John and Lauren Gaming!

Finally, I have beaten a playthrough of Civilization V. I have only been playing the series for close to a decade. Admittedly casually but still putting in maybe a couple hundred hours. Almost always I unchecked the victory conditions. I always found them restrictive. I enjoyed the idea of controlling my nation in a more natural realistic way. Addressing issues that come up differently each time to how I have seen fit and not in regards to a score or objective. I could feel free to roleplay my nation in crazy ways that would almost always result in a loss normally. Like spamming as many low-level melee troops as possible while I continue to send them in waves at my enemy. My favorite declaring war on every nation after having encircled my entire nation with troops without any gaps at all with reinforcements towards the center. Waiting to plug any holes in the circle as they appear. However this time I turned on all the victory conditions and decided which type of victory I woul...

         They have been releasing some interesting trailers showcasing the different aspects of the game. Trading, Surviving, fighting and exploring. Still even though I am beyond excited I have learned from Watchdogs, Destiny and The Division releases that no matter how excited I am I need to wait for the reviews to come in. Days of day one buying are over for me. With the exception of Madden since I know what I am getting in that package. So I am hoping this is the big game of the year for me. But I also felt the same way about the games I just listed. So we should all go in with eyes wide open. Never the less I am still very excited and can't wait to read the reviews. I will post a whole set of them here when they are posted on my various favorite sites. Survive Explore Trade Fight

       I recently bought this digitally from PSN for the PS4. Very happy with the purchase. This isn't like anything I have ever played before. It plays like a choose your own adventure novel. With absolutely beautiful art. The story is well written and the people are interesting. When you make your decisions that branch the story they are always very heavy choices that seem like real choices you would have to make in those situations. The answers are never easy either and they don't give you tips or hints about how the choices will affect the story. You have to use your best judgment and heart. This could be one of the few games I actually replay. Anyone looking for something different this is a great option.

I will keep this list to 2016. Modify and update throughout the rest of the year. No particular order. 1) Final Fantasy 15 - Sept 30th For any Final Fantasy fan this is a must. This is truly a next gen final fantasy game. I got my hands on the demo through psn and it looks absolutely gorgeous. If you are not familiar with Japanese style roleplaying games or final fantasy just be warned they are always very grind heavy. Always expect at bare minimum 100 hours of playtime for a play through of a final fantasy game. Trailer 2) Battlefield 1 - Oct 18th For first person shooter fans you want DICE's first fully next gen game (that isn't terrible Star Wars shooters we won't name). This one looks to be epic putting you on World War 1 battlefields. Will be very interesting to see DICE's direction in gameplay mechanics and how much emphasis on single player campaign they will have. Either was this will be a top 3 shooter for the next 6 months. Trailer 3) Mafia 3 - Oct 7th If you ...

        So I dropped Fallout like a bad habit. Great game I just well got bored after about 30 hours. So I picked ESO back up. But also got Tropico 5 from PlayStation plus. It is a Sim City builder. Closer to Anno than Sim City. Casual game that takes a bit to master. Sit back after a big session and enjoy your creation. Very relaxing game. Good to see Playstation dropping games on us that are not niche indie titles. I hope they keep it up. Here is a review of Tropico 5: IGN Review

         So I have moved on from ESO. It was a great game I really enjoyed it. But with my hectic schedule I can't progress in MMO's like I used to. So I moved on. I picked up Fallout 4 for the PS4. I actually owned it for less than a week when it came out. But I picked it up back then before I was ready for it I think. This time around I am having a ton of fun. Really building up my settlements and having a ton of fun modding weapons. Also collecting in game collectable like magazines lunchboxes and bobble-heads. The game gives you specefic places to store these. For instance my magazines are in one of those rotating wire racks you see at the comic books store. The game really plays to all the Skyrim traditional Bethesda needs. Something ESO could do but much much slower. I start the game and next thing I know it is a hour later. I can see myself playing this for a long time.        Another game I have played with ...

   Lately I have been playing ESO on PS4. I have to say it has been a great experience. It is every bit as good as past Elder Scrolls games. So well written and beautifully crafted. The quests are full of story and life and lead you expertly across the land. The many different stories are not only written well but voice acted amazingly. Best voice acting in a open world RPG I have every played. I am having a ton of fun.     I even stuck my feet into the PVP. Even helped take a keep. But for the most part since I didn't have a group to run with and I didn't have a mount yet I found PVP to not be as rewarding as questing. I will try again though this time with a mount  and some friends if i can find a good pvp guild.     I also the other night did my first dungeon. I am a sorcerer and flip between destruction staff and restoration staff skills. So I was the healer for the dungeon. For sure not as easy to heal as any other MMO. Directional AOE h...

Wow what a surprise. I pick up the older iteration of this series. Wow have I been surprised. Hard to explain what it is like. Think Starcraft type RTS. However less base building and more strategy in the fighting. You have to get your units in cover or in buildings. Have a well rounded combined arms. No throwing large masses at the enemy. This is all about micromanaging the soldiers. Where Starcraft is all about micromanaging the base. I don't know if most RTS games in the world war setting s are similar or not but for me this has been a very solid RTS pick up. After I have played out this game i will for sure be picking up the sequel. Highly recommend this game if you want the RTS type but want a bit more realistic fighting sim. Kind of right in the middle between Total War and Starcraft.

   Where did this come from? I never heard of the game series. Watch this trailer and try and tell me this doesn't sound amazing. Adrenaline!!!!!   Time to do some digging on this one. Might have to add this to my list for 2016.