strangegirlgaming

Spider-Man PS4, E3 my thoughts!!

Following on from my thoughts on Assassins Creed Origins I decided what better game to follow up with than one that I have had on pre-order since last year! The brand new, PS4 exclusive spider-man! I am so excited for this game, I am a huge spider-man fan, a new game for our favourite web slinger is something that I believe is long overdue!! Thank god it looks amazing so far because I have to say that I am not impressed by the trailers for Spider-man Homecoming, to me it looks like the worst Spider-man film so far, but that is a post for my other blog.Getting back to the point the new Spider-man game looks like the game we have all been waiting for since the triumph that was Spider-man 2 on PS2 and Xbox. Here are my reasons for being excited for Spideys latest video game outing.

1. HE LOOKS AWESOME

This new costume that the web slinger is wearing looks amazing, I love the design especially the big white spider covering a good portion of his costume. I think we can all agree that part of the appeal to any super hero is the costume in which they fight crime in, and spidey has had his fair share of costumes over the years, some which are brilliant, others needed a little bit of work. Thankfully the new costume definitely falls in the brilliant category.

2. THE MAP IS HUGE

The whole of Manhattan is our playground, the map is by far the biggest that we will have ever been able to swing through and that alone is enough for me to think yes I need this game and I need it now. Sod the story I’ll be happy to just keep swinging around the neighbourhood fighting whatever crimes there are. I’m also assuming that there will be some time challenges around the city so I’ll be pretty occupied. I am going to be one busy spidey!!

3. THE COMBAT LOOKS GREAT!

Something that we all judge when it comes to this sort of game, if the combat isn’t fun or it is just too challenging then we would all get fed up with a super hero game pretty quickly. The different abilities that we will be able to unlock as the game goes on are something else to look forward to in terms of combat, it means that there will always be new moves to add to your arsenal. I have always enjoyed the combat in Spiderman games, there is something about hanging a bad guy from lamppost that just does it for me.

4. IT’S SPIDERMAN!!!!

Enough said.

5. PETERS AGE

The origins of Spiderman has been done to death! Finally we have something new, all we know is that instead of being a teenage student, Pete is going to be 23 years old in this game, that means that we aren’t playing as a new Spidey who is just finding his feet. We are going to be playing as a Spidey who has been doing this stuff for years!

The gameplay footage that has been shown has demonstrated just how cool it is going to feel to be Spiderman again which as I stated before is crucial considering I’m pretty sure Homecoming is going to be god awful. Are you interested in the new Spiderman game? Let me know cause I sure as hell can’t wait to be swinging through the concrete jungle.

Assassins Creed Origins!! My thoughts after E3

I think we can all agree that E3 has been simply amazing this year with some incredible announcements. So I have decided to do a series of posts about what games have caught my attention and why I am looking forward to getting my hands on them, and I can think of no better way to start than to begin with the showing of the new Assassins Creed.I think it’s fair to say that Assassins Creed Origins looks absolutely incredible, I simply can’t wait to get my hands on it for several reasons.

1. IT’S ASSASSINS CREED!!!

Yes I am a huge fan of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed the latest instalment in the form of Syndicate though it did leave me wandering where exactly the series was going to go next, safe to say I am not disappointed in the direction that Ubisoft have chosen to take, which brings me along nicely to my second reason for my excitement.

2. IT’S SET IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Arguably one of the greatest points in history, you would have a hard time finding someone that didn’t like or at least have a slight interest in Ancient Egypt. For me this has always been one of my favourite points in history, from a very young age I was interested in the monarchy of Egypt, I enjoyed learning about Cleopatra, Tutankhamun, Amenhotep and Ramses just to name a few. The setting of this game is like a dream come true for me, it could be the ultimate game for me.

3. IT LOOKS AS BEAUTIFUL AS EVER!

The gameplay itself so far looks absolutely stunning, of course there was never any doubt that it would but now that I have actually witnessed it I am more amazed by the beauty of it than I thought I would be.

4. THE WEAPONS!!

As a fan of the ancient Egyptians I think it goes without saying that I am looking forward to using their choice of weapons, well more the look of these weapons. I’m more than aware that spears, axes, swords and the bow and arrow have been used all throughout history but not any of them could ever look as amazing as the ones wielded by the ancient Egyptians.

