thirdworldgamer

Playing through a big chunk of this game currently and I really have a hard time believing this got scores as low as 6/10 and 4/10. The game is pure spectacle and while it is no longer the 2D game most game veterans are familiar with, it is a good if appreciated as a pure action game. With every action beat I'm reminded of the God of War series, but I think this game just feels more fluid and smoother than that game. There's a lot more technique to fighting since there are various combinations you can do with the shadow whip, the void sword and the chaos [knuckles? gloves? can't remember it's official name]. Also, you can't just mash mindlessly since some enemies are well armored and you need to switch between weapons to do any real damage. The game has a ton of boss fights and each one of them is epic thanks to the really nice soundtrack. I kept thinking of the first game and what I liked about that one as I played this. To think I actually ALMOST missed out on...

Having undertaken a few weeks of hunting down my older gaming consoles, cartridges and CDs, I learned the hard way the consequences of not taking good care of your stuff, no matter how seemingly irrelevant they are at the time. It was an interesting experience to say the least. You wouldn't believe how 20+ years of ignoring an old piece of electronics can do to it. In the case of the Super NES, it turns out that (and I don't even remember this) we had 2 SNESes in our house. Maybe this is explained by the fact that I have mostly brothers with me. So maybe, back then, there wasn't really much sharing going on with the consoles and some guys wanted to play sports games and there's this other guy (me) who wanted to play those RPGs. I didn't find my OWN SNES games, well, I didn't find a good majority of them. What I did find were my brothers' games. It was a good thing though that some really important games like Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan) and Super Stre...

When I was young I had all these games and systems from SEGA and Nintendo. I didn't really think much of them, so occasionally I'd misplace them and never really kept things organized. I'd toss a controller here, an old game there....I'd ask someone to move them to another spot to make room for other things. I didn't think that about 20 years later, I would end up looking for those old things.  Now the problem is, the people who moved around my stuff are no longer around, so it seems they're all scattered somewhere in my old house (I've since moved out since I got married). There are a few stock rooms in my place and as you can imagine, 20 years is going to build up a ton of junk in those places. Who knows if my old stuff is still there! Maybe the maid threw out some of them!  So why am I obssessing over classic games? http://classicgameroom.com , for one thing. I just turned 35 a few weeks ago, too. That and seeing how everything is going digital now...

It's good to see a lot of ads for Playstation in Metro Manila. There's this gigantic streamer over at Glorietta today with details on their upcoming PS4 launch tomorrow. I guess if you're a big Sony fan here in the Philippines, times are good. Almost every bit of news out of the gaming press and forums is positive for the Playstation brand, but most of it is positive because of its potential for great games. Great games have not YET arrived for the PS4 but because of things like theoretical perfomance measurements, and comparisons between multiplatform games, it seems the Playstation 4 is winning. But until we actually see more 'must-play' games, the PS4's success isn't guaranteed yet. At least, in my humble opinion. On the Xbox front, locally it looks tough for them because of the higher price tag, but out of the gate they have some games considered as 'AAA' by most gamers. Games such as Forza 5 and the latest Dead Rising are pretty high profile...

A year ago it was pretty clear to me that the Xbox 720 (now the 'Xbox One') was going to be my choice going into the next generation. The Xbox just has the better first party series with Halo, Gears, Forza and various other MS only franchises, and it has all the third parties behind it, so I know I wouldn't really be missing out. I've been pretty loyal to Xbox for a long time and while there was a period where I gamed primarily on PS3, the reason for that was I couldn't afford Xbox Live anymore with the changes in my life (with having a kid and having even more bills to pay). I was generally OK with paying for Xbox Live for a long time but there are occassions when I wonder why I am paying a yearly subscription when I am playing multiplayer just for a few periods in a year, or only when a game has working multiplayer for a guy like me living out here in the Philippines where the Internet is just not very well structured locally. Then, a lot of stuff just happened ...

I was informed recently that the Philippines is now an Xbox Live supported region. The odd thing is, it's based on a posting by Major Nelson all the way back in October 2013: http://majornelson.com/2013/10/01/xbox-live-free-gold-weekend-this-weekend/ Starting this  Friday (4, October)  through Sunday (6, October) we’ll be unlocking Xbox Live Gold  for the below regions. If you are not a Gold Member yet, it’s a great opportunity to try Multiplayer on your favorite games. Regions include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines , Portugal, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam Your region not listed above? We’ve got your covered with the following dates: Oct. ...

