Video Game Review: God of War 3 Remastered

Last week I finally finished God of War 3 Remastered on the PS4. The game began life on the PlayStation 3 as a continuation in the God of War games. I played both God of War and God of War 2 on my PS3 this summer and found them to be very entertaining. As the original 2 games were developed for the PS2 and later remastered for the PS3, I found it fitting that I played the 3rd volume as a remaster as well.

As I have stated before, I have spent time in the offices of Santa Monica Studios and while I don't work for the studio, I want to make sure that I disclose that I do have friends that work there and occasionally visit them. However I still try to remain as objective as possible in my video game reviews.

God of War 3 is a continuation of the first 2 games and the game play is very similar. The 3rd title does contain a bit more refinement and the graphics on the PS4 are just amazing. You continue to fight against the Gods of Olympus and sometimes enlist the help of the titans while other times fighting against them. There are a few new weapons to master and a bunch of new puzzles to solve.

Several of my gaming co-workers told me to avoid playing the same video game franchise one after another. That is great advice. I'm not sure I would have found the game nearly as enjoyable if I jumped from 1 to 2 and then to 3. By throwing other games into the mix, I found it to be a lot of fun going back to the series. Now I am excited to play the upcoming God of War 4.

God of War 3 is rated M for mature and it deserves this rating. While there isn't any strong language, there is some nudity and a lot of graphic violence. The nudity is along the same lines as that found in the first 2 games but not encountered until much later in the game. As for the violence, you run around beating people, sometimes ripping them apart. I wouldn't recommend eating while playing the game. I also wouldn't recommend the game for anyone under the age of 18. This is not a kids' game.

God of War 3 Remastered has been out for a while now and you can purchase it for around $20. It took me about 12 hours of play time to get through the game and so that works out to be a great value. While the previous 2 games are of a similar length, I felt like I got through it very quickly.

Christmas List 2016: Video Games I Want to Play

Every year I try to put together a Christmas list for that technically minded person in your family based upon what I want. Sometimes I have listed feel-good gifts but most of the time I list video games and other items that I would like to receive. Today I am going to restrict it to just video games. I must confess that I already own a bunch of these games and so this list is what I would like to play during the Holiday break when I am not skiing. Some of these are old games while others have just come out. That should give you a healthy mix of economical gifts as well as more expensive ones. Here is the list, in alphabetical order:

Battlefield 1: I really enjoyed playing Battlefield 3. I tried Battlefield 4 but lost interest after about an hour. I understand that EA figured out they need compelling story lines so that Battlefield 1 is much more engaging. I already have my copy of this game and look forward to finding some time to play it.

God of War 3: I have finished playing both 1 and 2 on the PlayStation 3 so now I want to play the remastered version of 3 on the PlayStation 4. I had hoped to start this evening but am getting really tired after waking up at 4:15 this morning to catch my flight to California and may begin tomorrow. Naturally I have a copy of this game already and have had it for quite some time.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: The Tomb Raider reboot is one of my favorite video games. It is along the same lines as the Uncharted series with a female protagonist instead of a male one. Those of you with XBox One consoles have been able to play this game for the past year, while those of us that favor the PlayStation 4 console have had to wait. The exclusivity is now over so I am looking forward to picking this game up and continuing the adventure.

Steep: I am a huge fan of skiing and so I look forward to any well-done skiing or snowboarding video game. When the oppressive heat of summer kicks in, I head to my cool basement and pretend it is winter again. That will probably be the case with this Ubisoft title as I don't own it yet. However I have it on my Christmas list in the hopes that someone who loves me will get me a copy.

Uncharted 3 & 4: I love the Uncharted games and have finished both 1 and 2. Now that I have more time, I will try to finish 3 and 4. It may take me some time as I don't have huge amounts of time to play video games. I already have my copies of each game.

The Walking Dead Season 3: I just saw that this will be released shortly. I played the first and second seasons and am eagerly anticipating the next one. I have yet to purchase the game but will look for it as soon as I complete one or two other games on my list.

