Australian Rules

So a new iteration of the Forza racing franchise is rearing it's head in the form of Forza Horizon 3. I will admit that whilst I have had little interest in racing games I ham interested in this new Forza game on the grounds that will be based entirely in Australia, with recognizable Australian locations.

But will this include Tasmania?

Flight of the Valkyrie

Still pushing through XCOM: Enemy Unknown (new one).

Funny thing is, I seem to have an abundance of female soldiers. I know the gender of the soldiers is randomly determined (well, as far as I know) but so far, out of my soldiers only one in four is male.

Guess the sisters are doing it for themselves.

Enemy Known

Things uttered while playing XCom: Enemy Unknown:

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Bullshit you can't make that shot!"

"Oh no, not these arseholes again!"

"Come on! You can more damage than that"

"Great! Now my guys are going to die because YOU missed!"

"You sure picked a good time to run out of ammo!"

"Reload!"

"We're not leaving this mission until I get all my guys out alive!"

Solider: "That did not just happen!"
Me: "You're telling me!"

I'm Stranded

So....this has been doing the rounds recently:

Original video located here. Accessed 20th June 2016

Okay, so who took Hideo Kojima's crazy meds off of him?

Yeah I know I keep breaking that cardinal sin of not 'don't get excited by trailers, wait for the game to come out instead', but this......this...is something.
If anything this is a mixture of the puzzling and the ominous. The images of the handcuffs, body scars and floating objects (humans?) are effective but on the other hand, the dead sea life and the baby makes me wonder what is going on in Hideo Kojima's head.

But having said that, I don't think I want to know.

Scorpion Wins Fatality!

So there's a new Xbox heading this way? And it's called the Xbox Scorpio?
Might as well get this over and done with then:

Original video located here. Accessed 17th June 2016

But seriously: An announcement is one thing but whether or not it has me sold is another. I have not upgraded to the XBone largely due to Microsoft's mystifying policy of 'no backwards compatibility' - Okay sure the XBone did get it eventually but in a, disappointingly, limited capacity.
And with the new Scorpio, things are getting even more puzzling on the Microsoft front as they are insisting that the console will only work with a 4k TV. That's all very well and good but what if you don't have a 4KTV? Well, Microsoft has no need for you

Which kinda suits me fine as these decisions leave me having no use for a new Xbox

God of War, I Don't Know

Well it's happened: The trailer of the new God of War game has dared to show it's face. It indicates a) an aged Kratos and b) a trek into Norse mythology.

I once remember reading that David Jaffe had plans for God of War as series in that Kratos, with each new game, would travel the world, storm his way into another mythology and slaughter all the deities within it. Now, it would seem that that plan is going ahead.

But a new iteration to the God of War series does nothing to sell the IP as a series to me. I enjoyed the first game but with each new game it is becoming difficult to connect with Kratos. Sure it may be some entertainment value to see him slaughter through anything dumb enough to stand in his way but that can only last for so long.
I've said it once and I'll say it again: My main problem with Kratos is that, as a character, there's not a lot you can do with him. As a result, with each God of War game that has followed the first one, Kratos' reasons for his rampaging has becoming increasingly flimsy and often makes him out to be a spoiled brat who would rather blame other people for his failings. Yes in the first game Kratos had the motivation for revenge but since then he's taken up slaying deities because Kratos was being jerk.
But now, the series is in a rather uncomfortable position of stagnation: the people who play the God of War series have become so accustomed to see Kratos make a bloody rampage that it's now expected. Anything less simply won't do at all.

I still stand by my declaration that Kratos needs a mirror character (hell, I've come up with even better ideas for future God of War games). Because, if anything, it's the only way I see that a God of War sequel has a hope in hell of succeeding.
So let's expand on this mirror character idea: Some nameless, faceless woman is cut down by Kratos as she was in his way. But the woman has a husband who swears vengeance. And seeing as Kratos has ascended to godhood (well he did at the end of the first game), this widower travels across Greece to try and obtain the means to slay a god. It may be a repeat of Krato's original journey but it provides a mirror - and makes the final confrontation with Kratos all the more engaging.
And better still, it provides an interesting angle on internet debates on whether Kratos can defeat anyone he is confronted with.

But sadly such idea may never be released: Why give depth to Kratos as a character when we can just have him punch out Thor and Odin?

Know Thine Enemy

Still playing Xcom: Enemy Unknown

I'm enjoying this game a lot. Much like the original, I'm finding a lot of atmosphere, the combat intense and myself getting attached to my grunts. And much like the original, I'm having a difficult time trying to micro-manage everything and finding it all going downhill rather quickly.

I know I tend to treat remakes with a degree of caution but in this case, I couldn't help myself but love this game. True it may have an uphill climb living up to the original but I'm finding some elements which are actual improvements. I like having the one base as it dials back the micro-managing significantly (not that I was any good at it in the first place). I like having an interface that actually explains what I'm doing. I like having a reduced number of soldiers to take out onto the field as it provides a degree of focus. I like the soldier customization. I like how this game is more welcoming to the newcomer and provides a clearer picture of what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.

It may be heresy to say so but I doubt I will returning to the original any time soon.
Unless, of course, I truly want a challenge....

A Walk in the Park

Lately I've been playing XCom: Enemy Unknown.

Much has been written about how the success of the original XCom relied on how the TV series The X-Files. It wasn't intentional of course: Both had similar themes through drawing from the same sources.
Having lived through the X-Files hype during it's original run, the thing I best recall is the soundtrack compilation/album, Songs in the Key of X. And in particular this masterpiece, which, I'm pleased to say, still holds up as the perfect soundtrack to alien hunting:

Original video located here. Accessed 8th June 2016

Summertime Sadness

So i was browsing through YouTube and I came across something that caught my eye: A video of a Lana Del Ray remix with a thumbnail of SHODAN from System Shock 2. Thinking it was a remix of Lana Del Ray with SHODAN's voice I clicked on the video only to be disappointed that it wasn't what I thought it was.

But know i want to hear Summertime Sadness being sung by SHODAN:

"I-I-I-I-I got that SUMMERTIME Sadnessssssssssssssssssssss...."