Wolf House Gaming

Blizzard sure know how to make videogames.

First things first, Overwatch is a quality game. There are issues with balancing, in regards to both maps and characters, and the level of toxicity seems to be rising (something that can't be avoided with massively popular online multiplayer titles) but Overwatch is a game that is being championed. Rightly so.

It is rare to see a high budget, new I.P. from a distinguished studio that's been crafted. It wasn't rushed, or pushed out for a deadline. It isn't gimmicky, even though it appeared to be initially. It plays like an old-school PC FPS, but has brought the genre to modern audiences. It's ironic how the hugely successful Dota 2, created by Valve, originated from Blizzard's Warcraft 3 as Overwatch clearly takes inspiration from Valve's early multiplayer shooters; Team Fortress being the obvious comparison. It's nice to see the nods to those other games, especially with character design. Roadhog is an obvious clone of The Butcher from Diablo (which Dota 2's Pudge is also based on), Tracer shares many similarities with Dota 2's Weaver, and Mercy is basically Team Fortress' medic.

"Nerf this."

The character design ranges from the fantastic to the terrible. In terms of gameplay, each character has a clear purpose and some are stronger than others. This is to be expected, Overwatch is brand new and it'll take time for the balance issues to work themselves out. Dota 2, League of Legends, and even Super Smash Bros. receive constant balance patches now, it is unreasonable to think Overwatch will be any different in terms of updated content.

Artistically, there are some high highs and low lows. The lowest of the lows is easily Reaper, who hearkens back to the 'edgy' character design of the early 2000s. It is reminiscent of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within or Shadow the Hedgehog; it's just shit. How a character called Reaper, with voice-lines like "If it lives, I can kill it" and "Die. Die. Die" got through design with a thumbs up is baffling; it's just shit. Almost everything else, however, is well rounded and polished.

It's hard not to recommend Overwatch. It is unlikely to dethrone Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter Strike (or even Smash Bros. or Street Fighter) at the top of the esports charts, but it is well worth your time and money.

Review

A Review of Overwatch

Blizzard sure know how to make videogames. First things first, Overwatch is a quality game. There are issues with balancing, in regards...

Review

A Review of The Division

A surprisingly ingenious game once you're familiar with it. The Division is some of the best fun to be found on the current generati...

The Best

Evil Geniuses

What a year for the boys in blue. They were victorious at DAC and TI5 before undergoing a roster change then finishing third at The Frankfurt Major and winning The Summit 4. With a new year, and a new patch, EG look like they'll once again be a dominant force.

The DAC and TI5 winning lineup.

Bloodborne

The hunt begins.

Hidetaka Miyazaki does it again. After the minor miss-step that was Dark Souls II, From Software are back to their best. As a spiritual successor to Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, Bloodborne is exactly what fans were hoping for; a game that retains the elements that made the other 'Souls' titles great, whilst offering the player an intriguing new world to explore. Bloodborne is far from a glib facsimile.

Rocket League

"What a save!"

Rocket League was simply the most fun thing to come out of 2015. It has cars and football, and you can go incredibly fast. What initially appears to be mindless fun slowly turns into a more tactical battle as you progress up the ranks; it's instantly accessible but has layers of depth making it a practically perfect multiplayer game.

OG

From left to right: Fly, Cr1t, Moonmeander, Miracle and BigDaddyN0Tail.

Out of the Dota 2 teams, Evil Geniuses undoubtedly had the best year overall. OG formed post TI5 and have had an incredibly successful couple of months. In the space of a few weeks, OG were crowned champions at The Frankfurt Major, were victorious at Dreamhack, and came second in The Defense. Their 4th place at The Summit meant that they could give the most insightful and entertaining commentary throughout the tournament. You'd be hard pressed to find a fan of Dota 2 who isn't also a fan of OG.

The Steam Controller and Steam Link

Don't be put off by the bad reviews.

Surprisingly, The Steam Controller has received a fair amount of negative criticism and widespread shrugs from the games industry. We can't help but feel that many have missed the point, criticizing that it falls somewhere between a controller and a mouse and keyboard but not being as strong as either; a jack of all trades but master of none situation. It clearly wasn't designed to replace either device. There's no point trying to use it to play an FPS if you have a mouse available, just as it would be ridiculous to try and play StarCraft 2 or Dota 2 with a gamepad. The Steam Controller, in conjunction with the Steam Link, is perfect for playing turn based titles like XCOM, Dungeons of Dreadmor or Civilization whilst comfortably relaxing on the sofa. Valve wasn't trying to re-invent the wheel, they were just trying to make Steam comfortable to use in the living room. As far as we're concerned, they succeeded.

The Worst

Ritsu

It would be funny if it wasn't so depressing. 2015 looked like it was going to be a great year for Ritsu. He was picked up as the carry for Cloud 9's Dota 2 team, then started receiving praise for his Anti-Mage play from the great Jacky Mao as Cloud 9 began to dominate the North American scene (excluding EG). Then things quickly unraveled just before, and during, The Frankfurt Major.