Yes I work for a video game company but I have tried to include a number of titles from other game publishers. I have also listed those games that have risen to the top of my want-to-play list. As I browsed through the catalog of video games I own and those available for video game consoles, I came across a number of games that sounded interesting but I didn't want my list to be too long. I want it to be honest. Now we will see how many of these I actually play this Christmas season.

The Achilles Heel of the PlayStation 4

Last night I practiced my guitar as my daughter came in and asked if I wanted to watch a movie. Being in the middle of a song, I wanted to finish it before hanging out so I told her to get started without me. She headed down to the TV room and booted up our other PS4. The only problem is that I was in the middle of my song using Rocksmith on the console in my bedroom. The PlayStation 4 does not allow you to be logged in at the same time on 2 different physical machines and that is its Achilles heel.

I had to laugh as my daughter yelled up a sincere, "Sorry," when she heard me tell my wife why I suddenly stopped practicing my guitar. Last night was not the first time we encountered this problem and probably won't be the last. My daughter could have used the dedicated DVD player or our PlayStation 3 but prefers to use the PS4 as it does so better than any movie player available today.

There is a very simple solution to getting booted from my PS4: create a user on it in the TV room specifically for watching movies. I could even name it something like "Movie Watcher." That way when someone else in the house wants to watch a movie, I get kicked off my console in the bedroom.

Video Game Review: Sniper Ghost Warrior 2

Back in April I finished the Sniper: Ghost Warrior and wrote a review. I've had the second version for several months now and finally got around to playing it last week as I wanted a quick game to get through before the Thanksgiving holiday. The two games are very similar in that you are a US Marine sniper sent on a number of missions. Some of them involve sneaking around without getting caught while others require you to shoot people from a very long distance.

As I have mentioned before, I enjoy playing first-person shooters and so I had fun playing this game from City Interactive. As with the first version of this game, it is not a triple-A title and so don't expect a lengthy story or overly complex action. The maps are fairly simple and the 6 or so hours it takes to play the game feel about right for this title. They did do a great job on the scenery and the only glitch I noticed in the game engine is when it saves your progress to disk. That didn't interfere with the game play though. You should be able to find this for a very inexpensive price. I played it on my PlayStation 3 and most of those games can be found in the $5 bin at Walmart or Best Buy.

The game has an ESRB rating of M for Mature due to graphic violence and strong language. I played it alone on my boat and so nobody got offended by the language. However if I had tried to play this at home, headphones would probably have been a requirement. I recommend this game to any young adult that enjoys first-person shooter games and needs an inexpensive Christmas present. I paid next to nothing for my copy and would not recommend paying more than $7 for the game.

Video Game Review: Far Cry 3

Recently I finished playing Far Cry 3 on my PlayStation 3 console. I found a really cheap copy that included Far Cry 2 and Far Cry Blood Dragon. I have yet to play the other two games but interestingly enough, I have played some of Far Cry 4 on my PS4. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I thought I would go back and see if there is any tie into the game before. Nope, you can play each game in any order as they don't rely on each other at all.

Before starting the game I did review a few online guides. The game has an ESRB rating of M for Mature. One of the reasons is because of nudity and that's not something I want to see when I play video games. I read that there really only is nudity at the end if you make a specific choice. They lied. There is another section in the game with some brief nudity. The M rating also applies to language and a lot of violence.

I finished playing Red Dead Redemption and really enjoyed that style of game. I tried a number of other games but couldn't find anything else I enjoyed nearly as much. Fortunately I stuck with Far Cry 3 long enough to discover that it is an open-world game where you can try to stick to the main story or go off and do other things just like Red Dead Redemption. I have to say that I really enjoyed Far Cry 3 and enjoyed playing all the way through the game. I spent about 10 weeks on the game. Remember that I only play about 3 nights a week for 1 to 2 hours and so it took me a lot of calendar time to complete it but not a lot of total time.

Far Cry 3 is published by Ubisoft and I have found myself playing a lot of their games lately. I got my copy of the game for $1 and recommend it if you are looking for an inexpensive game for an adult video gamer still playing games on the previous generation of consoles.