The gameplay footage that I have seen looks exactly like you think it would, it looked like Assassins Creed, it looked good. Now I have already stated that I enjoyed Syndicate but I think it would be fair to say that the previous instalment to that was somewhat lacking. Truth be told Ubisoft had been lacking in the series for a while before Syndicate hit and I’m pleased to see that the result of their two years before releasing a new game has produced what I consider to be candidate for one of the best games in the series. Of course, I understand that it is still early days but if anything that makes me more excited, if I am this impressed already I can only imagine the joy that awaits me in October.

Are you excited for Assassins Creed? You can be sure that as more information is released in the run up to the games release I will be paying attention, ready to discuss all my thoughts with you.

New blog!

Hi guys just wanted to do a quick announcement, as well as this blog I have decided to start a second blog called strangegirlreview to work on along side this one. As much I love games and it is and always with be one of my passions I also hold a strong love for movies, TV and Anime. With this blog being dedicated to games I decided to create a second one to give me some variety in what I write about, giving me the chance to share my other interests with all of you.

I appreciate all the support I have been giving for this blog and I have every intention of staying active here, there are hundreds of games I have yet to discuss with you all. However I have an insane amount of movies and anime to discuss and share with you. Should you ever have any requests for not just my new blog but this one too then please let me know and I will either play it, watch it and review it.

Once again thank you for any support you have given me, I hope you continue to enjoy strangegirlgaming and hopefully you will find yourself enjoying strangegirlreview as well.

Crash is nearly here!!

Finally we have hit that important month, the month where the end of it is going to bring an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia to PlayStation owners worldwide. The 27th of June marks the release of one of the most anticipated remastered titles ever, Crash Bandicoot is going to make a very welcome transition to PS4 in the form of his original 3 adventures from his PSone days. I owe a lot of my love for gaming to Crash, as a youngster he was one of my very first games on my PlayStation, I couldn’t get enough of the loveable bandicoot. I found him to be charming in his own strange way beyond words, the orange fur, those blue shorts, the insanely big eyebrows.

Crash made an impact upon becoming one of the play stations biggest ever mascots.I have been waiting for a new Crash game for years, yet I was beginning to lose hope, I was beginning to think that perhaps there was no way back for our furry friend, that he had been lost amongst all the new heroes paving their way into games and our hearts. But at E3 last year my dreams were made a reality as Sony walked onto the stage with a shadow of the one and only Crash Bandicoot, when that music started playing I completely lost it! I felt like a kid again, god knows how I am going to feel upon actually gripping my controllers controlling Crash through those island levels once again, to ride a hog through one of the best Crash levels ever HOG WILD! Oh and I have to give a small shoutout to another one of my favourite ever levels, Tomb Waider in Crash 3 Warped, it was so much fun going through a tomb in ancient egypt avoiding the mummies, beetles and rising water, the fact that it pays tribute to another PlayStation icon Lara Croft is just the icing on the cake. Having the opportunity to go back through these amazing levels with enhanced graphics in 4K is nothing short of brilliant.

I’m sure it’s not just me that is feeling the effects of nostalgia at the thought of reliving three fun adventures with a nice variation in levels, ranging from the different environments to the different types, for example riding a polar bear in Crash 2 to swimming under water in Crash 3. That’s something that naughty dog got absolutely spot on, the variety in levels helped to keep the games fresh, to keep them from becoming too same old. It is that very variety that is going to make those 3 journeys a joy to experience again, I predict all three to be finished by me in just one weekend, perhaps one day if I can give myself the whole day to relive my childhood. I make a promise to myself now that I will platinum those games (even if it will take me a year…).

I’ll tell you something else I am hoping to come from this release, a Spyro the dragon remastered trilogy, the second Spyro game is one of my all time favourites, the entire experience was fantastic and it was followed by an equally epic game in the form of year of the dragon, I still remember those areas where I could ride a skateboard, a dragon on a skateboard need I say more. While I do give an edge to Crash, Spyro is another video game legend that deserves his first 3 adventures to become immortalised with a graphical overhaul. Just like with Crash there are several different characters from Spyro that brought something to the table, hunter was always one of my favourites and I’d be just as excited to see him in 4K as I would Spyro. Honestly I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was already in the works, just being kept under wraps for now. I think with the anticipation and hype that crash has received it would be safe to say that our favourite dragon would receive a similar welcome. I have a feeling that this could pave the way for other trilogies besides Spyro, Sly Cooper for example. I know he made his debut on the PS2 and those got an overhaul for the PS3 but again I find myself thinking about just how amazing his first 3 adventures would be capable of looking like with today’s graphics, Sly has also always been very popular I’m sure there are plenty of die hard fans who would pick up the original trilogy again for PS4. The Ratchet and Clank remastered game was a huge success proving that there is still a place for the PS2 legends.

