Elder Scrolls Online: Shadows of the Hist DLC

Elder Scrolls Online has released Update 11! In addition to a whole slew of useful updates, they launched their third DLC of 2016, Shadows of the Hist, which is a pack of two Argonian dungeons.

The first dungeon, the Ruins of Mazzatun (also known as the Puzzle City), is located in the northwest corner of Shadowfen and has a story revolving around freeing Argonian slaves. It’s got some unusual new mechanics and some very challenging bosses; make sure you have a great team around you to get you through it!

The second, Cradle of Shadows, is dark, dreary, and spider-themed. Seriously, there’s tons of spiders. Don’t enter if you have arachnophobia. You’ve been warned!

Both dungeons are pretty standard fare for an ESO dungeon: there’s a story, there’s enemies to fight, and you’ve got a few (increasingly difficult) bosses to beat. Both dungeons are beautifully-rendered, and there’s a decent selection of loot present inside. Both are challenging and contain an engaging story, each with different newly-introduced mechanics to fascinate (or frustrate) you. There’s a small title that’s included with the pack as well, so you can show off to your friends that you’re a hero of Black Marsh.

At the end of the day, it’s a little disappointing that the DLC is basically only a couple of dungeons. However, the rest of Update 11 makes up for that, and it’s understandable to have bouts of smaller content in between the larger DLCs. I can forgive them for releasing a small dungeon pack this time, especially since it gives players more to do. Either way, the dungeons offer something new to do with your friends, and you can never spend enough time in Black Marsh. I recommend getting it at the very least for holding you over until the next DLC, which is set to release later this year.

Cost: $15 / 1500 crowns

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows

The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Edition is releasing on September 9th! Check it out!

Fallout 4: Vault-Tec DLC

If you’ve followed along with us recently, you might know that I hated the Fallout 4 Season Pass up to this point. Well, maybe not “hated”, but I haven’t exactly been pleased, either.

Axiom Verge (Bonus Content)

I already reviewed Axiom Verge, but after mulling it over in my mind, I felt like I didn’t do the game enough justice. So, here’s some extra thoughts about the game. They don’t necessarily fit together cohesively, but they’re some more parts of the game that I enjoyed.

Thoughts About Fallout 4’s Season Pass

I paid for Fallout 4, but I ended up with The Sims: Wasteland Edition.

Fallout 4: Far Harbor DLC

Warning: there are some minor spoilers ahead; I summarize the very beginning of the main quest and give (mostly) vague hints about what’s in the middle of the story. I don’t give away any major plot points, though.

This DLC gave me mixed feelings.

Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood DLC

Only recently have I been a fan of the Dark Brotherhood. I managed to play through Skyrim and Oblivion without getting very far in either game’s Dark Brotherhood quest line. However, after playing through (part) of both games’ quests, and seeing the newly-released DLC for Elder Scrolls Online, I had to at least give it a try.

Is Bungie Robbing you?

Back in 2014, Bungie released its highly anticipated game, Destiny. As the spiritual successor to Halo, expectations were sky high and the game was destined, pardon the pun, to be one of the “generation defining” games to come out for current generation consoles. Despite the game selling like hotcakes, it was heavily criticized for not having enough content at launch, and being a bit of a grind (maybe that’s putting it mildly). Bungie, however, was determined to release more content to its dedicated audience. The Dark Below and the House of Wolves launched, and slowly, but surely, the fan base started to ease up on the game’s grinding nature. With some of the best shooting mechanics in the industry today and a passionate following, Destiny launched The Taken King, a $40 dollar expansion that was virtually Destiny 2 compared to the content that launched with the vanilla game, yet there are some who still think Bungie is “cash grabbing” its fans. This begs the question, is Bungie robbing you by charging $40 dollars for its expansions? My answer is no. It’s not, simply because the people who actually play the game on a consistent basis end up putting hundreds of hours into Destiny. There is a community within Destiny that has happily put hundreds of hours into the game without yelling, “They’re robbing us of our money”. Why? It’s because the players have come to terms with how the game is played. You level up, grind, get better gear, repeat. Sure, it’s nothing new, but it’s a tried and true method that millions of players have become addicted to. Not only have they become addicted to it, but they have managed to do it without those pesky micro transactions that companies like EA have thrived on for many years now. Players can’t replace 50 hours of gameplay with 5 dollars just to get an exotic weapon. Granted, Bungie has a free level up token for players when they buy The Taken King, and after they use it, they can subsequently spend 30 dollars on another for another character. Some may call this a “nickel and dime” strategy, but it might have been the only way to get new players up to speed with current ones. Some may deem this unfair to older players, but Bungie can’t risk alienating their new fan base by having them grind for 100+ hours to just catch up with old players. With that being said, it’s currently June and Bungie’s new super-sized expansion, “The Rise of Iron” is right on the horizon and the Destiny community is starting to feel the excitement creep in. What will Bungie pull off for “Year 3”? It’s hard telling, but you’d have to imagine that, with Destiny 2 in the works, there’d be some type of major link to the new game. Also, will there be another level up token for new players or will Bungie have all new players start at 35?  With new gear, a higher light level, a new raid, and more story, Bungie looks to pull in even more players into a game that, now anyway, is filled to the brim with content. There’s a simple solution for those who don’t like Bungie’s supposed “nickel and dime” strategy, and its “don’t play it, if you don’t like it”.

 

The Division Review

Massive Entertainment

Ubisoft

Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC

Rated M

March 8^th, 2016

Review started March 12^th and finished March 22^nd, 2016.

Review by:  Cody Neal Bennett

(Disclaimer: The following review is based on my experience on the Xbox One. Therefore, problems present on other consoles or the PC won’t be mentioned here.)

(Minor Spoilers are present in this review. I mention a piece of Intel that can be found by the player in the game. It has no impact on the story whatsoever)

Dark Souls 3

Developer: FromSoftware, Inc

Publisher: FromSoftware,Inc, Bandai Namco Entertaiment

Release Date: April 11, 2016

Review Date: April 23, 2016

Reviewer: Zechariah Gerthung

Prepare to Die. Those are the words plastered on the complete editions of the Dark Souls, the original game of this very rough, but very fun franchise. I was brought to this game simply because I am a Souls fan, I love the lore, the story, and the game and visuals. I have played Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and now 3. I will be using the previous 2 to compare and contrast the game’s mechanics, visuals, and story progression.

Terraria

Developer and Publisher: Re-Logic

Original Release Date: May 16, 2011

Review Written on: March 3, 2016

Reviewer: Zechariah Gerthung

 

So, about four years ago, after watching a series of videos between two known Youtubers, Jesse Cox, and Totalbiscuit, on a whim I decided to buy Terraria. Four years later, and 301 hours in, I come to give you my opinion, and review of probably one of my most loved games.