Video Games I have Been Playing

I am stuck at the airport yet again and so I thought I would add to my blog seeing as I have sort of neglected it over the past couple of months. I tried to think of an interesting topic and reread the last video game review I wrote. Since then I have completed some really great titles and so I thought I would write about what I have been playing. None of the games are very new and so including multiple games may help you select a very inexpensive game worth looking at if you have not already played it.

When I finished playing Sniper, I had a number of games to choose from. While Sniper played well, I wanted something a little more mainstream and popular. There are a number of PlayStation exclusives in my library and so I wanted to get through a few of them before sequels arrive on the PlayStation 4. I selected God of War as the next game. I had heard a lot of good things about it and have a copy of the remastered version for PlayStation 3. It originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005 and has been around for a very long time. I have to note that I do have a copy for the PS2 as well.

I must confess that I have actually been to Santa Monica studios where they originally developed the God of War series. It is a great place to visit and the people that work there are awesome. Therefore I am probably not an impartial judge of their game and can't really write an unbiased review. What I can do is say that I really enjoyed the game. There are certain games that you cannot put down once you start playing them. I often found myself playing late into the evening when I should have been sleeping.

I enjoyed playing God of War but it is not a title I would recommend for children or teenagers. There is a lot of nudity and violence. The nudity is animated and cartoonish but I would not have wanted my son playing this game back when he was a teenager. Regarding the violence, at one point you have to BBQ a captured soldier. Even though it is just a video game, I thought that to be a bit over the top.

I finished God of War and thought about playing the sequel. Instead I chose to play a different sequel from another PlayStation exclusive: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I provided a review of the first Uncharted game and want to complete 2 and 3 before starting 4. Of the first 3 games in the series, the second one is my youngest son's favorite. Once again I have to excuse myself from trying to write an unbiased review for this game. I love all things about the Uncharted series and own copies of the first 3 games for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles as well as Golden Abyss for the Vita. I also have a copy of Uncharted 4 still in the plastic waiting for me to finish the other titles before I play it.

As with God of War, I really enjoyed playing Uncharted 2. However I found it much easier to put down in the evenings and didn't try to continue playing late into the night. One reason for that is that Uncharted is divided into nice chapters that serve as great stopping points while God of War just keeps going in one long epic video game. When I would get to the end of a chapter, I looked at my watch and decide if I had time for another one or should head to bed. Don't get me wrong, I would have preferred continuing to play, I just found it easier to break away from the game.

As I mentioned, my youngest son really loves Uncharted 2 and took offense when I told him that it had a similar story to Uncharted 1. He scolded me and said they have different characters, different environments, and are nothing alike. I actually beg to differ. You run through a series of trials where you solve puzzles, kill bad guys, and ultimately lead the main bad guy to a special power that can be used to create immortal soldiers. Looking back on both games, you would have been better off sitting on a beach in the Caribbean or Hawaii. After all, the bad guys aren't smart enough to get to the supernatural power on their own.

Both God of War and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves are fairly old titles and can be found rather inexpensively. A quick Internet search revealed that you can purchase each of them used for less than $10.  Considering their original selling price and how much fun I had playing them, they are real bargains. I played both on my PlayStation 3 even though Uncharted 2 is also available for the PlayStation 4. I just have a PlayStation 3 on my boat and that is where I play most of my video games. Soon I will replace it with a PlayStation 4 but until then I am trying to get through a huge backlog of PS3 games.

Video Game Review: Sniper: Ghost Warrior

Several years ago I started playing Sniper: Ghost Warrior from City Interactive. Somebody gave me the game for free and I played it for about an hour. I put it on the shelf and never got around to playing it again until recently. I felt the need to find a short game that I could complete in a few hours and so I picked it up again as it has an average completion time of five or six hours.

I am a fan of first-person shooters and so I had a lot of fun playing the game. One thing about a sniper-type game is that you can take your time and methodically move through it. You don't win points by rushing through the missions although there are times when you do need to hustle. I only have an hour or so in the evenings a couple of days a week and so it took me about two weeks to run through all of the missions. The first ones take a bit more time while the ones towards the end seem to go quickly. It is almost as if they wanted to make a ten-hour game and decided to cut it by four hours just to get it out.