"Events preceding the attendance of the Frankfurt Major weighed heavily on both Ritsu and Cloud9 as an organization. His out-of-game conduct was consistently unbecoming of a professional player and although he began taking steps to change himself and how he interacted with the DOTA2 competitive community, his past indiscretions combined were too much for Theeban, myself, and the rest of the organization to overlook moving towards the next Major." - Danan Flander, C9's General Manager.

It was revealed that Ritsu was part of a group of players that were leaking the draft information of fellow North American team Digital Chaos. Having heaped praise on the young player, Eternal Envy savagely turned on Ritsu.

@ritsudota Ya your a piece of shit pic.twitter.com/km4zRrtjtr

— EternaLEnVy (@EternaLEnVy1991) November 8, 2015

Although leaking scrim information is a huge faux pas in pro circles it's the sort of behavior that, in isolation, can be passed off as immature. What emerged after was truly shocking, however, as another pro player, Beesa (playing the carry), revealed that Ritsu had stalked and threatened members of his family.

It is worrying the lengths some players will go to for a career in eSports. It reminded me of the Danny D scandal. I played, and conversed, with Danny a number of times so I feel qualified to say that it is quite shocking when things like this come to light, and that a person you thought you knew shows an unexpected side.

As the money in eSports continues to grow, it is no surprise that certain people are willing to resort to extreme measures to achieve success.

Richard Lewis and Thorin

Where do we start with these two eSports 'personalities'. This year, at DreamHack, it is reported that Richard Lewis assaulted Loda (carry for Dota 2 team Alliance) by grabbing his throat and chocking him. Police were called but no charges were pressed. As well as being banned by Reddit, Lewis has now been blacklisted by both ESL and DreamHack.

Thorin, long time friend of Richard Lewis, blindly jumped to his defense but that's understandable due to his history of making ill informed comments on social media. In fact, both Thorin and Lewis are infamous for such behavior.

"This is a tweet that Thorin, someone that has over 100k followers on Twitter and therefore has great influence over a lot of people, wrote. I get really disappointed when I see people like him making statements like this that has no real thought about it and doesn’t add anything but unreasonable hate." - Akke

These two are quickly becoming as irrelevant as we are.

Dogmeat

Fuck off.

So annoying and adds nothing. Fallout 4 is a great game, but forcing the player to use Dogmeat during certain sections of the game (as well as the fact the player character was voice acted) left a sour taste to an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Review

The Best and Worst of 2015

The Best Evil Geniuses What a year for the boys in blue. They were victorious at DAC and TI5 before undergoing a roster change then fin...

Warning: There are some vague spoilers ahead.

The Delita-ful cast...

Final Fantasy Tactics was released in Japan in 1997 and in the U.S. in 1998. It has only been officially available in Europe since 2007, a full ten years after its initial release. Even with the Final Fantasy name it was pretty easy to dismiss as Square's experimental take on the familiar turn based formula. Final Fantasy Tactics is well worth playing as it is, arguably, one of the best in the series.

The main draw of the Final Fantasy titles has always been the narrative, and Tactics has one of the strongest narratives of all the Final Fantasy games. It revolves around political intrigue and the differing sides during wartime. The story revolves around young Ramza Beoulve and his actions during the 'War Of The Lions'. Starting with the idea that history tends to be written by the winner and that, maybe, things should't always be taken at face value.

"Names don't matter. What's important is how you live your life." - Ramza Beoulve

Although the story is complex, it isn't convoluted. There are many different characters, but they drift in and out of Ramza's arc so it isn't too hard to keep on top of them all; there's even a description of every character encountered to refresh your memory if you get a little lost. Basically, anyone waiting for a true Game of Thrones game should play Final Fantasy Tactics as there are betrayals, power grabs, and deceptions. Ramza stands alone fighting for true justice, showing that although heroic actions may not be recognized they are necessary regardless of fame or reward.

Ramza grows over the events of the game, one of very few videogame protagonists to have an actual character arc. Rather than overcoming an ordeal, or uniting a group against evil, Ramza starts as an inexperienced squire oblivious to the world, but as each chapter passes he grows as the events around him shape his personality and influence his future actions (his character sprite changes multiple times to reflect this). Although he goes through many changes, he is one of the few characters to stay true to his ideals.

"You are still a child... a child who does not see the world for what it is. A man does not turn his back on truth. A man accepts it, and walks the path he must." - Goffard Gaffgarion

It is the characters' dialogue that sets Final Fantasy Tactics apart from its peers. Take this speech given by Wiegraff Folles:

"Governments falsify history only so it favours them. But you can't blame them. Because people always hope for a 'miracle'. Endlessly complaining, lazy, nuisances... that's what the masses really are. Governments give the people what they want... and history repeats itself. Governments might well have taken advantage of their insecurity... but then again, people are satisfied being used... 'God' is nothing but an image created out of their insecurity. It's their fault for knowing they're comfortably numb, and not doing anything about it."