While this could be me maintaining hopes of a further miracle I would love to see a remastered version Crash Team Racing, one of the best racing games ever for me. It was so much fun, even now I can still turn to my PSone throw the disc in and race to my heart contents. I know many people would consider Mario Kart to be their favourite racing game besides those die hard racing fans that would play Forza, but for me personally I prefer the Crash Bandicoot universe, I prefer the diverse characters that Crash has to offer. The fact that I am able to drive a kart as a cute little Polar bear is a welcome bonus, see I didn’t simply play as Crash, no, I enjoyed playing through as the various different characters. I enjoyed the various different boss races, I can only imaging how stunning those race tracks would be capable of looking should they get 4K treatment the first 3 games have received. The battle mode of this game was a lot of fun and could be played with up to 4 players, just imagine having that battle mode online today, it would have a lot of potential. I for one would love to get behind the wheel and take on a lot more than just 3 other people in an arena where I could shoot rockets and bombs at them.

What about you guys, are you excited for Crash’s return? Are there any games that you believe could be in with a chance of being remastered? I will be back with a full review on each of the games following their release at the end of the month
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Friday the 13th game, initial thoughts and mini counsellor guide

Finally my friends the moment that all horror fanatics have been waiting for Friday the 13th the game! Now I would love to be able to give a full on review but since we have been having some server issues so I have only managed to have a few games and out of those few games I have only been hunting victims once so unfortunately my full blown review will have to wait but I needed to give you my initial thoughts as well as mini guide on ways to escape the legendary Jason vorhees. I have been waiting for this game ever since hearing about it being on kickstarter, I always thought that Friday the 13th would transition into game really well, especially an online game. To me it has always made perfect sense to have one player be the notorious murderer and have multiple others play the unwilling victims.Let me start by saying that I think the premise for the game is amazing, it’s so simple yet despite the server issues the gameplay itself has been very well executed, whoever thought that running around trying to kill a bunch of teenagers could be so much fun (even if I have only experienced it once). It feels like we are taking part in one of Jason’s movies when we are playing as the counsellors. There are multiple ways in which you can escape and ultimately win the game, however in my short experience that is a lot easier said than done. You can try to simply survive the entire 20 minute duration of the match though I would recommend trying to actually escape. The easiest help to get is that of tommy Jarvis, all you need to do is radio through to him and one of your deceased fellow counsellors will return as the hunter, he is carrying a gun with him that has a single shot so do use it wisely. This is essentially a second chance for whoever is selected to play as him as you may escape whilst playing as him. Just try not to shoot a fellow counsellor like I did…sorry bro!!

Next up we have calling the police this requires you to find the phone box, locate the phone box fuse, fix the phone box, then finally find the phone to call the police. They will take 5 minutes to arrive so you must survive until then! Now then when the cops arrive they will be at one end of the main road, it can be either end so while hiding in a spot near the end of the main road is a great idea it’s not so great when the cops arrive from the other end, trust me, in one of my games I was spectating a fellow player due to being thrown through a window by our good friend Jason and they hid at the bridge at the end of the main road waiting for police. As you can probably guess they got their 50/50 guess wrong giving Jason ample time to get to the main road where he ultimately skewered them. While this was hilarious for me to watch I’m pretty sure it was damn annoying for the person who just became a sheesh kebab.

Moving on, we have the boat and the car. Both require you to fill them up with gasoline, the boat only requires the propellor which can be found in nearby buildings so the boat can be easier to use as your means of escape than the car can. You will need to not only find the keys to start the car but the batteries as well, I would recommend working together to fix the car but the boat can be done alone for all those of you with the attitude screw this and screw you I’m getting out of here! Once in the car make sure you know where you are going and move fast, Jason can stop the car should he get in front of it giving him plenty of time to pull you from it to do with you as he sees fit. Finally there is a legend, a myth if you will that states JASON CAN BE KILLED! Now this truly is the stuff of legend at the moment, but I believe you would need his mothers sweater, tommy Jarvis and you would need to have removed Jason’s mask. If you have managed the unthinkable task that many have failed to achieve across a whole franchise of movies then I bow down to you. Oh how revenge would be sweet if I could ever achieve this.