Sniper is not a triple-A title and so I would not pay more than $15 for it. Especially since it released in 2010. Should you find the game to be a lot of fun, there is Sniper 2 and Sniper 3 also available. I have a copy of Sniper 2 that I picked up super cheap but have yet to break the plastic cover on the game.

Sniper is rated Mature (M) for violence and strong language. Some of the kill scenes are rather graphic. Fortunately you have the option to skip watching them in slow-motion. I would not recommend the game for young teenagers or children but think older teenagers and adults might enjoy it. I played it on my PlayStation 3 but the game is available for the X-Box 360 and PC.

A Tale of Two Rocksmiths

We were cleaning out the storage closets at work today and I managed to pick up a number of old PlayStation 3 games. One of them happened to be the original version of Rocksmith. I have the 2014 version for both the PS3 and the PS4. Why both copies? Well one is for my house where I have an acoustic guitar retrofitted with a pick-up. The other is for my boat where I have a super inexpensive electric guitar. Fortunately the copy I picked up today runs on the PS3 which is the console I have on my boat and where I am this evening. So tonight I loaded it up to see how it plays.

I have only been playing Rocksmith for the past month and am not very good at the guitar yet. My method of learning is to spend at least an hour a day with Rocksmith as my teacher. I am also sure to do scales as that has been instrumental in helping with my technique. While some may argue that you shouldn't use Rocksmith as your only teacher, I don't have the luxury of a regular schedule that would allow me to take lessons. It is a video game or nothing and I want to learn to play the guitar and so my options are somewhat limited.

While the interface between Rocksmith on the PS3 and PS4 is exactly the same, there is one difference: the PS4 version feels more accurate. While that may be a function of the different guitars I am using, the PS4 version just feels smoother, faster, and a bit more polished.

My only complaint with Rocksmith 2014 is that it doesn't provide enough direction for a beginning guitar player. After playing the original Rocksmith this evening, I now know why: there was only one path to follow and that got fixed in the 2014 version. With the original Rocksmith, the game assumes that you are a beginning guitar player and the instruction is very linear. This can be incredibly boring if you already know how to play the guitar and just want to improve. In fact, my hope was that there would be a larger catalog of songs to chose from and that I would be able to switch between the two games. Nope, Original Rocksmith starts with a single Rolling Stones song that you have to play correctly enough before you are presented with a 2nd song. Rocksmith 2014 starts off with about 70 songs to choose from, many of which are recognizable. Of course there is a huge catalog of other songs that you can purchase and add to your music library.

One nice thing about going back to the beginning of the Original Rocksmith is that I was able to see how well an hour a day of practice is helping my guitar-playing skill. I played with over 95% accuracy of the first song and that was a huge ego boost. While the calluses on my fingers tell me I am getting better, it is difficult to see until I went back and compared myself to when I was a true beginner. I guess the video game is doing its job and I am actually learning to play the guitar.

On that note, I think I am done typing this evening and plan to play one or two more songs on my guitar before heading to bed. Success really helps motivate one to practice.

So Many Games, So Little Time

I am working from my home in Utah this week as it is the Thanksgiving week and I figured I would abstain from adding to the chaos in the airports this time of the year. With all of my recent travel it feels kind of strange to be home for such an extended period of time. Normally I don't play video games at home but as I find myself with a lot more time here I have turned on my consoles every now and then. It is a great way to stay awake when I am tired.

I only have a PS3 on my boat in California while I have both a PS3 and a PS4 at home. That has opened up a number of games for me this week. Here are some of the games I will be playing this week:

1. Star Wars Battlefront - I preordered a copy and it arrived while I was in Japan last week. Since I have been home I have gone through several training missions. If you are a fan of the Star Wars movies, then you will love this game.

