The Last of Us - Part II

"If there is somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again"

I.... uh every once in a while a game comes along that makes me want to revist this blog. Over the years I have played so many games, off late don't get to write my thoughts down as much. Gues this one deserves one.

In many ways this sort of feels like homecoming. The game, the very first game that made me pause and ponder how much of an impact games can have on me 'The last of us' finally got a sequel. That game always felt complete, it was a full experience and story wise it had one of the most emotional high points for me in a game. Very few other games pull your hear strings like that (Mass effect, DragonAge to name a few). So when they announced a sequel I wasn't really sure if I wanted one. Well I am happy to tell y'all that yes I did, we all did.

The Last of Us Part 2, over the collage of emotions I have gone through playing this, from the calm moments to the endearing, riveting and painful moments. We have been given the opportunity to take a peek into the life of Ellie & Joel after the events of the first game. But this time it isn't just them but those around them. Certain events transpire early on which pretty much becomes the driving point for player engagement throughout the game. I am not going to get into spoilers. I feel the story is so unique that revealing anything here will only spoil it for those who take the time to experience it.

What I will talk about is how this game after a very long time made emotionally connect with the story.

The music, the survival mechanics, the gameplay, the combat, the voice acting and the story. All of these gel into something so unique that you really can't get this anywhere else. The amount of effort that has gone into fleshing out these characters. The moments that make you question the choices of certain characters and more than anything the impact each of them have on you is simply incomparable. This time around you not only get to play as Ellie but Abby as well. Not many characters have such an impact on you but their stories, the story of these two women, the characters in their stories, their relationships, the anger, the tears, the anguish, the rage all of it together make The last of us II, in every sense this game is a complete experience.

Inclusivity is something a lot of people have hard fought for in this industry. Any women who is a queer will take pride in their representation in this game. It will help you understand their emotions and might even help you broaden your acceptance of this as a natural part of life.

Combat is hard hitting and the survival aspect of it adds another dimension to a already rich game. Multiple layers to craft, multiple upgrades and each of them matter, giving you an edge in the game against some truly creative and unique enemies. Infected or non infected. this game is packed with variety and will always keep you guessing.The graphics are mind blowing, I cannot imagine this is a game that runs on my PS4 Pro. So much meticulous effort has gone into the detail of this game. So much love, care and passion to make this an exquisite experience like none other. Hats off to y'all at Naughty Dog.

Once again a special shoutout to Ashley Johnson, Troy baker & Laura Bailey, truly is a role of their lifetimes and they have giving award winning performances.

A final note of thank you to Neil Druckmann, the man who made it all happen, the single anchor point to this life changing experience of a game, to you sir Thank you.

Final Verdict: If I had a chance to experience all of this for the first time again, I will take it in a heartbeat. Thank you Naughty Dog. My game of this generation is finally here ^_^

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen order

                                                        'Remember.... Trust only....In The Force'

I am shivering with excitement as I write this. Where do I even begin. Star Wars holds a special place in the entertainment industry. It is a franchise that has deep roots to how we as audience have began to embrace and celebrate sci-fi franchises. Star Wars games have enjoyed a similar response in the last decade. Knights of the old republic from BioWare, force unleashed and several more gems which have cemented the legacy of Star Wars as a viable video game franchise. This generation saw a few lackluster releases like the new battlefront games. Ea has been struggling with the license as it is. Enter respawn, a studio who have made it their job to do the impossible. Be it titanfall, apex legends or now fallen order. Fallen order is a game that breaks every trend in the gaming industry now be it live service game, micro transactions or half baked releases. Jedi fallen order is a single player, no MTX present polished game. The game makes a statement that not only bucks current trends but also embraces the core concept of what makes a game fun. And take my word for it jedi fallen order is such a gem to play.

You are cal a Padwan on the run for his life right after the events of revenge of the sith. The story sets you up as you journey across the Star Wars universe in hopes of being able to restore the Jedi’s fallen order. 5 planets each filled with different environments, traversal, enemies and non linearity in its gameplay. Thanks to my small diversion to dathomir I probably unlocked the best thing ever in this game, it allows that freedom and begs you to embrace it. It has taken several brilliant ideas from existing franchises like dark souls where the whole map is filled with shortcuts and tie ins that make it satisfying to explore. Speaking of exploration from chests to scans there is o much lore in this game plus the cosmetics are bountiful all unlocked through playing the game. BD the droid that joins you on this journey is the sweetest companion ever created in a game. The moment to moment gameplay, banter and sequences are just so memorable with BD. All the characters from the ship captain, to a jedi who has quit the order the game ties in all of these fantastically written characters into a engaging story filled with twists and Easter eggs to previous Star Wars games and movies.

