Blogs - SimonSays

The five games presented below were the games released this year that I played to completion (with the exception of Alien Isolation which was released Fall 2014.

These five games were the experiences that stuck in my mind while I was at work or out and about away from the computer. Life is Strange in particular had me thinking about it's story and choices I had made for even a few weeks after I finished it.

5. Life Is Strange - Playtime: 16 Hours - Brilliant choose your own path adventure game with a great visual style - reminds me lots of Donnie Darko only set in the new millenium. Some of the puzzle elements fell flat, and the writing at times felt a little cringe worthy especially with some of the dialog. But the plot and pacing kept me interested all the way through.

4. Deus Ex Revision - Playtime: 38 Hours - A highly enjoyable and lengthy update for the first Deus Ex. The new city levels are where the spectacle of the mod is as they are large redesigns of the original maps that look and feel more like real places now. But the subtle lighting and the retooled soundtrack are the highlights for me as they give the overall game a more cohesive and cinematic style.

3. Dying Light - Playtime: 30 Hours - took me by surprise and didn't let go until the very end. Usually I get tired of this style of open-world design, but the minute to minute gameplay combined with the excellent mission design kept me playing until I finished. The first person running and parkour mechanics feel so natural that I wish they were the standard for all first person gaming.

2. Alien Isolation - Playtime: 27 Hours - OK so this was actually released Fall 2014 - but I didn't buy it until February 2015. The only game that has compared to System Shock 2 in terms of both how believable the world is and the sheer terror felt because of this. The Outlast games may have scared me more - but Alien Isolation accomplishes so much more than just tense chase scenes as it is an authentic replication of the visual style of the first film. Seriously this is the only time a movie license has been done true justice - the game hits all the same marks that the first movie did.

1. Grand Theft Auto 5 - Playtime: 79 Hours - I really enjoyed GTA5 and I could use this space to say what I liked and didn't like about it - but it is deservedly the game of the year for me. I spent a lot of hours playing through the missions in this game and spent just as much time taking in the sights and playing with in the free form sandbox provided. The city presented is nothing short of stunning - the sheer attention to detail that becomes apparent from the first person perspective blew my mind away. Like Alien Isolation the world just feels believable in a way that previous GTA games barely touched. Is it a perfect game - not in the slightest, but it is a very good game with some of the best production values on display for 2015.

Deus Ex Revision - Review

I've put nearly 40 hours into Revision - more than double the length of my last Deus Ex play through three or so years ago.

Part of the reason for the added length is that I played on Realistic difficulty with the vanilla rule set and it was at times punishingly difficult (snipers were particularly difficult to deal with).

I was initially trying to play non-lethally but ended up abandoning that approach just before getting captured by MJ12 when I ran out of tranq darts and electric prod ammo.

DX:R improves the original quite a bit visually - the new city levels feel more "real" than their vanilla counterparts. Hell's Kitchen feels more like a place now rather than a giant box with some more boxes built inside of it. The biggest highlight for me was outside the Paris Cathedral - simply stunning.

However at times the level changes do not work with some of the spoken dialog or direction in the game - for example finding Smuggler proved to be far more difficult this time around due to what could now be perceived as misdirection by an NPC.

In addition to the major overhauls of some of the more ambitious DX areas - the developers made the correct choice of making minimal changes to certain areas that we're either perfect before or would be redundant to redesign. Thankfully - lighting, texture and clutter tuneups have been applied across the entirety of the game and this really makes DX:R standout against the original. The lighting in particular is far more focused with better static shadows across the board (Unatco HQ in particular has some of the best lighting I've seen in an Unreal1 engine game).

One of the biggest ways that Revision changes the DX experience is by dramatically altering the soundtrack - though it does retain the original for anybody who does not want the updated music. I personally love the new music- it retains much of the cyberpunk aesthetic and melodies presented by the original but is delivered much more organically which lends to a cinematic style that matches what is happening on the screen better than the original tracker score.

