Strategy Guide Reviews

A Strategy Guide for your Strategy Guides

The Corner of Randomness: A Storm is a Brewin

By Leave a Comment

Fallout-4The storm is already at our door steps. The storm is the onslaught of new video game releases. Just looking over the horizon, you can see Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider, Fallout, and so many more games ready to invade our homes. Bank accounts are not prepared for this battle of will.

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been too busy to really pay attention to all the great games dropping. I know I’ll definitely be snagging Tales of Zestiria as soon as I get the strategy guide. I’m also totally grabbing Fallout 4 as well. Those are really the only two games that are on my “must own nowish” list. Part of that makes me happy. Part of it makes me stupid sad.

The happy part is that when I sit down to play a game, I am actually immersed in it. I’m not distracted by the newest and shiniest game. I’ve completed more games this year than I probably have over the five years prior…..combined. My Stack of Shame hasn’t really grown all that much this year. Also, my bank account is not looking at me like I just gave it bread and water for food as I was too broke to buy a proper meal.

The sad part is that I miss being wrapped up in all the hype of new games. I like the  games, yet I know very little about Syndicate other than you can hit people with canes, or that you rock a dapper looking top hat. While I’m getting Fallout 4, I haven’t really paid much attention to it more than the initial reveal a few months back. I miss it.

Yet, this storm is relentless. Outside of a crazy amount of stupid hype level new games coming out, let’s not forget the madness that is the Steam sales. Some might know that as a time we watch our life savings go out the window $5 at a time. It seems no matter how busy I am, what state I am in, or what family I am visiting, I ALWAYS find time to login to Steam and spend money. Friggin deals!

In all of this rambling, one thing is very clear. It is a great time to be a gamer. Great games keep coming. New universes are forged in the dark pits of coder hell. New stories come to distract us from the mundane aspects of life. We truly are a lucky bunch!

Monday Gaming Diary: More Extra Life Talk

By Leave a Comment

I’m under a heavy embargo to prevent any discussion of what I’ve been playing, so I’m going to use this opportune time to talk MORE about Extra Life.

As Chris and I have said ad nauseum, we know that people have their hands out all over the place asking for money. My personal Facebook feed has at least 10 people with their own gofundme campaigns in addition to people advertising their home businesses and asking others to buy things from their kids. Hell, it wasn’t very long ago that I posted about buying popcorn from my eldest for Cub Scouts, and I know I’ll be doing it again for his Jumprope for Heart charity in the spring. I do try to donate what I can to my friends and family, but I know all too well how it can be financially straining.

In order to help sweeten the pot a little bit, I’m going to toss in a free PlayStation 4 copy of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. It’s not important how I have two; what is important is that donors in the US who donate $25 to my campaign will be in the running for a free copy of AC Syndicate. So now you have a choice of the game or a free strategy guide of your choice.

The PS4 copy is a day-one edition that comes with all preorder-only codes. I have not redeemed any of them.

I am forming a playlist now for my 24 hours of gameplay, but I’m still allowing for donors to tell me what to play from the list of games I have on the campaign page. All it takes is $5 to get me play Destiny. If no one tells me what to play, then it will most likely be Dragon Age Inquisition and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn all day and all night.

This will be the last plea for donations. Don’t forget that Chris has his own giveaways and such on his campaign, and we have two other team-members if you’d rather donate to Ross or Jen.

Thank you all for your kindness!

The Corner of Randomness: Games in Short Bursts

By Leave a Comment

GTFOI’ve been stupid busy working on my house. With winter just around the corner, I’ve taken on to putting a band aid repair to my old windows to help them stop leaking so much heat out. With that major distraction going on, I’ve been too beat to really tackle bigger games. I haven’t even sat down to enjoy Disgaea 5 like I really want to.

This is where mindless games in short bursts comes into. Usually I finish working on the house around 6PM. I make a quick dinner. I pour a drink. I sit down at my computer and generally space the fuck out. Ripping apart windows may not seem like much, but by the time I finish any other work on the house, I’m beat. So, I load up Brutal Doom and lay waste to everything in my path. It’s violent and oh so satisfying.

The one game that catches me off guard is Cities: Skylines. Maybe it is all the years I’ve play the Sim City games, but I can play this game no matter what. It’s just so damn fun. I always learn something new and each new city I make gets that much better. I am kinda mad at myself for not picking up this game sooner.

