Ghost of Tsushima

 

Ghost of Tsushima is another personal success story for Playstation Plus. It is a great game that I would not have experienced without the subscription gaming service. I just about gave up on the game because I was distracted by other games. I'm glad I didn't, however, because I ended up really enjoying the experience.

The game takes place in Japan in the 1200s. The Japanese island of Tsushima has been invaded by the Chinese Mongol forces, led by Genghis Khan relative Khotun Khan. You play as Jin Sakai, a local samurai lord who leads a resistance against the Mongols. As the game progresses, you do favors for various people throughout the island in order to gain their support in fighting the Mongols. The favors typically involve freeing a group of people being held captive by the Mongols. The gameplay involves a mix of stealth action and parkour, but heavily features samurai sword fighting. The plot throws a couple of twists and turns at you, but is generally predictable and straight forward. 

The gameplay is also very predictable after awhile. However, what saves the game is the advancements in fighting style as your power grows. You learn different sword fighting techniques which have advantages against certain enemies, so as you are fighting you have to think about which technique would work best. Additionally, you acquire different weapons as you progress as well, which adds enough variety to the fighting to keep it interesting. One of my favorite things to do was to chuck a knife at a charging enemy who is expecting a sword fight. 

In addition to the advancing fighting styles, the multi-person battles are absolutely awesome. As your forces grow, you begin attacking larger Mongol forts. The battles than ensue will contain multiple NPCs fighting on each side, reminiscent of a battle from Game of Thrones. There is absolute chaos surrounding you, and you bounce from enemy to enemy, changing fighting styles and your approach with each person. It really is a fun experience and the best part of the game in my opinion.

New Sound System - Part 8: Dolby Atmos (5.2.2)

 

The so-called chef's kiss was placed on my new sound system over the Thanksgiving weekend when I added Dolby Atmos enabled speakers to my home theater. This caps off a two year process of upgrading my components or adding new components to my downstairs home theater. Previously, I had a stereo setup that essentially never got used. I now have a full surround system that is used every time I use the TV. I also upgraded the TV and receiver to handle 4K video. The Atmos-enabled speakers shown above were the final upgrade, and I now consider the project finished for the foreseeable future except for possible minor tweaks (see the upcoming My State of Mobile Gaming posts as an example).

Dolby Atmos is a type of spatial audio that adds sound above the listener for overhead effects. The standard is to have two rows of speakers in the ceiling that beam sound down towards the floor. I was not interested in the construction that would be required to thread speaker wire through my drywall and mount speakers in my finished ceiling. Instead, I opted for Atmos-enabled speakers. The wedge shaped speakers sit on top of my floor standing loud speakers and beam sound upward towards the ceiling. This allows the sound to bounce off the ceiling and back down towards the floor and listener, akin to Bipole surround sound.

I was really excited to add Atmos to my setup. I felt like it would "complete" my theater and make it as modern as possible. Unfortunately, I don't think I can tell one bit of difference after adding the newest set of speakers. I even turned the relative volume on the speakers to +3 (all of my other speakers are at 0 except for my rear surrounds which are at +1). I just cannot hear additional sound coming from them. My basement is not an ideal room for surround sound speaker placement. It is one large open room that is interrupted by a staircase. I tend to sit in the back left corner, which is also not ideal as I am really close to the left speakers and really far from the right speakers. I also have a really large center channel speaker. So large that it won't fit in front or underneath the TV. Instead, it sits on top of my entertainment center, just a few feet from the ceiling. I suspect that both my off-center sitting position and the sound from the center channel filling the upper air of the room are contributing to my lack of awareness of the Atmos sound. With the awkward room it will be difficult to adjust the placement of the speakers much, so I feel like I'm locked into my current setup for the time being. With that being said, I definitely don't think the Atmos enabled speakers detract from the theater experience. Maybe with some fine tuning I can enhance the effect of the speakers.

