A Totally Not E3 Recap: Sony and EA

Posted on June 19, 2020 by

I’ve mentioned this before but I think I’m coming around on not having a dedicated E3. Don’t get me wrong, I love the bombastic energy from the 5 days and the rush of announcements is always fun. As I’ve said, it’s like Christmas for gamers.

Still, there’s so much that happens that it’s easy to get overwhelmed with new stuff and potentially miss something. Without E3 this year, it has allowed companies to spread their content throughout the summer. So instead of a five day rush, wee get pockets of excitement at a constant clip. It’s been kind of nice having new events to look forward to rather than have a news drought from the end of June through August.

As you may or may not have known, both Sony and EA had their “E3ish” events recently and naturally, we have to discuss. Here are my thoughts on both.

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Totally Not E3 2020 Predictions: Sony and the PlayStation 5

Posted on June 10, 2020 by

After a number of false starts and delays, we’re finally getting that big PlayStation 5 reveal tomorrow. Here’s hoping we finally see the console itself to go along with the controller and tech specs we learned about earlier.

ps5 event

One thing that we know will be showcased are new games. While Microsoft attempted to do something earlier with third party games, it wasn’t smooth sailing as many of the trailers were rendered in-engine and not straight gameplay. Still, it was nice to see new content. I’m hoping Sony can really showcase the power of their new system, especially with first party games this time around.

So like I did with Nintendo, I’m presenting you with my totally not E3 2020 predictions for what I’m expecting to see from the PlayStation 5 reveal event. Enjoy!

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Destiny 2 Ends Season of the Worthy With a Big Bang

Posted on June 8, 2020 by

While most of the talk around Destiny 2 has been around the Fall expansion and the arrival of the Darkness (after seven years no less!), many people may have forgotten that the current season had a more immediate threat.

For those who took a break from Destiny or generally weren’t aware, the Cabal made one last ditch effort to destroy a place called The Tower, basically the player’s home hub. Their plan was to repurpose the warship known as the Almighty, a sun destroying megaship that players essentially fought Ghaul on in the vanilla campaign, and send it crashing down into the social space.

destiny 2 Almighty selfie

All season, players wondered what the payoff would be for this story line. While the content portion of the season wasn’t really regarded well by players, the Almighty was seemingly lost behind the emerging threat of the Darkness which players could keep track of in the Rasputin bunkers each week. It wouldn’t be until the final two weeks that the Almighty would again begin to join the conversation.

The ship would progressively get larger in the Tower’s sky box each reset, finally becoming the threat that players were told it was at the start of the season. During the final week of the season, word started to come out that Bungie was planning a live event, then confirmed by the studio a day before it was scheduled to happen. Saturday, June 6 at 1pm ET. Reset time.

While most people probably thought would happen is that they’d log in and see some sort of trailer or cinematic showing Rasputin taking out the Cabal ship. I mean, Bungie wasn’t going for a Fortnite style live event right?

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Totally Not E3 2020 Predictions: Nintendo

Posted on May 26, 2020 by

It’s still hard to believe we’re not getting an E3 this year. One of my favorite things to do each year is to try and predict what each company was going to bring to the table at their various press conferences. Even though we may not be getting a show this year, I’m not going to abandon my usual practice of guessing what the future holds.

With that in mind, I’m kicking off my annual E3 2020 prediction posts a little earlier than normal because we still know that announcements are coming, just not when since no one is being held to June anymore.

Nintendo logo

This week, I’m taking a look at Nintendo, who remains my wild card company considering that we really don’t know their second half plans for 2020. The company, while experiencing record success with the Switch (especially during the pandemic),has largely kept quiet for what its releasing later this year.

Sure, we do know of a few games they’re working on like Breath of the Wild 2 and Metroid Prime 4, but potential release dates have never entered the conversation to this point.

So, let’s try to shed some light on what the company is thinking heading into the summer. Here are my Nintendo predictions for 2020.

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Ghost of Tsushima: Beyond Sold

Posted on May 20, 2020 by

It’s fair to say that I’ve been on board with Ghost of Tsushima from day one of its announcement. For me, two things really did it for me.