2. The Order: 1886 - I was given a copy of this game when it came out yet have never found the time to play it. I understand that it should only take 4 to 6 hours to complete and look forward to finally being able to dedicate that much time to it.

3. The Uncharted Collection - I have all three Uncharted games for the PlayStation 3 but only ever played the first game. My sons have played both the 2nd and 3rd games and said they are awesome. I enjoyed Tomb Raider a lot and look forward to a very similar game. I want to get all 3 Uncharted games completed before Uncharted 4 comes out next year so I am ready for it.

Now for the standard disclaimer: I have connections in the video game industry that allow me to get really cheap copies of all these games. In fact I may even work for one of the companies that creates the games mentioned in this post.

A Case for a PlayStation Vita

It is no secret that I am a PlayStation fan. Ever since my brother gave me a PS2 for my birthday complete with SOCOM II, I have been a fan of the PlayStation consoles. When the PlayStation Vita came out several years ago, I picked one up and purchased a few games for it. Unfortunately it has sat in my home office for almost a year without anyone picking it up. That may change next week.

One of the problems with the Vita is a lack of good games. Most video game companies have a limited number of resources and trying to put their games on all of the consoles, including the PS Vita does not always make sense. As someone that plays games, I would much rather buy a game for my PlayStation 3 or 4 than my Vita, so I understand why there is a lack of content.

Fortunately for me, there are a number of free games I am given all the time. Some games are good while others are not. This afternoon I was going through my library of games and noticed I have "The Walking Dead: Season 2" for the Vita. Now I know I said I wasn't going to play it in my last review. However the Vita has one thing that will make me change my mind: it is portable. I spend a lot of time on airplanes and in airports. The Vita is a perfect platform entertaining me in those situations.

Next week when I fly to the Bay Area, I will bring my Vita with "The Walking Dead: Season 2" and see if I can't continue the game. Naturally I will provide a review.

Video Game Review: Far Cry 4

Last night I found myself at home with nobody around and 4 hours of uninterrupted "Me" time. As someone who spends 3 to 4 days a week away from home, I have no shortage of "Me" time and I would have much rather been spending the evening with my wife. However as she had plans to spend time with our 2 daughters, I took advantage of the situation and sat down in front of my television. I recently purchased a bunch of PlayStation 3 video games but also have a number of PlayStation 4 video games that have yet to have the wrappers removed. It probably took too long deciding which game to play but I settled on "Aliens: Colonial Marines."

Hey wait, that isn't the title of this review. Well it had been a while since I had turned my Utah PS3 on and so there was an update required. I then turned on my PS4 and figured out where I last left off in my game of Far Cry 4. It was not my intent to play it all night though. When my PS3 finished updating, I needed to download an update for the Aliens video game. Naturally I went back to the PS4.

Everyone had told me that "Aliens: Colonial Marines" was a waste of the $1 I paid for the game (wrapper still on the package) but I wanted to test it out for myself. I settled in to play the game with a nice refreshing beverage handy as I was ready for a workout. Oh was it a workout. I discovered I really suck at certain video games. It became painfully clear that I have no dexterity when it comes to proper use of the controller. I figured out that I can't fire and move at the same time. While I enjoy playing first-person shooters like Aliens, I am not very good at them. After restarting at the same point for like the 20th time, I turned off the game and went back to my PS4. I am probably done playing Aliens unless I want to work on my hand/eye coordination, which I may. I would like to add that it was well worth the $1 I paid for it so if you can find it cheap, it is entertaining.

Before continuing I have to give the following disclaimer: I met one of the developers of Far Cry 4 at a video game developers conference and he provided me with a code to download the game for free. I would have been willing to shell out $60 for the game as the trailers and reviews made it look that good.

I am only a few hours into the game and will continue playing it to completion. Yes, it is that good. The visuals are very stunning as you run through a beautiful alpine setting in the fictitious country of Kyrat. This is my first Far Cry game and so I am probably unaccustomed to the game mechanics familiar to long-time franchise players. Even then there are plenty of helps along the way and so it is fairly easy to pick up. There are a number of gun battles and my aforementioned controller deficiency doesn't keep me from enjoying the game.

