Horror Noob on Outlast
Well – I played this game for about half an hour, and I think I had only made about 5 minutes worth of progress.
I’ve never really played a horror game, and maybe this is my noobness here, but this game pulled me right in. I felt like I was there. And damn did it feel real.
Basically you are a journalist equipped with only a camcorder (with precious battery-draining night vision capability) and tasked with the goal of exposing some not-so-good charitable foundation’s activity at an old mental asylum.
You can’t fight. So your only options are to run, hide, or not be seen.
While your camcorder is up you have the ability to produce notes in your notebook. These help you along the way.
Here is a list of things that I thought were done really well:
- Your characters breathing. You can hear it and you know this dude is terrified.
- The ambient sound. It’s eerily quiet and all of the creeks and groans keep you alert.
- The music.
- Shimmying through tight areas. Every single time I had to do this I felt physically vulnerable both in game and in real life.
- Every time I pulled the camera up I had that, “Oh Shit” moment just prior to turning on the night vision.
- Your own shadow will make you jump.
- You can peak around terrifying corners.
I only had a chance to play for a short while, but I have to say I really like the start of this game. I don’t have much to say in the way of plot progress or a more in-depth review of how the game actually performs.
What I can say is this: I felt like I had to keep checking over my shoulder while I played the game. It was an awesomely creepy and terrifying feeling.
It’s free for Playstation Plus Members this month and I recommend checking it out.
Basic RPG Class Decision Tree
This might be helpful if you or a friend are just starting out. You’ll encounter these archetypes in most games, but be mindful that all games are different. Hybrid classes not included.
Basically – Are you melee or mage?
MMORPGs.
*courtesy of http://meltyzombie.deviantart.com/
The first MMORPG I attempted to play was Final Fantasy XI. I played for about a day before I put it down though eventually I’d return.
I switched to Star Wars Galaxies. I still think the Pre-CU version of that game was my favorite MMORPG. I bet if I played it now I’d see so much wrong with it. (Which I could do if I wanted. Head here if you’re interested: http://www.galaxiesreborn.com/). There was something about it though. It felt like you could almost do anything. I played religiously, exploited like hell, and then quit. Ah – memories.
My friend had gotten FFXI so it was back to that. This time I played daily for well over a year. I had an active membership I would come back to for at least a few years off and on too. Games like this give you memories. They bring you together with other people. It helps distort what your doing just enough to keep playing. I eventually realized I didn’t play the game because I liked it. I played it for the people I met. I’m grateful that I’m still friends with them, but man, I hated that game.
You were always poor! If you didn’t put actual work into the game to make money you were always gimped. You had to party with six other people to make anything happen. You could wait for hours for this. And before you could join they would ask what type of gear you had. No gear? No dice. No money? No gear. Repeat. I bought all my money in the game, which is a big no-no.
The game would tell you something was easy and it would kick your ass.
In my opinion it was unplayable, but I played it (and others)… for way too long.
*I’ll throw a note in here about my experience with FFXI. This was from years and years ago. I know the game is still going on, and I am not sure of how it has changed. This is all from my perspective during my active play time a long time ago. I’d love to hear about how it has changed.*
That’s one thing about MMORPG’s (at least all of them I’ve played) – You stop playing it for the game and start playing it for other reasons. I tell my non-gamer friends that MMORPG’s are basically just really advanced chat clients.
That’s still my feeling on them.
I’ve played a half dozen or so I guess. FFXI, SWG, Lineage II, WoW, SWTOR, and I’m sure some others I can’t remember. The experience was always the same no matter the game or people.
Eventually you’re just chatting with people (or watching the chat) while running monotonous tasks.
I’ve mostly switched to other types of games. I had gotten rid of my PC which made it so MMO’s were harder to play. I’ve just gotten a PS4. I still keep my eye out for new MMO’s to play. I’ll buy them too. And I’ll try to play them.
I’ve said a few times, “Elder Scrolls Online is coming out have you heard anything about it? Should I try FFXIV? I’ve heard bad stuff.”
It’s just a weird type of game.
I play single player RPG’s off and on and they don’t feel the same at all. In a single player RPG the story either drives the game or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t you just put the game down and you’re done.
To be honest after thinking about MMO’s so much I’m not sure if it’s just my personality, or my view of the game, or whatever that keeps me around. I imagine other people just quit without issue. It just doesn’t seem that way from my experience. It feels like people stick around.
I would love to play one of these games again and feel thrilled to be playing. Maybe my tastes have just changed when I haven’t wanted them to. Maybe some of the newer ones coming out will rejuvenate my interests again.
What do you guys think? Have you played these types of games a lot? What kept you playing? Why did you stop?
Battlefield 4 – Engineer Class Land Mine Tips. PS4.
I play mostly as an engineer and few things feel better than getting land mine kills. Straight up.
I put all land mines down in a triangular shape a few feet apart. If a tank hits one they’ll all go off. Dead tank. Unfortunately you only have three mines (without upgrades) so try to take out the best vehicle you can. 
Note you’ll often see mines in straight lines. Effective for stopping jeeps, but if a tank hits one or two it’s not enough to kill it unless it’s already been damaged. So I go for the layout above.
Before you spawn in look and see if you can spot enemy heavy vehicles on the map. These are the targets you should be going after. Where will they most likely be going next? The closest point controlled by the enemy.
Find the pathways where their traffic will most likely be. Find the best spot you can and get your mines down.
Remember that land mines can be seen. So I usually look for existing debris, explosion foxholes, railroad tracks, or other bumps in the road. Put your land mines here. You’ll want to put them on the opposite side of the traffic flow. Vehicle operators usually don’t see them and will ride right over top of them.
If the existing debris is something that must be driven around that makes a nice choke point for you to place your mines. You know where they’ll be before they do. Use it.
You can only have 3 land mines (again – without upgrades) on the field at once. These exist even after you die. However if you die and start placing new land mines down your old mines will disappear. If you have them in a good spot and die, don’t place new ones. Wait for the trap to pay catch someone and then place the new mines down.
One of my favorite things to do is to lure tanks to the land mine trap I’ve set. If you place your mines down and they aren’t taking the bait shoot your rocket at them then run and hide on the opposite side of your mines. Launch a pot shot or two and they’ll come determined. Sometimes I just shoot them with my rifle and run. That usually works too.
Last thing I can say is don’t forget to laugh. It’s a great feeling running 1000 yards away on the map and suddenly get 450+ points flash on the screen from a set of land mines you dropped a minute ago.
Happy playing! Any additional tips leave me some comments. Always interested in hearing
Marklar Gaming 