Thankfully, I should be done with windows next week and can take a few days and just chill and enjoy some gaming. With that, it’s time to go get back to painting some trim pieces.

Monday Gaming Diary: Caved and Bought More LEGO Dimensions Toys

By Leave a Comment

One of my biggest gripes with LEGO Dimensions is how expensive this particular toys-to-life game is, especially with how much they remind you of what you need to constantly buy. You’d think I wouldn’t jump in and buy anything outside of what I’ve already purchased, the Portal 2 and Back to the Future Level Packs, but no, I couldn’t help myself. There are some Fun Packs and Team Packs I do want, and  there are future Level Packs and Fun Packs I know I will get. All because I am part of the problem.

In fact, over the weekend, I bought one Team Pack and two Fun Packs. Because I’m part of the problem.

Have I played with these packs yet? Oh hell no. I haven’t had the time for it. But look at how cute Benny’s Spaceship is!

SPACESHIP! #legodimensions #thelegomovie

A photo posted by Keri Honea (@crunchychocobo) on

I also purchased Bad Cop and the Jurassic World Team Pack. I cannot wait to put together the raptor for Owen to ride. Blue has got to be at least half as cute as the Turret from the Portal 2 Level Pack.

And then of course I want Wonder Woman with her Invisible Jet and most likely any other DC Comics character thrown my way, Doc Brown, and the Ghostbusters Level Pack. I’ll probably spend more on these toys than I have on Skylanders, and I own more Trap Team characters than I thought I would. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed that TT Games and WB does what they said they would, and that’s to create more level packs to use with the original game, not make a LEGO Dimensions 2 and fall into the Disney Infinity and Skylanders hole. I know it’s wishful thinking, but they really could make far more money by selling toys with more content than trying to sell another game. Skylanders is discovering that now.

At least now when I wonder why I’m so broke, I can physically see why on my desk with the toy portal and now dozen of LEGO toys.

I need help. Send help. But only after the Ghostbusters Level Pack releases.

Monday Gaming Diary: LEGO Dimensions Fun and Sadness

By Leave a Comment

I’ve been hard at work all week (when it wasn’t Halo night, of course) playing LEGO Dimensions for review. I was super pumped about LEGO Dimensions after E3, and I looked forward to getting my hands on the full game at launch. That day has come and gone, and I have to say that overall I’m pleased with the game, but it makes me sad at the same time.

It’s as fun as I would have expected the game to be, despite the fact I have NO FUCKING CLUE what went on in the Dr. Who level. I’m still convinced I needed to be high to understand it. I had a friend who has watched Dr. Who try to explain what I saw to me, and I’m still confused. I’m guessing Dr. Who is one of those series that you either adore or don’t care about; no middle ground. All I know is, what I saw was batshit crazy and none of connected for me. I’m told that what was referenced were two core manifests for the show, and then I fell asleep during the explanation.

Aside from Dr. Who and the Legends of Chima, I really enjoyed the levels, the dialogue, and the hilarious cut scenes that TT Games is known for with their LEGO Games. I mean, how can you not laugh at genius like this:

Or this?

The only real problem I had with the game was its paywall. I’ve played a few toys-to-life games before, so I’m aware there’s always a paywall, because they want you to buy more toys. That’s just the way the world works. However, how they did it was take the tried-and-true formula TT Games has always had with LEGO games and give it a paywall.

LEGO games always have areas or collectibles that are inaccessible until free play mode and specific characters are unlocked. Now, instead of a free play mode, the way to unlock these areas is to buy new characters. There are plenty of packs I want, of course, but I don’t want all of the franchises, and buying at least one pack from each franchise is the only way to unlock everything. I’ve always made it a goal to complete a LEGO game to 100%, and this time, I can’t do it. Even if I wanted all of the franchises, it’s too expensive to buy them all. The toy packs are more expensive than other toys-to-life games, and the fact that the level packs add in more content only eases the price pain a wee bit.

It honestly lowers my motivation to play much of the game at all. I’m not sure I can even get a platinum trophy without buying everything, which really sucks if so.

I really did have fun with the game, and I don’t regret picking up the Portal expansion pack at launch at all, as the Portal levels were by far my favorite. I just wasn’t a fan of constantly seeing everything I’m missing out on at every turn of the game. It’s not going to stop me from unlocking as much as I can throughout the game, though!

Top Posts & Pages