Ghost of Tsushima character

The first thing was that it is being done by Sucker Punch, a developer I’ve really come to love from the PS3 and beyond days. The other element was that fact that while Ghost is really unlike anything the studio has done before, the foundations of it are built on the actual historical event when the Mongols invaded Tsushima Island. I’m a sucker for games that let me play around inside of actual historical based events.

At this point, it seems my blind devotion has largely paid off as the recent trailers and announcements have all looked fantastic. However, it was last week’s State of Play presentation that simply sealed the deal.

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The Jekyll and Hyde Nature of Destiny 2: Season of the Worthy

Posted on May 15, 2020 by

Before we get into today’s topic, I want to give major kudos to Bungie and the work they’ve been doing over the past few weeks to be transparent and open about the current state of the game. Destiny 2 has a lot of issues at the moment and it’s great to know that not only is Bungie aware of it, they’re detailing ways that they plan to fix them.

Having been with the franchise since the Destiny 2 beta days, I’ve seen all of the ups and downs. Believe me, there’s been a lot. However, this current phase feels like the most open and communicative the studio has ever been, which is really nice to see.

destiny 2 warmind ana

All that said, many of the game’s current issues have been significantly highlighted in its current season. The lackluster Season of the Worthy has been an absolute grind for players and not in a good way. Here’s why.

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Recapping the Xbox Series X Gameplay Event

Posted on May 13, 2020 by

For all intents and purposes, Microsoft has been on fire with how they’ve approached their next generation plans. The company somehow managed to keep the Xbox Series X reveal a surprise during December’s The Game Awards, confirming the name and look of the console. Earlier in 2020, they were the first to show off their console’s specs, letting numerous places like Digital Foundry get their hands on it as well.

xbox series x chipset

I believe that much of this hype was also improved by Sony’s seemingly unwillingness to really talk about the PS5 as of yet. So far, we’ve seen the controller reveal and the original GDC talk, which I think missed the mark for most casual or mass market fans. Sure, the hardcore may have enjoyed parts of it, but ultimately, that was a presentation geared specifically towards developers and industry professionals and not for a rabid fanbase desperate for accessible next gen news.

Regardless, the next major step for Microsoft was games and the company was set to check that box off last week during a new event. The hype continued to grow leading up to the event where gameplay was promised. Naturally, fans were excited to finally see what the next gen would look like. As we now know, things went a little bit sideways, much to the surprise of Microsoft.

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The Absolutely Wild Ride of The Last of Us Part II

Posted on May 8, 2020 by

So far, 2020 has not been very kind to Naughty Dog and its upcoming AAA title, The Last of Us Part II. It’s stunning really.

Before we dive into the past couple of weeks, it’s worth mentioning that the game itself has had a very long and rough development history. Originally announced back in 2016, the game has suffered multiple delays, go dark for long stretches of time, and even saw longtime Naughty Dog developer Bruce Straley leave the company.

Things have not gotten better as Kotaku then pointed a spotlight at Naughty Dog’s crunch culture at the studio and how The Last of Us 2 is coming at a massive cost to employees welfare. A few weeks later, Sony announced the game was getting delayed indefinitely largely due to the current global pandemic and started automatically refunding digital pre-orders.

Naturally, the fanbase was left dazed and confused by the rapidly evolving events. Unfortunately, things were about to get much, much worse.

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Ask Gamer Crash: Spring 2020 Edition

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

I know I said I wasn’t going to do these long feature style posts anymore, but here we are! Rules be damned! You’ve got burning questions and I have the cooling answers.

GC Ask Me

Let’s dive in with an easy one!

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Hey, Hi, Hello? Where’d I Go?

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

*TAP TAP* Hey, is this thing on?

Before we dive into today’s topic I hope you’re all doing well and that you and yours are safe. This is a wild and unprecedented time we’re living in so I hope you’re all hanging in there. As we’ve been told, we’ll get through this together.

So, the question on most people’s minds is where I disappeared to. Let’s talk.