My State of Mobile Gaming in 2024: Part 1 - The Current Situation

                               

Ever since I first discovered Playstation Remote Play, I've been fascinated by it. When I was younger, portable gaming never interested me. The only portable system I owned was Sega's Game Gear, and I never played it. It wasn't until I got the Nintendo Switch in 2017 that I realized the advantages of mobile gaming. For me, it is all about the freedom of gaming anywhere I want throughout the house. Sure, mobile gaming is great for travel, and I do use my Switch when I travel. But I don't travel that often. Having the freedom to play my PS5 on my couch without going down into the basement, or playing my Switch in the sunroom in the summer while we watch a baseball game appeals to me. Despite interest in Playstation Remote Play, I rarely use the feature because my experience has been less than stellar. Periodically I will get enthusiastic about it and try it again, just to be disappointed by the results. I experience frequent frame rate drops, frequent drops out of HD, and a lot of input lag. Despite these frustrations, I have remained interested in the concept of mobile gaming, and my interest grew in 2023 for a few reasons.

The first reason is Playstation Plus. I now have access to tons of games, many of which are suitable for putzing around on a smaller, mobile screen to kill time. I don't have much interest in playing blockbusters like God of War or Spider-Man on a mobile device. By the same token, I don't have much interest in playing games like Two Point Hospital on my home theater system in the basement. I think games like Two Point Hospital are perfect for mobile gaming around the house, where I can play while sitting on my couch while a basketball game plays in the background.

The second reason is the Playstation Portal. Up to this point I have been playing Remote Play on my iMac and iPad. I thought that some of the performance issues I've experienced could be because of the devices I've been using. My iPad isn't exactly new, and while I would think my 2019 iMac would be plenty powerful to use Remote Play, it isn't exactly optimized for this use. Additionally, while it is cool that you can connect a DualSense controller to your iPad, you can't exactly lounge on the couch and play games while holding an iPad and a game controller. The Playstation Portal solved both of these issues. However, I am still uncertain about the performance of Remote Play. After doing some reading on the issues I've experienced, and after a random conversation with someone who has a Playstation Portal, I got an idea of what I needed to do next. To be continued in Part 2.

Tears of the Kingdom: Part 4 - Tears vs. Breath of the Wild

Comparisons between Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK) and Breath of the Wild (BOTW) were inevitable. The two games take place in a nearly identical version of Hyrule. Maybe even more importantly, both games are on the Nintendo Switch. This may be the most important aspect of comparing the two games. Oftentimes it is very difficult to compare games across generations of consoles because the technology improves so much with each new generation. If I take a step backwards from comparing these two games and list my top 3 (the proverbial podium) favorite Zelda games, in no particular order they are A Link to the Past, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild. Each of these games comes from a different console generation, so it is difficult to say that A Link to the Past is better than Twilight Princess. This isn't the case for TOTK and BOTW, so direct comparisons are easier. After playing BOTW for around 200 hours, and TOTK for around 100 hours, let's dive into my thoughts on the two games.

I played both games the same way. I focused on the main story quests first, and then after I "finished the game" by seeing the credits role, I focused on the side quests. In BOTW, I found and finished all 120 shrines, and did the majority of the side quests and DLC. In TOTK, I am currently in the process of locating and finishing all of the shrines. I plan to focus on the side quests afterwards. With both games taking place in essentially the same version of Hyrule, the game looks and feels very similar. And yet, despite how good BOTW is and was, TOTK somehow improves on nearly every aspect of the game. 

To emphasize just how good TOTK is, let me list the various aspects of the game and which game is better in each category. The plot: TOTK. In fact, Tears has one of the better plots of any Zelda game and one of the more memorable endings to any game in the recent past. BOTW's plot is fine, but so much is prefaced on events that happened 100 years prior to the events of BOTW that it feels a bit distant. TOTK builds on the events of BOTW, and the aftermath is quite visible as you traverse Hyrule Kingdom. You have to look no further than the massive floating Hyrule Castle to be reminded of the Uprising. 

Similar to the plot is the castles/temples: TOTK takes the prize here as well. The Divine Beasts of BOTW and their leaders were too similar and honestly not that memorable. When I started the Regional Phenomena main quest in TOTK and traveled to Rito village, I remember thinking about how epic the journey to the floating ship creating the storm over Rito was. And while the stage itself felt a lot like the Divine Beasts, the boss battle was absolutely epic as well. In the grand scheme of Zelda games, both games rank lower in this category, but between the two no question TOTK wins in this category as well.