...is the part where he seems really fascinated by the 'winning credits every time you race' game mechanic. Seriously, Adam?

When the launch stream for Xbone finally got started, I couldn't even make myself sit through it. Every single month before launch, it's been bad news after bad news after bad news for my last favorite system. - Forza 5 cars require ridiculous grind to get. Either that, or PAY for them with real money. - Reports of consoles eating discs. Yes, eating them. - Reports of downgrades in the graphics of Forza 5. - Really bad scores for Dead Rising. And it's no longer a funny game. - Same goes for Ryse Son of Rome. - 720p for most Xbone games The list of bad news goes on forever. On the other corner, we have the PS4. Seemingly the belle of the ball (of NEOGAF, anyway---which is regarded by most as really pro-Sony), this one had no flaws, practically, and in terms of raw power, PS4 wins, hands down. Where it does NOT win, at least right now, is with games. The only game I want to play on PS4 is Infamous: Second Son. I saw that game at E3 and it was easily the most sp...

GTA V. I don't think I need to add more superlatives to how awesome this game is. This game takes open-world action to the next level, as well as characterization and storytelling. It's the best game of this gen, right up there with the mighty Skyrim in terms of scale, gameplay quality and innovation. GTAV probably nudges Skyrim a bit because it does characters better, with a lot of dialogue and cutscenes which really flesh out everyone in the cast.  So yeah, this is the best game ever. Why the hell can't we play it in front of everyone and tell them how awesome it is? While it is a true technical marvel, an achievement for this game generation, the sad truth is, it's just too obscene and explicit at times to be a good centerpiece of gaming for all audiences. There is just way too much swearing and obscenity in the dialogue that it does get uncomfortable to play. Not because I'm a prudish guy, mind you.....just try to play this with a straight face if you...

At E3 2013 there was a lot of focus on online modes and multiplayer for most of the new games coming out on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The biggest games of the show, Titanfall and Destiny, are largely multiplayer driven, with their core gameplay clearly linked to the ability of your console to go online and connect with other players. Major developers like Vince Zampella of Respawn Entertainment have gone on record to say that it isn't worth spending several years to make a single player experience that players can break down in mere hours. Online functionalities in games are expanding with these new consoles; developers are focusing on multiplayer because it keeps their games relevant, and it keeps from players selling their games back to stores like Gamestop, which is bad for developers (in terms of keeping their games continuously profitable). I think that this focus on multiplayer is actually a bad thing. This approach isn't something that hasn't been done before...

I really enjoyed the first GRID game on the console. What I liked about that old game is how expressive it was about automobile racing. Instead of going for complete realism, it went for exciting moments. It had AI that weaved and bobbed about like real players. It had active environments that made every race truly exciting. That philosophy continues with GRID 2. On a decent PC this game is the most beautiful game you've ever seen. It does a lot of stuff that makes each racing sortie all the more interesting and fun, and it does it in very minute details that only make sense when you put them together in a complete package. The handling model is simpler than sims like Forza or Gran Turismo, but it never goes to the extreme control style of the latest Need for Speed game (Need for Speed Most Wanted). Somehow they found the perfect balance here, allowing you to drift and glide through corners but still requiring you to follow good racing lines to win. You'll be doing a lot of...

After the festivities of E3 I bought my wife a laptop. Originally we were debating if she should get a Macbook Pro or a super powerful gaming laptop; in the end.... The gaming laptop won. More info: Asus G46VW I've been spending a bit of time playing Grid 2 on this machine and I am unbelievably, madly in love with it. I want to take it away from my wife already. The PS3/Xbox 360 haven't been seeing any action thanks to this guy. In the United States this laptop is seen as a mid-range gaming laptop. When you bring it over here to the good old third world, this thing is a monster. It plays Grid 2 on High settings at over 60 FPS (or more, if you turn off V-sync). The image quality is insane especially if you turn up the anti-aliasing. I'm just floored by what gaming PCs are capable of now...even more floored that more PCs like this aren't available here locally. In the US this thing is about 38k; it's really hard to find here in Manila and if you do find anythin...

Just saw this on Facebook... http://www.gamesreviews.com/news/06/ps4-online-blocked-for-countries-without-a-store/ If true, this is pretty disappointing. The press isn't making that much noise about this news and frankly I only heard about this today. Why would Sony want to do this?