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The GamerCast: Looking Ahead into 2019

Posted on January 7, 2020 by

2020 is here and that means we now have a new decade ahead of us. While we got some great content in 2019, I have to believe that 2020 is shaping up to be even better thanks in large part to a new generation of consoles.

As I do every January, it is time to look ahead at what’s coming this year and what I’m excited about. So, it’s time to bust out the GamerCast. Basically, this is my not so subtle version of the “FutureCast” segments that weathermen use to show you what the weather is going to be over the next few days.

crystal-ball-pic

Unlike the 7 day forecast, I’m bringing you a years worth of games and hardware that should be arriving over the next 12 months. Granted, sometimes my picks don’t actually make it to the finish line, but that’s part of the fun with forecasting releases this year in advance.  Of course, if there’s something you’re excited about that I missed, let me know in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for quality games.

So as I like to say, it’s time to dust off that crystal ball and have a sneak peek into the future to see what’s coming out in 2020.

My picks await you after the jump…

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Now Arriving: Games of January 2020

Posted on January 2, 2020 by

Ready or not, the calendar has now flipped to the year 2020. On paper, the new year certainly looks to be a big one for the gaming industry as not only are some major franchises due to return but a brand new console generation is set to begin. However, that’s a story for another day.

For now we turn our attention to the month of January and what game’s you’ll be able to get your hands on. Unfortunately, this year doesn’t have a Resident Evil title to tide you over, but Capcom is instead finally bringing their smash hit Monster Hunter World expansion Iceborne to PC players.  Speaking of PC, Blizzard is finally releasing Warcraft III: Reforged as well and it looks fantastic.

Outside of that, there really isn’t a big name to kick things off in 2020. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot finally arrives and on paper it looks like it could be a winner, but the track record with this franchise seems to be spotty at best. Journey to the Savage Planet, a new IP from Typhoon Studios could also be a sleeper hit this month as well. The new development studio is made up of industry veterans from places like Ubisoft, EA, and WB Games, so this co-op FPS should be fairly interesting.

I hope you all had a great holiday and get all the games you wanted! Here’s the complete list of January 2020 video game releases. Enjoy!

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The 2019 Gamer Crash Awards

Posted on December 31, 2019 by

Welcome everyone to the 2019 Gamer Crash Awards and also a Happy New Year’s Eve to you all!

As I hinted at in a previous post, I’m doing things a little differently this year. Instead of devoting an entire month to individual posts, I’m doing an all in one style list. Fear not though, I’m going to have plenty of categories for you to consume before getting to my ultimate winner.

Gamer Crash Awards

So I hope you enjoy the end of year awards and make sure to stay tuned for the return of my crystal ball as we take a look at 2020.

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What’s New, Gamer Crash?

Posted on December 24, 2019 by

Wow, well, hello friends! Been a while hasn’t it? Things have been quite busy on my end and sadly, that means my old blog here doesn’t get the time and attention it deserves, even if I want to.

So I’m taking the time now to give you all an update on what’s been going on, offering a few of my thoughts on some games I’ve been playing, and let you know what’s going on with my annual Gamer Crash Awards, since…you know…they’ve been curiously absent.

Gamer Crash Logo

So, let’s jump in with a few very quick impressions on some games I’ve recently been playing. I’d like to do a few longer write ups on a few of them, but we’ll see if time will let me.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays everyone!

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BioShock Finally Returns!

Posted on December 11, 2019 by

Mr. Bubbles returns!

As many of you know, the BioShock franchise is one of my favorites so to hear that it is officially returning really put a smile on my face. Especially since I was hoping it’d be back in time for the next gen systems. Yes, it’s been rumored for quite a while at this point, but to get the official word from Take Two made it all the better.

BioShock Rapture

So, while they confirmed the game, they unfortunately didn’t give us much else. The press release mentioned that a brand new studio called Cloud Chamber was formed out in California, along with a sister studio in Montreal. Interestingly enough, the release also mentioned that work had just begun on the fourth entry in the series and wouldn’t be out for a few years.

I call this interesting because a new BioShock has been rumored to be in development for at least a couple years at this point. Surely, they’re a lot further than the publisher was letting on?

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