I cannot tell a difference in the graphics between the two games, and both games have great soundtracks, albeit similar. I'm calling a draw in these two categories. Same for the controls. TOTK does suffer from more frequent frame rate drops than BOTW. You can tell that the Switch is pushed to its limits to run this game. It is an amazing feat that Nintendo was able to get this game to run on 6 year old hardware that wasn't exactly cutting edge when it was originally released. I should also point out that although I've said a couple of times that both games take place in similar versions of Hyrule, this is only partially true. The surface of Hyrule is essentially the same, but TOTK adds the depths, which is like a large cavern under Hyrule that doubles the size of the map. As if this wasn't enough, there are also numerous sky islands to visit above Hyrule, so the map in TOTK is actually quite a bit bigger than BOTW's Hyrule.

I was playing BOTW the other day, helping one of my daughters progress in her game. As I was working on a shrine puzzle, I found my self wishing I could ascend like you can in TOTK. With all of the game enhancements found in TOTK, I think it would be a bit hard to go back and replay BOTW. With all of the aforementioned evidence, I don't think there is any question that TOTK is the better game. The bigger question is will TOTK replace BOTW on my podium. While I think there is some merit to the fact that BOTW was first and more revolutionary, if push comes to shove I would replace it with TOTK on my podium. For the time being, however, I'm going to let them share the spot on the podium. BOTW is a fantastic game, and somehow Nintendo managed to make TOTK better in nearly every category. 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3

 

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are some of my favorite films and characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Needless to say I have been looking forward to watching this movie since it came out on Disney+. While there seems to be a plethora of mediocre MCU movies recently, Guardians 3 received decent reviews. 

The movie focuses on Rocket's back story. Essentially he was the subject of a series of experiments to create the perfect race of people for a perfect civilization. He becomes injured, and in order to save him the Guardians must find his creator. This leads them on an adventure to a variety of mucous-filled weird worlds. They meet up with an alternate version of Gamora, who no longer remembers Peter or the rest of the Guardians due to the events of the Infiniti War. 

With Rocket being injured, he spends almost the entire movie on life support, unable to speak. This is a major negative, in my opinion, as Rocket is one of the more entertaining members of the Guardians. And with Gamora having no memory of the Guardians, that means two of the core members are essentially absent from the movie. There's still plenty of banter and comedy, however, especially between Dax and Mantis, and even Nebula has several scenes that were amusing. 

Rocket's back story is a sad one, and unfortunately involves animal cruelty and experimentation. This is also a bit of a downer. All of this is to say I kind of felt "meh" about this movie. I didn't dislike it, per se, but I also didn't love it. It's probably my least favorite movie of the 3 Guardians films, though a part of me thinks I need to watch it again to give it a fair chance. The typical banter between the members was my favorite part and at least made the movie somewhat of an enjoyable watch.

Barbie (2023)

Barbie became a huge movie success in 2023. While my girls aren't huge Barbie fans, they do have a decent amount of Barbies and play with them periodically, so were interested in the movie. In general this would have been a movie that I would not have been interested in at all. However, because of its success it was constantly in the news, being praised for how good it is. Video game and geek news site IGN even named it their movie of the year. The entertainment featured on IGN is typically the same stuff I'm interested in, so with their endorsement, I decided that I would go ahead and watch the movie with my girls as well. The movie stars Margot Robbie, which helped with my decision as well.

The Barbie characters live in the perfect Barbie world, where much like the toy doll, Barbie holds every job title imaginable and women rule the world. Barbie is the president, the construction worker, the doctor...you get the point. This is what the world looks like from their perspective. The funny part about this is that in Barbie's world, Ken is a nobody. He fights with the other Kens for Barbie's attention, and while she is willing to hang out with them, in general couldn't care less about Ken. In a very funny scene, Beach Ken gets into an argument with the other Kens and they try to stage a "beach off". It's such juvenile humor, but even typing this sentence has me laughing thinking about it.