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update In summary: - "Always online" requirement removed - Region locking DISABLED (all games will work on all consoles regardless of regions) - Game sharing/trading will work again Gamers made a lot of noise and it made a difference! That's unprecedented and has never happened before, and I never thought it would especially with Microsoft. Posted this on NEOGAF and will repost it here again, in appreciation of Microsoft's gesture: ============= http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=64887501&postcount=728 I know Microsoft reads on GAF so I might as well put this here. Thank you Microsoft for listening to all the feedback. As a gamer in the Philippines and part of an Xbox community here, we were all 100% upset with all those policies, particularly the country locking "feature". I just woke up today and all of this sounds like a miracle. I am very pleased with this news and look forward to playing on the Xbox...

Writing this on the bus, on the way back to the hotel. Expect bad writing and stream of consciousness-style, disorganized text. hey i'm not a journalist! So i dont have to care haha. I planned on spending this day entirely in lines. You see, E3 has several types of demos: - The playable demo. Basically it's a kiosk where you can just walk up and play. - Guided demo. This is where the developer plays the game for you while you are seated with a bunch of other people. Since they can only fit a few people in the room where they do this, very long lines are quite common. - Stage demo. This is where the developer takes the stage of a very big booth and just talks about their game. - Press Conference demo. This is where all those wonderful GIFs on the internet were made from. I have seen one to three, live. The fourth one, well, only on the internet. The press conferences are only for press. And for this attendance to E3 I was doing it as part of a business trip. Long story w...

Hilarious. Apparently Microsoft's ultra draconian DRM just hit one of their best developers. This is the goofiest mistake I've ever heard of. CD Projekt, Welcome to THIRDWORLDGAMER. Apparently you're one of US! Haha! http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124997-Xbox-One-Surprises-Witcher-Dev-Skips-Poland-At-Launch

After the previous news, I decided to message Microsoft myself.  First, to see if I will get the same reply.  Second, to let them know that they actually have customers in the Philippines!  Here's what I got... So what does this mean?  XBOX Support DOES NOT KNOW if the XBOX One will run on a country that isn't supported by XBOX Live or is in their launch list.  The question is a valid question considering there are a lot of Filipinos who bring back consoles bought in the US. So does it change anything?  Not really.  It's still a wait and see but things heavily stacked against the XBOne

I woke up today with a splitting headache. Took some paracetamol. I think yesterdays fanfare burned me out a bit. I can't stop talking about how far distances are here in LA. You look up a place on Google Maps, it looks so near....then when you're actually in the place where you want to go, holy crap---you have to walk what feels like a football field just to get to a restaurant. And that's the other thing that bothered me about E3. You know how in Manila it seems like every McDonalds is within reach, and you'll always have access to inexpensive food? Not the case with E3. All the food in the convention center is expensive, and all the food outside of the area is the same deal. If you have to plan to go to E3, be ready to spend some money. That's the thing. You're spending for the equivalent of walking all that way for a cheap deal and tiring yourself out. Do you really want to get tired when you have to walk the entirety of the LA Convention Center for a wh...

Following the news of XBOX One 2014 release in Asia, some people have more or less confirmed that XBOX One WILL NOT WORK in unsupported regions. Even if before you live in an unsupported country like the Philippines but buy original games and make an XBOX Live account for the US and SG --- THIS WILL NO LONGER WORK! I REPEAT!!! Methods for playing the XBOX 360 will not work on the XBOX One.  Considering that XBONE has to be online at least once every 24 hours, the console is good as dead in gray markets. NICE KNOWING YOU MICROSOFT.  I had fun with the XBOX 360 but time and time again, you remind us why you don't want our business.  Perhaps unsupported countries are not rich enough or refined enough for your tastes but the fact exist that there is a market out there that you are completely throwing under the bus. Yes, our money is better spent elsewhere.  PS4 & WiiU  See you on the holiday 2013. Image sources:  http://pixelenemy.com/e3-...

Just helping Google spread the word on this problem (hopefully search engines / spiders catch this) This article I posted earlier possibly implies that the Xbox One won't work if it is located in an unsupported country.  The new device will only be available in select Asian markets – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India – pegged as high-growth markets for the region’s booming gaming industry.  This year, the Xbox became the top-selling console in Asia, according to Mr. Bowman, with revenues growing 20% year-on-year. You know, they should probably go back to Geography class. Those four countries don't all represent Asia. Why don't they just label them as 'Outside United States' countries? Why say 'Asia' when they don't even include all the countries here as well?