The gameplay, ever wanted to weild a light saber and feel like a Jedi. Well here you go but this isn’t the flashy ones this is also the vulnerable Jedi where the light saber is yours tool and aly not something that can save you if you don’t watch yourself.The scripted story sequences are also a delight and house some of the most memorable moments in the game from flying a giant bird to defeating a monster and even some super exciting chase sequences the game pits you against the fiercest of enemies and makes you learn to survive.
The music is phenomenal, hats off to the music director for nailing the feel of both the traversal and combat music.

Final verdict: Jedi fallen order finally quenched my urge to play a fun single player game that pays tribute to the wonderful universe that is star wars. Thank you respawn, y’all have created a masterpiece ^_^

Destiny 2

                                                                   'Thank you Bungie ^_^ '

I have been a gamer for quite some time and I always saw the medium as my way to find a community I can be a part of. Being the introvert I am I never got to experience the fun of meeting new people and making friends online. Back when Halo launched it was such a big deal for so many of us we would find friends who were lucky enough to get a copy of the game so all of us can play it to see how it is and whine we did we were blown away by what we had seen. 

To be able to witness the birth of sci-fi right before our eyes was truly magical and one unforgettable experience. Over the years so many other games such as Assassin's creed and Call of duty happened that built on the magic of games but nothing truly could live up to what Halo had achieved. So when I moved to the States for my studies Bungie had launched The taken king and was getting rave reviews. I saw this as an opportunity to get back into the world of bungie and relive some of the magic. 

The day I started playing Destiny, I personally consider the focal point of everything I am today. Let me elaborate back when I came here I was far from my home away from parents in a new land and an introvert. I found myself often struggle to reach out to people. Destiny helped me break that the first time I landed in the tower and saw other people I was pleasantly surprised. A common platform for me to meet others, an equal footing as a guardian of the light. 

Over time I fell in love with the game, it's characters, the story it tells and the mysteries it holds. I made a few friends and even consider doing vault of glass the single greatest achievement for myself, since that was the first time I had played with a group of other people. PvP was mind blowing to me, I still could not fathom the concept of being able to play with and against other players and use super powers in battle. It's like all my childhood fantasies had come to life. 

When destiny 2 launched I saw it a way to start over since I never got to invest myself completely into the game so I figured the best way to do this is to start playing with others. I found myself at a disadvantage for I had long stayed away from joining any groups. I saw this as an opportunity to start something on my own, a clan which I can call home and have like minded people join me. 

This was probably the best decision of my life, when I started the clan I realized I had to go about convincing people to join me and prove that I am capable of leading a group. There were testing times when people of different wants and needs used to join us, I learnt so much about being a leader, how to convince people and keep them engaged. All of this not only helped form a clan but also helped me learn to be an independent person.

I learnt to break this barrier around myself, to reach out to people in real life and get stuff done. I grew more as a person and all of this thanks to destiny. I have had so many wonderful memories with friends. I cherish every moment spent and I want to thank everyone at bungie including you sir for making this possible. Your work has impacted so many lives and we are forever grateful for that. Destiny is my home and the shining beacon of hope in my life and it is something I always look up to when in doubt.Thank you to everyone at bungie from the bottom of my heart.

 - Vignesh Krishnamoorthy

Anthem

                                          ' The Anthem Of Creation, it sings to us - Faye '

Anthem has been polarizing and for good reasons, while those that expected a solid story from the maker's of mass effect with branching choices and narrative are left wanting the idea that loot is missing in a looter shooter isn't very far off.
Anthem has had a very troubled development, we have seen this all tomany times now. Both destiny 1 and 2 had their own troubled development cycles, numerous mistakes and took them about 4 years to find a proper footing. The reason Anthem is not given the same leeway is because the game didn't launch alongside destiny 1 but has instead launched at the tail end of Destiny 2. But what anthem doesn't do is take into account the missteps of these games but instead chooses to completely ignore all of them while making a few on it's own.