Revision still retains many of the idiosyncrasies of the original game as well as a few of it's own. But overall the game has been given an incredible face lift complete with updated geometry, AI placements, secrets and was designed with the high resolution texture pack in mind.

For the most part it kept me on my toes and forced me to approach situations with cautious regard instead of on autopilot - I died far to many times to count. However this made it rewarding to play as each time I pushed through a difficult area it was due to choices I had made with the resources available.

In that regard it is easy to recommend Deus Ex Revision as the new way to play Deus Ex for returning fans - as the new levels at the most basic function provide a new environment to test out the gameplay systems present in DX. And for new players - they won't have to deal with the drab and boxy environments of the original*.

On the whole I would and have recommended Deus Ex Revision to my friends.

*Nothing against the original levels - I've played DX more times than I care to count since it's release but I have always found sections of the level design to be drab/boring and boxy as if they were designed for function.

If anybody is looking to play a classic Warren Spector game while they wait for DX: Revision - GOG released the enhanced edition of System Shock.

If you can get past the dated early 90s graphics (I think they're awesome - I first played the disk version in 1996) it is well worth playing.

If you've only ever played Shock 2 or Deus Ex don't go in with the approach that it will be exactly like those games - due to the date of the game it is more simple and lacks the statistical role-playing element that came later with Shock2 and DX. However for the time it was the most complex world simulator I had ever experienced. For instance even though Duke3d put me on an LA street with a great sense of scale for the day - it's levels still felt like levels. System Shock felt like a space station and had a depth of movement (lean at various heights, crouch and jump) that gave the environment a sense of place that other FPS games lacked. It is still the best example of creative design within the limitations of the tech of the time.

The enhanced edition offers updated controls, widescreen resolution and mouse look in addition to some bug fixes.

This is a Must-Buy game if you are a fan of Deus Ex, System Shock 2 or even if you are a fan of the newer entries in these series (DX Human Revolution, Bioshock) - though if you are a new comer you may have to adjust your eyes for the early pixel art of the game I personally think it still looks good - not to mention I've got it working with my VR headset and it is pretty interesting to peer into a world that dated.

System Shock Enhanced Edition - GOG

So recently I got a Vigica VR Headset - it is basically a plastic variant of Google Cardboard.

For those that don't know - Google Cardboard essentially mimics the VR effect of machines like the Oculus Rift for the cost of a decent meal out. I have not experienced the Rift - so my experience in comparing the two systems is limited to the comparisons I've seen online.

The biggest difference between the two I've read is that the Rift sits more on your eyes where as the system I am currently using sits away from your eyes as evidenced by a border around the image projecting into the lenses.

With that in mind - I am still completely in awe of the effect produced by this system. I've used the various apps that can be downloaded off the google store - the best one being CMoar VR Cinema 4.0 where I've watched a few movies (Insidious was beyond frightening). But the phone apps are essentially just gimmicks that are played and then forgotten (although the CMoar cinema does actually do 3d movies really well).

The best VR app for the system is called Trinus VR which streams your PC games to your phone for use in a Google Cardboard VR headset via WiFi or USB Tether. I use the USB tether as I find the head tracking is to buggy to be turned on and WiFi has some latency issues.

I've tried numerous games in this setup - GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, System Shock, System Shock 2, etc. etc. etc.

It is incredible - the experience is so immersive and upfront that I have started playing through the Bioshock series in its entirety like this. It is not a perfect system and I can only play it for an hour at a time or I find I get a little light headed. But for 40 dollars all in (the cost of the headset with remote and two paid apps) the value is incredible and I would recommend the experience to anybody interested in getting into VR that is still cautious regarding the cost and setup involved in the more expensive alternative.

Is it an Oculus Rift killer - no... not at all, but it is an incredible experience that I think everybody should give a shot (everybody I've showed it to has been impressed with it - especially with the 3d movies and an app that puts you on the stage with Paul McCartney).

Recently the Fallout 4 trailer debuted - it rekindled my interest in the series once more. I have played Fallout New Vegas to death - logged more hours into it (modded) than I care to count. But I barely touched Fallout 3 after I beat it - and never played any of the DLC.