Barbie begins to notice that she is getting cellulite and that her feet are flat. In order to figure out what is going on she must travel to the real world. Here she realizes that women do not hold every position and instead exist primarily in a patriarchy. This is a tough reality check for Barbie. Ken, on the other hand, thrives in the real world and becomes obsessed with horses and macho guy stuff. He returns to the Barbie world and brings his real world machoism with him, becoming somewhat of a villain until the Barbies are able to restore order. 

Despite featuring toys that I have zero interest in, the movie overall was quite enjoyable. Plenty of laugh out loud moments and it has a good overall message. My only complaint is that it becomes a bit slow and sappy at the end. This is minor, however, as the rest of the movie is quite enjoyable. On a side note, I didn't realize Will Ferrell was in the movie until I watched it. Will has been playing the same character for what feels like 20+ years now, the loud and obnoxious adult, and yet somehow it never gets old. 

Star Wars: JEDI Survivor

 

I really enjoyed 2019's JEDI Fallen Order, and thus was really looking forward to playing JEDI Survivor once it was released. I even interrupted Ghost of Tsushima in order to start playing Survivor. It should not be a surprise that I really enjoyed this game. I'm a big Star Wars fan, and this game starts right where Fallen Order left off, with an excellent story, gameplay, and music. Unfortunately, despite all of the positives, there was one rather large negative that made the game a bit frustrating at times. More on that in a bit. First, I'd like to focus on the positive aspects of the game, of which there were many.

Without regurgitating the entire plot of the game, suffice it to say that the story in JEDI Survivor is classic Star Wars. It involves tales of family, the delicate balance of the light and dark sides of the force, travel to planets with interesting surroundings, plenty of battle, and betrayal. It is good enough to be a side movie (similar to the Han Solo movie), and is considered canon. You play as Cal Kestis, a former Jedi who is living in a post-Clone Wars galaxy where the Empire is becoming increasingly powerful. One of the interesting aspects of the game is that the main group of antagonists, the Bedlam Raiders, use remnants from the Clone Wars to strengthen their defense. This includes using battle droids and other military personnel (including the always popular B1 battle droid, "roger, roger") as well as old Star Destroyer ships as a base. Thus the game is littered with easter eggs from the Clone Wars era, which I found amusing. Along the same lines, the encyclopedia within the game provides an interesting summary of the enemies as well as various technology that you interact with. All of this serves to feed the Star Wars nerd appetite, which is nice, and solidifies the game as truly being a part of the Star Wars universe.

The music is really good as well. On multiple occasions while playing I commented to myself on how good the music was. I read that it was nominated for a gaming award in the soundtrack category, which wasn't surprising. The game looked great, as well, which isn't surprising for a blockbuster game these days, but still worth mentioning. There were periodic graphical glitches, but nothing major or worth commenting on. 

Finally, I need to discuss the gameplay, which overall was great but had one glaring and recurring problem. Being able to walk around and use the powers of the force is absolutely bad ass. It was my favorite part of Fallen Order and continued to be my favorite part of Survivor. Force pulling/shoving enemies, melee battle with a lightsaber, basically any action involving an enemy was top notch. In fact, I resumed Ghost of Tsushima after I finished Survivor, and found myself wanting to double jump and use my samurai like a lightsaber. The environments themselves, however, look like open worlds but are really more like elaborate sets or hallways designed to funnel you to a specific location. Once you reach the location, oftentimes you can unlock a shortcut which opens a more direct route to that location. Getting to the desired location commonly requires platforming and wall running, and herein lies the problem. Very commonly it is unclear where you are supposed to go. The map on the game is difficult to read and basically useless, and there is no on screen icon indicating which direction to head. On multiple occasions I had to pull up a YouTube video just to see how I was supposed to leave an area. Every video I watched the comment section was littered with comments about how people were doing the same thing. Typically it involved a very subtle section of wall for wall running or a small crack in the wall you were supposed to fit through. Regardless, this occurred so often and was annoying enough that if the rest of the game weren't so good I thought about stopping play. EA really needs to fix this for the 3rd game if it occurs.

Speaking of a 3rd game, at the end of the game Cal is betrayed in a big way and becomes furious. Once this happens he is able to utilize the dark side of the force which was absolutely awesome. There is some speculation that in the 3rd game, Cal will turn to the dark side so more to come on this in the future.