Far Cry 4 is rated "M" for mature and definitely lives up to the rating. While the gun battles are not overly grotesque, there is a lot of strong language and I understand there is some nudity in the game. I have not gotten to that part but understand if I stay true to my morals, I shouldn't come across it in the game. I would recommend the game to college-aged or older guys looking for a visually stunning video game.

Time to Upgrade my Gaming Console

I have been traveling a lot over the last 6 weeks and have missed playing Red Dead Redemption on my PlayStation 3. Last night I was able to start playing some more. I have to say that I really like the game and continue to enjoy it. However I think it will be the last game I play on my PlayStation 3 as I prefer the graphics on the latest video game consoles.

I have a PlayStation 4 at home in Utah but don't get much of a chance to use it for more than watching movies. When I am in the Bay Area on my boat, I have a lot more time to play video games as I am all alone and don't have to share the TV with others. While the PlayStation 3 has been good on the boat, I am ready to upgrade to a PlayStation 4. Some might argue that getting an XBox One would allow me to have both of the latest video game consoles. As you can see from how long it has taken me to get through one video game, I have more than enough games to keep me busy and so keeping with a single brand allows me to share games between my two systems. Besides, I have a number of PS4 games still in their plastic wrappers and would love to start playing them.

So now the question becomes which PS4 should I get? You can pick up a pre-owned system at Best Buy for $349 or a new one for $399. Then there are the bundled units that come with games for the same $399 price. I already own The Last of Us for the PS4 and so that bundle doesn't make sense. One of my co-workers is encouraging me to get the Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition bundle. I asked my oldest son for his recommendation and he said that the I should get the Batman Limited Edition because if I decide to resell the console later, I should be able to get the same or more money for it. My son has the Destiny Limited Edition and it seems to be worth more than he paid for it even though it is used. So which one should I get? Fortunately I have a lot of time to think about it.

Video Game Review: Thief

I felt so great when I was finally able to finish Bioshock Infinite that I was eager to see what the free video game download on PlayStation Plus for the PlayStation 3 was for the month of February. There were two and the more interesting of them was Thief. I have a PlayStation 3 that I keep on my boat in the Bay Area and so I downloaded it one evening while I slept. My Internet connection on the boat is not very fast and so it took a bit longer than if I was at home or in the office.

Thief was created by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix. I asked the guys at work about the game and they all said it got bad reviews. That didn't deter me from playing and so I started playing one evening and couldn't stop for several hours. Instead of running around trying to kill people like you would with a first-person shooter, you are thief and try to sneak around without being noticed. It was very refreshing as I wasn't constantly trying to kill everything in sight. There are also a lot of puzzles to solve including picking various locks, looking for important items, and figuring out where to go next.

Unfortunately I get bored by video games rather easily and so the next night I went to play the game but it didn't hold my interest nearly as long. Instead of wanting to play through for several hours, I was good for about an hour and then decided to move onto other things. I still want to finish the game but the end of the month is coming quickly and I am afraid I may jump onto another game instead. We'll see how this week goes.

Classic MS-DOS Games

It is no secret I work for a video game company and so it is not uncommon to see people playing video games at work. Today someone showed everyone in the office a site where you can play about 2,300 old MS-DOS games in your web browser. Naturally everyone dropped what they were doing and spent a few minutes reliving the past. I went looking for an old game I spent many a night playing when I was back in college. Unfortunately I didn't find it, but I did find a number of other games that held my interest many years ago.

It is amazing to see how far video games have come in the past few decades. Increasing hardware performance has helped usher things along and it is great to see the progress. There are still a number of old video games that are a lot of fun to play even now. One of the guys at work confessed to only being able to beat a specific game one way even though there were four possible paths and he continues to work at the game. It was also interesting to see how simple even the most complex games were back then.

I have been trying to figure out what to do with my time on the boat this evening. There are a number of games I could play on my PlayStation 3. Perhaps I will search this game site and see if I can't find more of those old games I used to play. It could be fun.