After watching the recent trailer I decided to replay Fallout 3 - I even gave it a couple hours, but just couldn't get past the stupid VATS combat and a couple of other interface issues. So I went about going to mod it - in my search for how to make F3 play more like NV I happened upon A Tale of Two Wastelands (currently version 2.9.4).

Imagine my excitement when I read that I could play both games in a single play through and even jump back and forth between the Capital Wasteland and the Mojave Desert whenever I felt like it. So I took the time to install it as well as a few mods that are requisites for my enjoyment of the series (Darnified UI, Realistic Chem Addiction/Effects, Project Nevada, Unofficial Bugfixes, etc.) - and it works perfectly. It did require me to read through all the readme text files for each mod, browse the forums for the correct patches and conversions, and at points sit and wait while it installed.

I have put about 8 hours into so far and have completed a fair amount of quests while having only explored a little bit of the wasteland. The difference between the Fallout NV engine and the original F3 one was noticeable immediately and the game felt more comfortable as a result.

Now in the past when talking about Fallout 3 with anybody I have always maintained that New Vegas was the better Fallout game - however playing Fallout 3 now I'm not so sure. Initially my memories of Fallout 3 were terrible dialog and bad pacing - which I haven't found to be the case this time. Mind you I am playing with real-time combat which picked up the pace of the game considerably.

Now what I am playing is a modded build of the gameplay for both New Vegas and Fallout 3 - the biggest gameplay changers being a realistic chem mod and Project Nevada. What this has done has made the game a tense real-time experience where in every move I make can spell out death. Currently I'm playing a character who has a chem addiction problem with a focus on stealth and combat - but who knows how to talk when needed.

During one of my quests I was tasked with sneaking into a Mirelurk den and planting a tracking device on one of their nests and getting out without disturbing things. So naturally I popped some mentats and snuck in. Suddenly the world was over saturated my vision blurring in and out. For the first little while things were fine - then I got spotted. As I ran through the room I was in one cornered me and I was forced to jump maybe 15-20 feet below I shattered one of my legs on the way down but was directly in front of their nest. Red dots began to appear on my compass in every direction. I quickly planted the tracker and then used a super stimpak - that's when it got weird. Double vision that would come and go as it pleased threw any sense of direction or surroundings off. Sure my HP was doing well but I couldn't tell where I was or if I was in danger. A moment of clear vision let me know that the door I needed to get to was to the right and straight ahead. There were two mirelurks coming from the left and one snapped at me from behind. I ducked to the right and started to sprint ahead to the door as my vision went on me again - all the colors over-saturating and my vision starting to kaleidoscope. I did make it outside again and back to relative safety in Megaton - my character high as a kite sprinting away from the Anchorage Memorial like a mad man.

That is just one such moment - in my eight hours with this game my character has escaped with the odds stacked against him many times, often riding a Mentats high letting the colours of the wasteland grin back at him with hidden menace in it's beauty.

I have experienced some crashes - but no more than vanilla F3/NV. So it is my recommendation that if you are interested in a relatively deep action role-playing experience that you take the time to set this mod for New Vegas up. It requires legally obtained copies of Fallout3 and New Vegas with all the DLC for both games. The setup is involved but not bad if you are used to modding Bethesda games and the payoff is well worth it. I am having a blast and can't wait to see where my character goes from here.

So I have played through Neon Struct on the second hardest difficulty - it took me 6.3 hours.

I have not beaten it as I need to do a perfect run of every level and ghost the game on the hardest difficulty - but do intend on sinking at least another 6 to 12 hours to complete it in full.

A lot has been made of its similarity to Deus Ex - with even Rock Paper Shotgun comparing it to Liberty Island. However the similarities to DX are mostly stylistic and on the surface. The actual game itself is more closely related to the first two Thief games.

Most missions have you breaking into or sneaking out of areas while trying to complete a few mission objectives. In addition to these missions there are a few investigative levels where there is no immediate threat and the goal is to just talk to people and gather information for the next stealth sequence. All of this works together to create a quick moving narrative that feels all to brief by the time the credits roll and this is the greatest fault of the game. What is presented is so compelling that by the time the story is over the game feels just like it is starting to open up.

