel that way. Whiners and cry babies, who are fed up with the online outage are trading their PS3s in for an Xbox 360. Smart move? Not really, I mean the system hasn’t even been down a full month, and while it is frustrating, if it’s a system you enjoy, then just wait it out.

This may come as a shock to some gamers, but there are games that can be played offline. Even the games you play online, probably has a single player campaign mode. So play it to hold you over, get better at the game. If all else fails, pick up a book and have a read. That’s what people used to do once upon a time.

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