Video Game Review: Dead Space 3

A few months ago I was able to download Dead Space 3 for my PS3. Tonight was the first time I have been able to play the game and so I thought I would give a quick review. The PlayStation 4 and XBox One are selling well but there are still a number of games for the older generation consoles that can be found at very low prices. My hope is that this will help you pick an inexpensive Christmas gift for that gamer in your life.

The game starts with a number of quick videos giving you some background. I can only assume they surmise the activities of the first two games, seeing as I never played them. It is enough to get you interested. Game play begins as a soldier in a snowy world looking for something. I have been playing games on the PS3 again and so the graphics look pretty good. Had I gone from a PS4 back to the 3, I probably couldn't say that. I especially like how the transition from video to game play is seamless and that the videos are not done at a higher quality. You get to find your way through the snow with the help of a path control that shows you where to go. I thought it was well done and helps first-timers get to where the real action begins.

I have to admit that I have only played the game for an hour or so but found it very entertaining. There are a number of zombie-type monsters that can be rather difficult to kill even on the easiest or "casual" setting. The graphics are also pretty gruesome and quickly became a turn-off to continue playing the game. I have decided that I will probably go back to Mass Effect for the time being but may continue with Dead Space 3 afterwards.

Dead Space 3 is published by EA and is available for the PC, PlayStation 3, and XBox 360. I would recommend the game for older teenagers and young adults. If you are looking for that family game that everyone will enjoy, this is not it.

Video Game Review: Mass Effect Part I

It is the beginning of the Holiday season now and so I thought I would start my video game review a bit earlier than usual. A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend at Electronic Arts and was able to pick up a copy of the Mass Effect trilogy. I have wanted to play the series for a while and when I saw the bundle for $30, couldn't resist. This long weekend I was finally able to find some time crack open the case and start playing the game.

I have the game for my PS3 system and it is tough to going back to the PS3 after playing games on the PS4 for the past year. I only took a few minutes of play to get used to the older console. Mass Effect is one of those games where you make multiple choices throughout the game and each choice has far-reaching effects. There is also a first-person shooter element and I enjoy first person shooter games.

Mass Effect has been out for a number of years and so there wasn't any updates I needed to download when I started the game. However it did have to install the game on my PS3's hard drive. That seemed to take forever. I think it would have been faster to go to the store, buy a solid-state drive, and install it. I didn't do that, instead I went and had lunch. It was ready when I came back.

The game was a lot like a Uncharted in that it played like movie. I was surprised at how many glitches there were in the game, given its age. Once I had to quite the game and come back in because I had walked into a corner. The two people I was leading wouldn't get out of the way when I tried to back out and I was stuck.

I am only a couple of hours into the first of the three games. It is worth continuing to play as I find it very entertaining. I may have to take a break though as I have to head back to work in a few days. However I will pick it back up again during the Christmas break and will give an update as I get further along.

Time for Another PS4 Game

My boys have really enjoyed playing Knack on the PlayStation 4 over the Christmas break. My youngest son completed the game towards the beginning of December and my oldest son finished the game on Saturday. They both loved the game even though it didn't get very good reviews. Now it is time to find another game on the PS4 for them to play.

I came home from skiing today and my oldest son was playing an old version of Need For Speed: Most Wanted on the PS3. He wasn't playing the PS3 version of the game though, he was playing the PS2 version. He says that the PS2 version has a much better story line . . . and the PS3 version is at his apartment at school. Driveclub should be available in early 2014 and I will be interested to see if he is interested in it as much as Need for Speed. I should also pick up Need For Speed: Rivals and see how he likes it.

My youngest son is a fan of the inFAMOUS series of games on the PS3 and is looking forward to inFAMOUS: Second Son. Unfortunately it won't be available until March 21st, 2014. That is a long time to wait for a game. Until then, he will have to satisfy himself with Battlefield 4 or Killzone: Shadow Fall.

As for me, I continue to enjoy playing Super Motherload. I have it for both the PS4 and the PS3 and have been playing it on my PS3 in the bedroom. Unfortunately my wife thinks it is an incredibly boring game to watch and so I have to wait until she is busy doing something else before I can play it.