There are a few AI issues that are no big issue but I wish the AI wasn't so near sighted (they literally have to bump into you if you are completely in the dark), and at times they feel inept blindly searching around in the dark when a light switch is near. This is balanced by Jillian Cleary (J.C) being very weak - with one or two hits from a baton or pistol causing death.

There are a number of tools at your disposal but I only ever felt the need to rely on them once or twice and the slide maneuver that you get seems slightly overpowered when used against the very forgiving AI.

It also feels like the world building was not given as much care as it could have been - it feels like a missed opportunity that more things weren't readable given that there really is only a handful of notes, news machines and computers in the game. Also being that there is no voice overs in the game there are no sections for eavesdropping on NPCs which might've helped slow down the pace at which these levels can be completed.

All that being said - this is a very impressive game considering that it draws comparison to both the Thief series and the original DX which are games that I hold in very high regard. If you are a fan of either game series or stealth gameplay it is very easy to recommend this game as it is a gripping experience with an impeccable sense of style even if it is over all to quickly. If you are new to the first person sneaker - I'd recommend maybe starting with this game as it is more forgiving than Thief 1/2 or the original DX.

I wish it were longer and that the world was more in depth - but it is a fun and compelling stealth experience with a unique minimalistic style. Also I have read that an editor is going to be made available which should extend the life of the game considerably.

So I just finished GTA V today - 74% complete the game after beating all the main missions and most side missions. 68 hours playtime according to Steam.

GTA V was a game I was waiting for since it was first released on the 360/PS3 in 2013. I had watched my brother play a good chunk of it on his 360 and was blown away by the world design and direction - but just have never been able to bring myself to play consoles regularly enough to complete any game besides the latest Zelda or Mario on Nintendo consoles.

I am and have been a PC gamer for over 20 years now - starting with Biomenace, Wolf3d, and LucasArt/Sierra adventure games in the early nineties and continuing along from there playing anything I could get my hands on - my favourite experiences being immersive first person games of all genres.

I have played every game in the GTA series since the beginning - but really started to enjoy the series at Vice City and San Andreas.

From the first time I played GTA3 - I knew it would be a thousand times better in first person. This was much later confirmed for me when I played through the fourth game in the series almost entirely in the first person using an amazing mod. I even managed to play through San Andreas recently with a first person mod a few months prior to GTA V releasing on the PC - it translated to the first person surprisingly well.

As good as those modded experiences were - they feel like tech demos compared to GTA V which I played through entirely in the first person.

There are plenty of reviews that explain the story and general gameplay mechanics - and in all actuality very little has changed from the early roots of the series. Missions are still started by driving to mission markers separate from the sandbox experience to some degree and involve a variety of gameplay loops that include chases, shootouts or a large number of mini-game activities. The story is pretty much a riff on the same notes they've touched on throughout the series with the same tired parody thrown in for good measure - although it is well directed with mostly great dialog and does actually have a series of really good laughs in addition to plenty of jaw-dropping action set pieces throughout the missions. Each cut scene is presented with cinematic grace that most of the time does not draw on the parody of the world you are in. In fact although all the radio adverts, bill boards and brand name gags are still there they seem to play second fiddle most of the time to GTA's more subtle and real world aspirations.

The first wow moment for me was when I was up near the Vinewood sign and looking off into the distance at night - seeing the buildings and tiny vehicle lights in the distance and knowing that it wasn't a sky box. Knowing that at any moment I could drop what I was doing and walk or drive in any direction.

Other moments include walking down an alley way and spooking a cat seeing it dash by in front of me while I looked down at the trash it had slightly disturbed settle in the corner from where it had come from or waiting for the crosswalk light during a downpour looking at the reflections in the puddles of water rapidly being disturbed by the heavy rainfall and feeling relieved when I was able to jog across in front of the slick cars lined up to my left and in front of me.