Every piece of dialogue has a purpose, just as every action a character takes has a consequence. Again, take another line from Wiegraff as an example: "A small stone may only make a small ripple at first, but someday it will be a wave." There are countless examples of exceptionally written dialogue, but Ramza's interactions with Wiegraff are some of the best.

Ramza: Then you were a warrior who fought to make your dream reality. Now you are only a thrall of the Church.

Wiegraf: What troubled sleep have you known, to speak of my dreams? No matter how sweet, a dream left unrealized must fade into day.

Wiegraff Folles - The fallen hero.

The beauty of Final Fantasy Tactics' narrative is that it shows that there are multiple sides in war; each characters' actions have purpose and motive. Some are horrendous, some noble. Some are simple tales of revenge, others are complex gambits with many moving parts and deceptions. It shows that although there is good and evil, there's not just good and evil.

Final Fantasy Tactics is worth playing for any RPG, strategy, or Game of Thrones fan; it is quite simply the best game you probably never played.

It is available on GooglePlay, iTunes and PSP.

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Final Fantasy Tactics: The best RPG you probably never played.

Warning: There are some vague spoilers ahead. The Delita-ful cast... Final Fantasy Tactics was released in Japan in 1997 and in the U....

War never changes. Right?

More of the Same

And that's not a bad thing. Any fans of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas will feel right at home with Fallout 4. It looks and plays like you remember Fallout 3 playing that first time you booted it up, capturing the same magic, and giving you that initial purpose in the wasteland. On the other hand, those looking for a huge leap forward will probably be disappointed.

Fuck the Dog

Fuck off.

Seriously. It runs in front of the player all the time disrupting the menus, stands in doorways or behind counters getting in the way, and gives away the player's position while sneaking; there has been no positive to the dog so far and it's extremely tedious and difficult to leave it places. Bad design.

Not a Blank Slate

Fallout 4 is much harder to role play than previous titles; there is a much more structured story and rather than having a silent protagonist that the player shapes completely, the player character has a voice actor. The problem with voice acting, although well recorded and delivered, is that the subtle inflections of the actor can change how a phrase comes across. The freedom has been dialled back for storytelling purposes (certain NPC's can't be killed) which is not what is expected from a Fallout game; it doesn't ruin the experience, but does leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Spooky Ghouls

So well done compared to Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. The feral ghouls really sneak up on you, lying half visible in the wasteland until you disturb one and then four are on you without you realising and panic sets in. They're still relatively weak, but the speed with which you can become surrounded in tight areas makes them a real threat; nice to see Bethesda taking cues from some of the iconic zombie flicks.

Surprisingly scary.

Customisation

Initially, the amount of customisation seems like the biggest difference between Fallout 4 and previous titles, and it's a positive change. The weapon and armour customisation is a nice touch for those who really want to refine their style, and the way power armour is utilised is another welcome change. The settlements are the big one though, as players will end up pouring hours into shaping those sections of the game-world to their whim. Customising Sanctuary early on is the first indicator that Fallout 4 is not just a glossy looking version of Fallout 3.

The construction tool is a little clunky, but well executed.

Early impressions are positive, but the many great moments are interrupted by moments of frustration; only time will tell if those frustrating moments mount up and end up ruining the experience.

Keep an eye out for more Fallout 4 content as we continue exploring the commonwealth.

Article

Fallout 4: Early Impressions

War never changes. Right? More of the Same And that's not a bad thing. Any fans of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas will feel ...

With a new Star Wars film on the horizon, and the upcoming release of Star Wars: Battlefront, it seems like the perfect time to reflect on one of the greatest Star Wars games in recent memory: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Darth Malak and Darth Revan

Like most Bioware games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic's strength is its narrative; its sense of adventure and exploration. That's not to say the gameplay is bad, just a little dated by today's standards. Knights of the Old Republic captures the feeling of the Star Wars universe perfectly, giving fans of the original trilogy a sense of history that the prequels got so wrong. Along with a narrative twist worthy of those films, Knights of the Old Republic boasts a memorable cast of characters (Carth excluded) that wouldn't be out of place in any of the original movies, as well as carving its own identity. The force is central to the narrative experience, but rather than just looking at the light and dark, KOTOR plays with the shades of grey in-between.

HK-47

Like any great twist based narrative Knights of the Old Republic catches you completely off guard with its numerous revelations. But, on reflection, the entire game is filled with foreshadowing. From major plot points and cut-scenes, to the item descriptions within the game, almost everything that occurs is hinted at. The attention to detail in KOTOR more than makes up for its now outdated (and slightly wonky) gameplay; with nods to the original trilogy and extended universe, and the aforementioned foreshadowing, nothing feels rushed. It's hard to discuss KOTOR without falling into spoiler territory, but it's a title well worth playing if you're a fan of a strong narrative and exceptional game universe.

Zzzzap

Any fans of Star Wars will surely find something to enjoy here, just as any fans of the Mass Effect series or other non-fantasy based RPGs will. You can find Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Steam. There are many performance issues on modern PCs, and possible game breaking bugs can crop up, so buyer beware. It's often on sale for about the same price as a sandwich, though, so well worth the risk for the price.

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