Onto my initial thoughts, of course the server issues are a massive problem. I can understand that this was developed by a small company who weren’t expecting to sell as many copies as they did but it is Friday the 13th! It was always going to gather quite the following, hopefully these problems are sorted out soon as some people who purchased this game Friday in the hopes of searching for victims have spent a lot more time serving for servers. If you do mange to get into a match I would have to say that I think they have done a very good job, playing as the counsellor is a lot of fun, it’s nerve wracking not knowing where Jason is until you hear that iconic music we have all come to know and love. Barricading doors, jumping through windows and wielding weapons are all part of what you need to do if you have any hope to survive. I think the different attributes that each character has is very good, it makes it a lot easier to play the game your way. Do you want to be the smart girl who can repair things in a flash but at the risk of sacrificing you composure? Or do you maintain your composure but sacrifice speed? There are several attributes to consider when it comes to choosing your counsellor, or you can stick to good old Kenny being the Jack of all trades.

I like the way that turning the music on in a house will prevent Jason from being able to spot you inside, one of his abilities is to sense you, turning the radio on disrupts that preventing him from being able to pin point you. It’s the simple things like this that really make you time as a counsellor exciting, you need to truly think about everything to give you your best shot at survival.

For me at the moment I have been playing as Kenny, poor, poor Kenny…Though I did survive the entire night by being glitched in a tent. The atmosphere is eerie, you just know that iconic killer is around somewhere stalking his prey, be it with an axe, spear, pick axe, fire axe or the classic machete. I can’t quite describe the feeling I feel when he suddenly shows up making my screen go funny Slender style. There are several different Jason’s to play as from various movies, just like the counsellors they have different strengths and weaknesses, though since I have only played as Jason once I am very inexperienced in how good the different ones are at the moment. I will give a mini guide on playing as Jason when I have some more experience, I’m pretty sure you can all guess that gaining victory means killing all those brats at his camp.

Before I finish this post guys I have been having a thought recently, I am a horror fanatic with Friday the 13th being one of my all time favourites. Now I am a gamer and that is what my blog is primarily about but I am a movie lover as well, in the spirit of this game being released I thought I might do a mini review on each one of the films. If I do decide to go ahead with this idea I am hoping that I can do it justice and that you all will enjoy reading it. Anyway thanks for reading, I will be back with a mini guide on playing as Jason and a full game review after the servers are fixed.

Who should have been the final boss of Dark Souls?

This post isn’t going to so much be about Slave knight Gael, more my thoughts on him as the final boss of the souls series and who I thought was likely to be our final battle. I will write my thoughts about Gael and his lore in his own post.
I would like to state straight away that I consider Gael to be an amazing boss, a really enjoyable fight. I actually struggle to fault the fight itself as I do hold it in high regard, it was certainly a pleasant surprise to have a highly aggressive boss to the standard of Knight Artorias. I might even go so far as to say it is one of my favourite fights across the entire series. This doesn’t mean I consider him to be the best option to have the prestigious honour of closing out a legendary story and series, in fact for a while now I have been expecting to see the daughter of Gwyn, sister of Gwyndolin, sister of the Nameless King, I have been expecting to see the goddess of fertility and bounty, I have been expecting to see Gwynevere. I can’t truly express my shock at never truly meeting this goddess, much less my disdain at never fighting this goddess of miracles.

Let me explain why I am so surprised and disappointed in never meeting this important woman from history. Firstly she is the daughter of the great Lord Gwyn and based on certain events from history and Gwyns obvious disdain for his youngest son I feel that it would be safe to say that she was his favourite child. We fought both of her brothers, disregarding Gwyndolin due to him being devoured in Dark Souls 3. We kill her father at the end of Dark Souls in order to link the flame, we may kill Gwyndolin though as I stated this is disregarded. At long last we discover the first born of lord Gwyn, only to kill him in Archdragons Peak. Therefore we are immediately responsible for the deaths of her father and brother. Does that not give enough reason to invoke a reaction? Well if not there is plenty more for me discuss. So let me jump right back into it, the dancer of the boreal valley. There is a theory which I strongly believe in which she is the daughter of Gwynevere, I have several reasons for this belief. Firstly upon transposing her soul you may trade it for bountiful sunlight, a miracle strongly associated with Gwynevere. Secondly her veil is said to only be worn by members of the old royal family giving a clear indication that she is related to the old royalty in some form. Combining those 2 reasons it makes logical sense that the Dancer be a daughter of gwynevre there for bringing the family death total up to 3.