Moments like these were as impressive as the actual story based gameplay moments - which are as fun as ever. The mission design is heads and tales above every other open world sand box game released in the last ten years. But with the addition of a first person perspective there is a divide between what it is right now and what it could be in the next few iterations.

Currently the first person perspective does nothing but provide an immersion factor to a really good action game. It is well designed and creates a feeling of solidity that almost no other game has ever felt like - at least for me. The world feels random and hand crafted at the same time - however the limited world interactivity leaves the game feeling plastic at times. It is worth noting that the violence does feel more impacting in the first person and often times left me feeling exhausted after missions wishing that stealth and non-lethal mission alternatives were always an option instead of just a few sequences spread throughout the game where it worked for the story.

There is a feeling that this could be a bigger experience - a more interactive experience, a less scripted experience. The world (despite not having full interiors) feels big and real in a way that most Bethesda open-world experiences have felt like - in fact it feels bigger because the city scale is more real than anything in the Elder Scrolls/Fallout series. This however makes it feel like I should be able to enter any building or talk to any NPC as if it were a player-character driven role playing game instead of an open world action sandbox game.

These are not major issues but I feel that this game is the first step forward for a modern day immersive simulation game set in a big city where you truly do have the whole city in front of you to explore and where one day maybe the story won't be a scripted narrative but a game world where the story unfolds as a consequence of player-driven choice - a world where violence and reckless behavior would carry weight and consequence to a degree where non-violent alternatives seem like a viable option.

I really do hope that RockStar try and take the first person experience further and into more interactive territory than the GTA series is traditionally known for and maybe they'll even ditch the make believe parody world and start writing stories in real world locations where attempts at satire instead of parody play into a more subtle narrative. As it sits it is a fantastic first person action experience - and worthy of every hour of gameplay I put into it.

Technically this is a brilliant game and accomplishes everything it sets out to do with incredible polish but the lack of true player choice hurts the first person experience a tiny bit. The parody humour also hinders what could be a real gritty story as it feels like a tired leftover from the series roots. Though I do have issues with some of the story and with the lack of true choice - I can't argue against this being one of the most important games to come out in the last decade. It is also the first game in a long time that legitimately earned every hour of my play time as literally every minute felt fun.

I am a musician / songwriter - I play bass & guitar and engineer my own music using Logic Pro X and a Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 (amongst other gear) with my band. I have worked on 6 albums over the last 7 years - 2 demo experiences in "professional" studios where I payed to record, a live bootleg, a live album recorded with my gear as well as two studio albums one of which I am still working on.

In my mind the only distinction between what I am doing with my own gear as an amateur and what I payed to have done at a professional studio is that I am not getting payed to record when I am using my own gear. I am forever glad of my experience that I gained recording at a studio - but am more happy with what I have produced on my own. The freedom of not having to book time to record, and not having the red light bearing down on performance is well worth the investment of both time and money.

Going forward with this article it is important that the term amateur is explained - an amateur is someone who works in pursuit of something without being paid and are often self-taught (autodidacts). As for how this determines the quality of the product of this work - it is no different than a professional. There are plenty of professionals across all fields who have performed miserably just as there are many amateurs who have done great work and vice versa. The only distinction between professional and amateur is money.

Recently I have been waiting for the release of Deus Ex Revision - a fan made remix/remaster of my favourite game of all time. Let me tell you - it has been an exercise in patience for me. But I have the benefit of understanding the balance of life commitments and creating art on an amateur level. I realize most people tend to try and distinguish the difference as real life against the project. I refuse differentiating my commitments in life as such - as I feel that to say my "real" life (work, survival, etc.) is more important is doing a disservice to the importance I place with my art.

I feel it is important to approach everything I do in life with respect and diligence - whether I am seeing money or not from the work I am doing.

So it kind of bugs me when I see people feel the need to balance missed targets with the excuse that real life came up. Other life commitments do come up - and when working on anything as an amateur those commitments will often take precedent. But the distinction to note here is that the other commitments are not more important - they are just more pressing at the time they came up. It is my experience that most artists understand this - but are often at the mercy of people who do not make art and do not understand the level of commitment. This is a generalization for sure - but as I said in my experience I have found this to be mostly true.

