Jammage's Next Gen Thoughts

With the next generation of consoles coming at the end of the year, I have to give my thoughts on what the future of gaming holds. One thing that will stay in gaming through the next few years is the average shooter. It gets the highest sales, it is easy to play and understand, and you can play with your friends cooperatively or competitively. Even though AAA shooters are thrown together and made every year, people still buy them. 

On the other hand, there is a big rise in Indie game development. That is one thing I am excited for. Indie games are not restricted to a genre in any way. people make the game, not to make money, but because it is a game they would want to play. These titles are normally unique. Even Robert Bowling, an ex developer at Infinity Ward, quit his job making CoD games to make indie games. This is a man standing up and setting a precedent. Indie games are already on the rise, with title like Minecraft, Fez, Braid, and Journey. People are starting to appreciate gaming as an art.

Graphics are a big thing when it comes to next gen consoles. Unfortunately the consoles will never compare to a high performance PC. But, with the improved power of the new consoles, developers will start making games with better graphics that will also come out for PC with higher quality graphics. Although graphics aren't what make a game fun to play, it is pretty cool to see how far we can go to make a virtual world as realistic as possible.

Those are my thoughts on the future of gaming. Feel free to comment your own opinions such as what you want to see in future games or what you think of what has been shown so far.

Mass Effect 3 Citdal DLC Review by PrvMalone

                In my opinion, Bioware’s Mass Effect series tops the charts for this generation of gaming.   Mass Effect was the only game that ever made me a fan boy, and it is the only universe I know as much about as the Star Wars Universe.  Now that the tale of our mighty hero Commander Shepard has drawn to an end, it seems almost useless to purchase any of the DLC that Bioware has been pumping out.  I’m here to tell you that is not the case.

                Bioware recently released their sendoff DLC titled Citadel, and though it is priced at a whopping fifteen dollars, I would still be willing to cough up the dough just to join the final adventures of my Shepard.  After all the controversy of just about all of Bioware’s actions, I was glad to see that, for the most part, Bioware lived up to what we have come to expect from them.

                Basically, Citadel is a cheesy action movie starring all of your favorite squad mates from Mass Effect 3 and a few from the two previous games in the series. The missions are chock full of jokes and, in one special case, even Star Wars references make their way into the mix.  If you hated all the Romance options in ME3, you may just get a chance to reconnect with your lost love.  If the relationships of your Shepard really did not interest you, there is still the great story and addition combat to enjoy.

                The main quest line of this DLC allows players the opportunity to take a bit of shore leave and rest from the battle against the Reapers.  So, there is no combat in this DLC…Ha, like that’s possible.  The player has to uncover a plot to kill Shepard, and each mission brings a new twist to keep the player emotionally and mentally engaged with the plot. After the main quest line is complete there is still much to do in the new areas in the Citadel that become available. Most notable of the additions is the Armax Arsenal Arena, where you can convene with all your living squad mates, new and old, to compete in simulated battles against virtual opponents.  If you missed the sound of a Krogan blasting his way through Geth synthetic flesh you will be most pleased with this addition.

                Overall, this DLC will not disappoint Mass Effect fans, and this addition was a perfect send-off for our beloved Commander Shepard. The only let down for me is that we never see a romance between Shepard and Shiala, the green Asari who appeared in both ME and ME2.  She was totally into Shepard and you know it!  Anyways, wherever Bioware goes next with the series (First Contact War please) and whatever our new hero may be (space smuggler or assassin please) I am certain Bioware will keep players invested into the story.

Bioshock Infinite Preview

Bioshock Infinite is a single player RPG set to come out on March 26, 2013. The past two games have had an intricate satiric storyline that keeps the players wondering what will happen next. The original Bioshock even had a plot twist that blew gamers minds.  This Bioshock takes place in 1912 in a city in the sky called Columbia. Created by the ideas of a man named Zachary Comstock, Columbia was originally part of the United States but seceded. Unlike its predecessors, the protagonist in this game, Booker DeWitt, is audible. He has a charming voice and personality. He is accompanied by Elizabeth. She was imprisoned on Columbia since the age of 5 and Booker was sent to Columbia to rescue her and bring her to New York. She has abilities to create “tears” through the fabric of time. Sometimes you can use these tears to provide cover, ammunition, or other advantages against enemies. Booker, along with the player, develops a relationship with Elizabeth, causing them to care about her and wanting to save her. The Songbird is a mechanical beast with the job of keeping Elizabeth trapped in the city. The gameplay seems much like the past games.

You progress through the game finding new power ups and leveling them up. Gameplay has shown many power ups you can get such as Murder of Crows, which stuns the enemy and does damage over time. Some environments allow the players to use their powers to their advantage. There are plenty of enemies to face and different ways to approach them. There are the regular human enemies that attack you with whatever weapon they have. There are also the Boys of Silence who act as security alarms. You can either chose to sneak past them, or attack a wave of enemies. The Handymen play a role as the Big Daddy from the original Bioshocks. They are big, fast moving creatures that do a lot of damage to the player. He can throw enemies closer to the player to allow them to attack him easier.

Bioshock Infinite is highly anticipated. The developers are using all their time and resources to perfect this game, even missing E3 of 2012 to spend more time working on the game. Hopefully they will not disappoint us. Only the future will tell.