Now lets discuss her other potential children, Lorian and Lothric. It is heavily implied that she is the mother of the twin princes which would make her the queen of lothric in turn making her the wife of the consumed king Oceiros. My reasoning behind this is that the queen of Lothric was initially revered as a goddess of bounty and fertility, we of course know that Gwynevere was the goddess of fertility and bounty which for me gives a clear indication to her being the queen of Lothric. Which if my calculations are correct would bring us up to a grand total of 6 family members we have killed. Surely you would think this to be enough to bring this goddess out from whatever hole she is hiding in to confront the ashen one who has killed 5 members of her family with Gwyn having been killed by the undead in dark souls 1. I just think that when you think about all of this alone surely finally meeting Gwynevere after all of this would have been an amazing closing to the series. I fail to see the significance Gael brings to warrant being the final boss.

I feel that to have truly earned the right to be the final boss you should have the lore that Gwynevere has, she isn’t an unknown exactly. Granted the only time we have met her was when she was an illusion created by her younger brother Gwyndolin back during dark souls 1 in Anor Londo. In my eyes that makes finally meeting her all the more considerate for the role of final boss, seeing her in all her glory for the first true time would have been something spectacular, especially since she would have been a miracles based boss which if we are being honest we are seriously lacking those, a good one anyway.

The way I picture this fight is filled with anger and emotion, what more does Gwynevere have left to lose? We could have found her at the ends of the earth amongst all the ruins, no more hiding, no more running. She would be forced to face her demons bringing a certain intensity to the fight. She would have watched countless kingdoms fall including her own, bringing her to this point, bringing her to the end of the world, to all of this ruin. What started with her father could have ended with her. Honestly for a very long time I believed we would meet this mysterious goddess yet I remained disappointed, we will never meet this important figure from history.

Gael has got his pros for being the final boss, he’s fast aggressive and considerably unpredictable, certainly not the laughable final boss Nashandra was at the end of dark souls 2. The arena in which we fight him is incredible with how we find him being rather chilling given that’s he’s devouring the pigmy lords in hopes of obtaining the dark soul. it’s just difficult for me to see past the fact that he has only been introduced in the first piece of DLC for Dark Souls 3. I know that when you combine his presence in both pieces of DLC he does become somewhat prominent, the ability to summon him for 2 boss fights is something that I believe adds to his merit especially since the second fight is standing in between you and the ringed city. I will rate Gael highly in terms of his boss fight, when I do an entire post dedicated to him it will be clear to see that I do harbour a fondness for our final battle, and I can understand why some people might consider him to be a good end to the souls series. The ringed city is easily one of the best pieces of DLC that from soft have delivered, in that regard Gael could be argued to be an excellent final boss to the series, as far as being the final boss to be fought in a piece of DLC he has more than earned his ranking of being one of the best bosses to grace the SoulsBorne series.

I would just like to mention that we never met Velka, Gwyns wife and mother to several of his children though I’m not sure about what impact she could have had if she was the final boss. It might have been nice to meet her at some point, then again this is dark souls and some things are doomed to remain a mystery.

So there you have it my thoughts on who the final boss of one of the video game series ever made should have been. I’m interested to hear what you guys think though, did you think Gael was a worthy boss to close out Dark Souls? Was there a different character you felt should have had that honour? Please let me know.

For Honor AFKers go away!!

Right so if you have read my review on this game then you will be aware that I have a huge disdain for the AFK players that exploiting the game. Putting it bluntly it ruins the experience of other players, it puts a damper on their own enjoyment of the game, something Ubisoft have finally realised.

That’s right Ubisoft have just announced this week that they will be issuing bans for all those who have been AFK using an elastic band to keep their characters moving! Ubisoft declared that they understand how this hinders the experience of those who play the game the way it was intended, and how these players are all in violation of their code of conduct, something we all have to agree to before stepping foot on the battlefield. Should Ubisoft consider it to be serious enough given the amount of complaints they receive about a certain player they may decide to issue a life time ban, before those of you who use the AFK method start shouting ‘I PAYED £50 FOR THIS GAME!’ Maybe you should have read the small print before clicking that agree button.

For Honor has got the potential to be one of the best multiplayer games out there for the next gen consoles but with people exploiting it the way they are it is ruining what I consider to be a great game and a great community. I personally have come across some great players who have been not only a joy to battle with but a pleasure to cross blades with too. There are many players in this community that are great through playing this game the way it was intended, sure you are always going to get people who can’t take losing but I believe the decent players far outweigh those individuals.

Thankfully Ubisoft have decided enough is enough, giving all those who play the properly including the sore losers the experience they truly deserve.