I am lucky in the pursuit of my own amateur art that I do not have a fan-base watching over my shoulder and poking me to get something done. So I don't have to explain "real" life to anybody waiting on me. But I don't think it is necessary for any project whether professional or amateur in nature to ever feel the need to explain the minutia of progress delays to impatient fans (myself included).

I am very excited for the release of DX Revision and wish the team all the best in getting it done - but I completely understand the pressure of having people impatiently waiting and questioning their progress. If anybody gets anything out of this long winded essay - I hope its that they understand the importance of learning patience.

Not really sure I want to even start blogging... but figured I'd give it a shot as my page looks empty.

I've been playing a lot of GTAV recently - like a lot of it. It is a great game - probably my favourite in the entire series and I've been playing since the beginning (GTA and London 1969). Is it the perfect game - not in the slightest. It has all the things I dislike about the series - overt satire that is almost to obvious, a linear pace for the story missions and a city that is only explorable on the outside with very few interiors.

That being said - the cut scenes are magnificently directed, the voice acting is mostly superb and the game play is action packed with enough emergent moments to keep it from becoming stale.

Where the game really shines however is in the simulation of its world - never before has walking around (in first person) felt so massive and elaborate. Driving a car around and listening to tunes, paying attention to the traffic laws and patterns - it is hard to describe how immersive it feels. I really feel like there is a world around me despite knowing it is all just a facade that if I tried to enter a building or even interact with the world in a meaningful yet dull way (say pushing a cross walk button and waiting to use the cross walk) would fall away bit by bit.

Growing up I played PC Games from the early nineties onward - I immersed myself in FPS games like Wolfenstein, Doom and System Shock to the more modern counterparts in the golden age like Deus Ex and Thief.

There is something about the first person perspective that puts you in the world - it makes you pay attention to the game logic and pulls you into the action instead of letting you spectate as an outsider.

So seeing this perspective in an open world game like GTA done so well has been an amazing experience for me.

But in the next few weeks Deus Ex Revision will be released and will remind me painfully about the experiences that the new GTA game is lacking. Sure as I said earlier there is stuff I dislike about GTA - I really wish they'd set it in a real city and not just confine your character to being a criminal in the main story arch (how they would reconcile this with the gameplay foundation laid by the prior games in the series is beyond me) - but where it is lacking the most is in freedom of expression. In Deus Ex I am mostly free to never really harm anybody and can still complete my objectives and experience tense and action packed gameplay. In GTA that is not the case - although GTA V has started to employ some surprisingly well done stealth sections. In GTA I am confined to make the decisions laid out by the developers for whatever character I happen to be playing - no matter if I can relate them to decisions I'd make in real life or not - if somebody has to die, they have to die no matter what you do or don't do. This is what ultimately makes the GTA series fail as a simulation. Now don't get me wrong - it is likely my GOTY this year but that doesn't mean I am any less disappointed by the fact that there is a severe lack of choice in the game play.

I have played through 40% of the game so far - and all of it I have played through in the first person perspective. It has been an eye opening and massive experience that I think everybody should give a chance regardless of their feelings towards the series as it does truly feel special. My hope is that Rockstar realize the potential that this new perspective has and instead of adapting a new perspective to their gameplay next time around they try and tackle the next game with first person immersive simulation in mind from the start. I really hope they bring player driven character choice into the mix because what they have created by tacking the first person perspective onto their brand of third person open world gameplay is nothing short of spectacular and points to a future where maybe we might be able to have a player driven experience like Deus Ex or Thief on a massive scale.

Also I'd really just like it they created a world where every interior was simulated - as I think car/foot chases would feel so much more open and hectic if you could explore everywhere.

Anyways I may or may not blog again - if you got to this point thanks for reading. Post a comment if you agree/disagree or if it sparked a thought that you think I might find interesting.

Cheers,
SimonSays