The Holiday season is one of the few times we all get to hang out playing games. Once the new year begins, we only have time for one recreational pursuit and that becomes skiing until the snow melts. Luckily we have until January 6th before school and work start up again. Until then, I'll see how much more time I can spend on video games.

The PS4 is Coming

This Friday the PlayStation 4 will be released. I am a PlayStation fan and so it is hard for me to gauge how big this release is going to be. I am wondering if there will be lines around the block Thursday evening with people waiting for units to go on sale at midnight or if nobody will care. I know large number of consoles have been presold before this weekend and Sony believes they are going to sell 5 million units before the end of March. Will that happen or is Sony as overly optimistic as I am?

Smartphones and tablets have changed the gaming industry. Why tether yourself to your TV when you can take a tablet and go anywhere to play games? I work at a video game company, yet I spend a lot of time playing a simple game on my iPhone. Do consoles gaming systems really matter any more?

I will have my new PlayStation 4 on Friday morning and my 17-year-old son has invited a lot of his buddies over that night to play games at our house. We will set up both of our PlayStation 3 consoles in another room to give others a chance to sample our extensive game library and connect the PS4 to our 60-inch flat screen coupled to our THX certified sound system. We will probably crank up the sub woofer so loud we will need to replace windows Saturday morning. I plan to be a fly on the wall Friday night. Only then will I be able to tell if Sony has a success. Stay tuned.

Sports Champions

One of my son's favorite games is Sports Champions and is only available on the PlayStation 3. It utilizes the Move controller and is a lot of fun to play. Even though I have never played the game before today, I have seen my son and daughter play it a lot. I have been gone all last week and my son wanted to spend some time with me. We decided to play Sports Champions and he proceeded to beat me like a slow horse.

Eventually I had to stop playing because I was getting a pretty fierce upper body workout. I know that a lot of people use the Wii to help them exercise. I always thought that was kind of goofy but now I am reconsidering that notion. Proof of that is that I have to write about it in my blog today because tomorrow I won't be able to lift my arms.

I hate to exercise and so I have to trick myself into doing it. I like to ride a bike because it is a lot more fun than running and reminds me of when I was a kid. Lifting weights? no, I'd rather go rock climbing. Besides I am one of the biggest weights I know. Now I have another tool in my bag of exercise tricks. If I can keep it up during Christmas break, I might be able to work off all those calories I plan to eat. Ah, who am I kidding, the best I can hope for is not to gain too much weight.

Helping Others

In one of my previous posts, I explained how to get free lift tickets to Snowbird Ski Resort. It is that time of year where the Snowbird Sports Education Foundation just listed all of their races for the coming season and normal people can sign up to help. In return for spending a day freezing on the side of a mountain, you will receive 2 passes that can be used on another day during the season. If you are looking for a cheap way to go skiing, this is it.

I have spent a better part of my evening going through the list of volunteers that have already responded and adding names to the website. Unfortunately there are a few regular volunteers that offer to help and then never show up. If you ignore them, they sign up again and again. If you try to confront them about it, they claim they attended every race they signed up for. It isn't any fun to be the bad guy but I have to make room for people that actually help out.

Speaking of helping out, I think the world would be a much better place if we all helped each other out. There is a regular on my Monday morning flight that gives me a ride from the Oakland airport to my office in Foster City. It is on the way to his job in Redwood City and so it is only a minor inconvenience to drop me off. In return for the favor, I pay the toll across the San Mateo Bridge. If I was taking public transportation to get to my office, I would have to pay $10 and the bridge is only $5. It turns out we both save $5, which can add up over the course of several years.

This week as we were driving after getting off the plane in Oakland, my co-commuter asked about getting a PlayStation 3. Working for a video game company gives me access to discounted consoles like the PS3 as well as discounts on games. He told me what he wanted and I placed an order for him. I saved him about 50% as opposed to purchasing everything in the store and I was happy to help him out. Do I expect anything in return? Nope, and that's the way it should be.