Despite starting off in a negative way, there is so much to like about anthem, the gameplay is so much fun, each javelin feels significantly different from the other, the abilities are awesome. the setting is fantastic but anthem doesn't utilize any of these to their fullest potential leaving you wanting for more. Combat feels repetitive thanks to no different enemy types and really bad A.I. Loot is glaring missing from this looter shooter. All weapons feel the same, armor isn't part of the loot pool but is instead part of the EA store. There are a heap of technical issues ranging from hard rashes to audio glitches, to player tethering and the annoying transporting to mission location. Not only does the charm fade away after the first few hours but all of these problems are amplified when you hit a grind gate in the middle of the game. Where you are asked to complete a certain set of objectives to progress, not only does this kill the flow of the game but it also reminds you of why artificially extending the length of a game is never good. This single mission rips apart any good will the game has earned until now to show the actual problems modern day looter shooters face, stagnation.

The core story of anthem is amazing, even better than destiny dare I say, the premise is wonderful but the game itself needed atleast another year of development before it is anywhere close to enjoyable. Higher tier difficulties are unlocked once the campaign is done but there is no incentive to play it, to grind through the same 3 strongholds (one of them being a repeat of the last story mission) and to keep getting better loot doesn't really help because the gameplay loop isn't there. Everytime you pull the trigger in destiny it feels amazing that gameplay loop which so many games have perfected is lacking in this game. Too much randomization has made a lot of things in this game loose it's uniqueness, random enemy spawns (AI is completely unresponsive or one shots you), random weapon drops with varied stats (cannot tell the difference between any of them), all of these compound to bring to light where the game truly failed as a looter shooter.
On the positive side, the music is awesome, the characters are all memorable, every one of them unique and distinct waiting to be discovered. Some amazing voice acting and a solid story is what kept me going through the game despite it's shortcomings.

Final Verdict: The game is as broad as an ocean with the depth of a pond, Bioware's maiden attempt in the looter shooter genre goes wrong. Hope they get the time and resources to fix it.

Far Cry New Dawn

        " This is our territory, let all of Hope County know that the Highwaymen are here "
As I watched the credits role for Far Cry New Dawn there was only one question in my mind. Why wasn't this game fully priced ?

Before you flip hear me out. Yes, I know that this game reuses assets from Far Cry 5 and the story takes place in Hope County again, 17 years later. But that is where the similarity ends, After the apocalypse, nature has taken back all of hope county and in a beautiful way. There were many a times where I had paused to take it all in, the graphics with HDR is some of the best the series has ever seen. I cannot stop gushing over the fact that almost nothing feels the same yet everything is familiar the single greatest success of this game.

A compelling opening sequence puts you on a path of vengeance as you work to free hope county from this new threat, Mickey and Lou such an enigmatic set of villans, sisters who want to take over the world and all that stands in their way is you. The beauty of new dawn is how the story is immaculately paced, for an open world where I get to do anything I want this game let's you hold true to it but the main story arc is so compelling that you wouldn't want to stop. Every mission uncovers a plot thread, with so many old and new characters making an appearance, you cannot stop but smile at how amazingly the plot thread has been woven around them all. The base upgrading mechanics is pure genius where it compels you to play all of the game and the reward for it is powerful weapon and health upgrades.

Weapons are divided into tiers and each requires you to unlock the base further. At elite tier the guns were just insanely powerful that I cannot but glee at the sheer joy of using them. Yes the game can be grindy at times but I would say that this way I ended up exploring all of hope county, doing every treasure stash and rescuing every specialist. and mind you none of them are the same despite taking place in the same locations each one is a small mini game with you solving a puzzle to find your way in and get perks, loot , components from it. These stashes also give you coins, a new currency that lets you skip the grind to get powerful weapons. I was personally never pushed to get anything for I spent the coins to get the grenade launcher and was able to craft the LMG myself.

The music is very much in tone with the game with heavy punk rock and creepy vibes all around. The best moments of far cry happen in the open world, when driving around hope county I never felt bored for a single moment cause there was something or the other going on constantly, keeping you engaged and having fun. Every enemy you kill gives you components, every prisoner you save gives you perk points, the outposts are back in all their glory and an ingenious system or scavenging the outpost to make it even harder to get more loot from it by capturing a second time is just brilliant. New dawn has so many interesting choices in terms of revisiting old mechanics there is always soemthing there to surprise you and I believe that will be the game's biggest strength.

Final Verdict: Far Cry New Dawn is a worthy sequel to Far Cry 5, one that does justice to the amazing world of Far Cry 5 but offers it's own spin on the post apocalyptic world. If it can be this much fun then am with the Father on this one :D :P 

Bioshock 2

"Ryan was wrong. To hand sufficient power to any individual is to create a Tyrant. We must therefore eradicate tyranny at the genetic level. To end sin itself. That is the Family. That is our cause - Sofia Lamb"

It takes a lot of effort to make a great game but even more to create a sequel that builds on it to give us something truly amazing. Bioshock 2 puts you in the shoes of a big daddy who has been separated from his little sister 'Elena'. You go on this search for redemption that pits you against Sofia Lamb, Elena's mom. The game takes place in parallel to Bioshock 1 and explores the Rapture in a way like never before. The gameplay has been improved upon in a lot of ways. From better gunplay to a variety of plasmids there is a lot of fun to be had with some intense combat encounters. If big daddies were a thing to behold in the first game, a big sister is the terror of bioshock 2. Every time you save or harvest a little sister there is a chance for an encounter with the big sister. Fast agile and insanely powerful big sisters are one of the most terrifying villains in the history of the bioshock franchise.

The music is engaging and the mini games are a welcome change from the mildly annoying turn puzzles from 1. The skill system has been expanded upon with a new set of features called tonics that act as passive buffs to the player. Each tonic requires adam and the mechanic of adam collection with the little sister is both engaging and repetitive for it makes for some memorable fights but can be tad similar with the variety of enemies you face.

Bioshock 2 sets a more darker tone with regards to how the story plays out and along the way the player is presented with a distinct set of moral choices one that casts ripples across the universe with the consequence of each choice visible in the game world. memorable characters with some amazing voice acting elevate the game with a distinct sense of realism. Be it augustus sinclair or grace holloway each character has a motive and reason as to why they are the way they are. The ever manipulative stanley poole or the good doctor 'Gilbert Alexander' gone mad you get a sense of who they truly are from the environment of the stage. A set piece crafted with immaculate detail so as to reflect the character's true desire. 

Final Verdict: All in all Bioshock 2 takes the best of the first game and builds upon it an intricate story of love, betrayal and trust. Hats off to 2k Marin for such a phenomenal piece of work where the story might not always land the gameplay sure does. Welcome back to Rapture ^_^

Bioshock

                                                   “A man chooses...a slave obeys.” - Andrew Ryan
'Words cannot justify what I have experienced, for I have seen Rapture in all it's glory ' - Me, after seeing the credits roll

I have long been yearning to play a game that this insane combination of an intricate and complex story with a compelling narrative and real word choices that affect the game and it's world. Not only is the story good but the gameplay is so addictive with a sharp learning curve and a ton of abilities.
Bioshock has the most organic and lived in world I have ever seen in a game. Why I took this long to play this gem is beyond me but I am glad I did. Let me take y'all on this journey to Rapture ^_^

There is a plane crash and you are one of the few survivors who stumble upon a doorway to an underwater city called Rapture. From the opening moments of you going underwater in the sub, to seeing the city come to life before you and to the dread of seeing a splicer for the very first time. That sense of dread and awe and the constant mix and match of these emotions is what bioshock is all about. The story is filled with a certain suspense and thrill to what all of this is, why it is happening and what has put you in the middle of it. Bioshock is one of those few games that genuinely surprises you with how the story evolves, as the story moves forward you see characters develop, change and morph into something else you never thought them to be. The true nature of Bioshock is left for the player to discover for it is one that they shape constantly.

Music adds a sense of realism and dread that elevate even the most random strolls in the streets of rapture. The gameplay mechanics are super fun with a ton of abilities in the form of plasmids that give you super human powers such as fire, electricity, ice and even telekinesis. Combine that with some basic but fun gunplay bioshock has some of the most satisfying combat for a first person shooter. It would be a disservice to call it that 'FPS' for it is so much more. Every single location is thought out, different in asthetic and unique in it's offerings. The mood of the story telling is conveyed through locations and it is one of the very rare games that pull it off. Big daddys and little sisters are a stand out mechanic and every time you face one the weight ferocity of one makes you tremble with fear. With a variety of guns to choose from and a constant upgrade to your current abilities bioshock does a fantastic job of keeping the combat familiar but interesting with it's fleshed out enemy types. The true beauty of rapture is in what it sets out to convey a solid, engaging and breathtaking RPG.

Final Verdict: Thank you to each and everyone who created this masterpiece. The sheer sense of satisfaction and enjoyment I had when I saw the credits roll has been something that has been sorely lacking for quite sometime now. My quest to find a good RPG with amazing gameplay and a mind blowing story has finally come to an end. Rapture is here ^_^